India Post Approved & Pending Stamp Proposals

Update (23 Aug 2020): Added new updates below.

Update (02 Feb 2020): Added new updates below.

Update (07 Sep 2019): Added updates for pending, approved and recently issued stamps. 

Update (15 Jan 2019): Now showing the stamps on Greeting (2001) as issued in 2001 itself. Blog reader had pointed out, and I'm in agreement with the suggestion.

Update (05 Jan 2019): Added the list of approved stamps (2017-19) from the last PAC meeting of India Post in 2017. Many of the approved subjects were issued in 2017 and 2018, but the remaining subjects could be used for issuance in 2019 and beyond. I've included stamps on Jamshedpur and CIPET that were recently approved as well.

Original Post: I will post details for stamp subjects and proposals that have been submitted to India Post over the last two decades. This can be used as a source to track approved stamp subjects and dead issues.

Stamp Issues Approved, but Not Released
2001
Set of 4 stamps on Dances of India
Set of 4 stamps on Hitopadesha and Jataka Tales (Approved)

2005
India-Oman Joint Issue
SAARC Charter Day

2006
Himalayan Lakes – Loktak, Suraj Tal, Naini Tal
Landmark Bridges – Coronation Bridge, Kandrour Bridge, Laxman Jhula, Godavari Bridge
Pramathesh Barua

2007
Battaqh Ali Ansari

2008
Festivals of India – Kulu Dussehra
Infantry Soldier – Year of Infantry
Jammu & Kashmir Light Regiment
Maulana Atikur Rehman Alvi
Mahanamrata Brahmachari

2009
Architectural Splendor – Ujjayanta Palace, Patwon ki Haveli, Mattancherry Palace
Buddha Jayanti
Caves (Tracing Civilizations) – Bhimbetka, Barabar, Udaigiri, Nagarjuna
Children’s Fables – Vikram & Betal, Mogli, Tenali Rama, Birbal
Hill Stations (Colonial Heritage) – Gulmarg, Darjeeling, Ooty, Shimla
Endangered Species – Ganges River Dolphin, Nilgiri Tahr, Lion Tailed Macaque, Himalayan Musk Deer
Greetings – Christmas, New Year
House Boats – Kerala, Kashmir
National Gallery of Modern Art
Seasons of India
Shakti Temples – Kalighat, Meenakshi, Vaishno Devi, Kamakhya (Approved)
Unique Villages of India – Toda, Kutch
UN Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities

2012
Asiatic Black Bear and other wild animals (Set of 4 stamps)
Boats of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Flowers of India (Set of 2 stamps)
Government College, Ajmer
Railway Bridges of India (Set of 4 stamps)
Traditional Embroideries of India - Chikankari, Kutchi, Kashmiri, Phulkari, Kantha
Tribal Dwellings (Set of 4 stamps)

2013
Dr. Nilratan Sircar
India-Peru Joint Issue
South Asian Postal Union

2014
Machali, The Tigress

2016-17
Gaurishankar Govardhan Joshi 'Dhumketu' (Approved)
Lala Thunthee Mull
M. Balamuralikrishna
Raja Todarmal

Sant Pipaji Maharaj
Swami Karpatri Ji

Aquaculture

Birds: Endangered & Critically Endangered

Boats of India
Bridal Costumes of India

Jataka Tales

Mangalyan

Mehandi (Lawsona inermis)
Minerals of India
Palace on Wheels
Puppets

Shaktipeeth Temples

Tribes of India

Wildlife – Flora & Fauna

2018-19

Acharya Bodhihdharma & Efflorescence of Zen Culture

Acharya Konda Laxman Bapuji
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Dr. B. P. Radhakrishna
Girdharilal Bhargava

Pandit Savai Gandharva
Raja Jailal Singh
Vijaya Raje Scindia

Aga Khan Foundation
Eastern Naval Command (50 Years)
HMS Minden & HMS Trincomalee (1810-1811)
Induction of Pilatus PC-7 Mk II
University of Mysore

Pending Stamp Proposals
2017 Proposals
All India Management Association
Architectural Heritage of Pune
Bangiya Sahitya Parishad
Blue Star Limited
CMC Ludhiana
Erani Martyrs
Federation of Gujarat Industries
Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (50 years)
Guntur Municipality (150 years)
Haifa Victory
Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Madras High Court Heritage Building (125 years)
Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain
Musical Instruments (Paid by Datta Peetham)
National Commission for Women
National Housing Development Corporation
Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana (50 years)
Rann Utsav
Sangam (Prayagraj)
St. Michael High School, Patna
World Blood Donors Day
World Thalassemia Day

2018 Proposals
36th International Geological Congress (IGC)
70 Years of Olympic Hockey Gold Medal
Akhil Bharatvarshiya Jaiswal Jain Mahasabha
Dhola Sadiya Bridge of Assam
Epilepsy
Golden Jubilee of Howrah Rajdhani Express
Honey Bee
Kolkata GPO
Queen Pineapple (Tripura)

2019 Proposals
All Saint' College, Nainital (150th Anniversary)
Acharya Shanti Sagar Maharaj
Dr. Rafiuddin Ahmed
I. K. Gujral (100th Anniversary)
International Widows' Day
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Bi-centenary)
ISRO (50th Anniversary)
Kishori Das Vajpayee
La Martiniere Girls' College, Lucknow (150th Anniversary)
M. S. Naicker
Mysore V. Doraiswamy Iyengar
Nadar Saraswathi Primary School, Theni
National Service Scheme (50th Anniversary)
Rao Jaimal Rathore
Sherwood College, Nainital (150th Anniversary)
Shivakumara Swami Ji
Thangasseri Fort, Kollam (500 Years)
Ustad Allarakha Khan (100th Anniversary)
Venkatarama Reddy (150th Anniversary)
Vikram Sarabhai (100th Anniversary)
Wazir Mohammad Hakla

Stamps Eventually Issued
2001 - Set of 2 stamps on Greetings (Issued on 18 Dec 2001)
2018 - Professor Ram Chand Paul (Issued on 06 Mar 2019)
2018 - Vedanta Desikan (Issued on 02 May 2019)
2018 - Aero India 2019 (Issued on 23 Feb 2019)
2018 - MyStamp - Accessible Elections (Karnataka CEO) (Issued on 13 Apr 2019)
2018 - Kumbh Mela 2019 (Issued on 02 Feb 2019)
2018 - Master Healers of AYUSH (Issued on 30 Aug 2019)
2018 - Central Institute of Plastics Technology and Engineering (Issued on 24 Jan 2019)
2016 - India's Participation in World War I (Issued on 20 Aug 2019)
2016 - Indian Perfumes (Issued on 01 Aug 2019)
2016-17 - Embroideries of India (Issued on 19 Dec 2019)
2018 - Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (Issued on 26 Dec 2019)
2018 - International Labor Organization (Issued on 22 Jan 2020)
2019 - The Samaja (Odia Daily) (Issued on 04 Oct 2019)
2019 - MyStamp - National Institute of Bank Management, Pune
2018 - MyStamp - 60 Years of Doordarshan (Issued on 16 Sep 2019)
2018-19 - Mathew M. Kuzhiveli (Issued on 22 Nov 2019)
2016-17 - Four Dhamas (Char Dham) (Issued on 29 Nov 2019)
2016-17 - Fragrant Stamps (Chocolate, Strawberry) (Issued on 01 Aug & 15 Oct 2019)
2016-17 - Historical Gates of India Forts (Issued on 19 Oct 2019)

2018-19 - Jamshedpur (Issued on 17 Feb 2020)

2016-17 - Musical Instruments (Issued on 25 Jun 2020)
2016-17 - Terracotta Temples of India (Issued on 08 Aug 2020)

Dead Stamp Issues
O. P. Jindal
Devaraj Urs
Jyoti Basu
Bhupesh Gupta

2008 Miniature Sheet MIA?

Source: Delhi Heritage Photography Club Facebook Page

Two miniature sheets, one each in 2008 and 2009 have yet to be released by India Post. Design for one of the two miniature sheets, to commemorate the Dilwara and Ranakpur temples (2009) was recently found on a social media platform. The stamp designer, as indicated on the miniature sheet and the information brochure was Sankha Samanta. One wonders why these miniature sheets were not put for sale. Anyway, let's try figure the design for the other stamp issue, the Aldabra Giant Tortoise (2008), which was designed by Suresh Kumar.

Dilwara & Ranakpur Miniature Sheet (2008), India Post

Information Brochure. Note the quantity of miniature sheet is given, but no credits for the designer

Moving from Builders of Modern India to the Makers of India

The last definitive stamp series in India, the tenth, was the Builders of Modern India released in 2008-2009. It included 13 stamps in 12 denominations. Definitive stamps, unlike commemorative / special stamps are made available at post office for common use and are printed regularly.

Builders of Modern India
The Tenth Definitive Stamp Series

Print runs for definitive stamps are not fixed whereas commemorative stamps, as the name suggests are issued to commemorate special events, institutions or personalities of national and international importance, art and culture as well as social themes and are printed in fixed quantities.

The Builders of Modern India stamp series depicts five political leaders, two physicists, two cultural icons, one social reformer, one social religious leader and one industrialist. As a broad stroke and on surface it appears to be a decent selection for a recently independent country. But given the diversity of India, the list may not have been completely representative of the Indian society. 

Glaring omissions include political leaders with alternative view points (for e.g. Jayaprakash Narayan or Syama Prasad Mookerjee), a representative of North-East India, a sports personality (maybe Dhyan Chand) and a famous writer or poet. One should have to look no farther than Bharat Ratna awardees to make this a complete set.

Below is a tabulated version of the tenth definitive stamp series that provides a background for each personality honored on these stamps. It is ironical that three of the political leaders (highlighted in blue) belong to the same family, the Nehru-Gandhi family. These three stamps were released first, and together, even before Mahatma Gandhi's stamp that was released three months later.

Change of political leadership in India has allowed a review of this stamp series. The first change was to stop printing of the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi stamps in July-August 2015. This resulted in some agitation in the opposition political parties, but facts appear to support a case for increasing representation of other leaders as well. The new political dispensation has decided to initiate a new definitive stamp series, Makers of India and its first stamp honoring Deendayal Upadhyaya (Rs 5) was released in November 2015. More on the new stamp series in a later blog post.

Builders of Modern India

Date	Issue Description	Contribution to Modern India	Denomination
01 December 2008	Jawaharlal Nehru	First Prime Minister	25 Paise
11 May 2009	E. V. Ramasami	Self Respect Movement Social Reformer	50 Paise
01 March 2009	Mahatma Gandhi	Indian Independence	Re 1
01 March 2009	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar	Indian Constitution Modern Buddhist Movement	Rs 2
01 March 2009	Satyajit Ray	Filmmaking	Rs 3
01 March 2009	Homi Jahangir Bhabha	Nuclear Physics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research	Rs 4
01 December 2008	Indira Gandhi	Third Prime Minister First Female Prime Minister	Rs 5
01 December 2008	Rajiv Gandhi	Sixth Prime Minister Youngest Prime Minister	Rs 5
11 May 2009	C. V. Raman	Physics Raman Scattering Raman Effect	Rs 10
01 March 2009	J. R. D. Tata	Industrialization & Philanthropy Tata Group	Rs 15
01 March 2009	Mother Teresa	Catholic Religious Sister Missionaries of Charity	Rs 20
11 May 2009	Rukmini Devi Arundale	Classical Dance Kalakshetra (Chennai)	Rs 50
Special Definitive
02 October 2009	Mahatma Gandhi & Nonviolence	Indian Independence Use of Nonviolence	Rs 25

                         Colors denote the release date.