NEW DELHI, INDIA: India Post under the ministry of communications and IT is expected to
come up with pan-India rollout of mobile money order service. The pilot program for this project is currently under way in Bihar and Punjab.
Manjula Prasher, secretary (Posts), chairman of the postal services Board and director general, India Post, on the sidelines of National Postal Policy 2012 roundtable in New Delhi informed that they chose two states-- Bihar and Punjab-- where a lot of immigrant workers remit money to their states.
“The mobile money orders will be a good initiative to facilitate people,” she added.
The government has tied up with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for this initiative, though the service would remain operator-neutral. The individuals, who want to opt for mobile money order, need to furnish basic information to the designated post
office.
The subscribers would get an SMS containing the details of remittance that would allow customers to collect cash from local post offices. The government didn’t disclose timeline for pan-India rollout, but said it’s a part of department’s modernization roadmap.
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Postal department applies to RBI for banking licence
New Delhi, Feb. 1:
The Postal Department has applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a banking licence, the Communications Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, said here on Wednesday.
Mr Sibal said he had written to the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, to expedite the granting of licence.
Speaking on the sidelines of the postal policy round table organised by FICCI, Mr Sibal said, “A national postal policy targeting expansion and modernisation of the postal network would be announced during this year. The Government does not intend to issue licences to courier service companies, but would make it mandatory for them to register.”
Aimed at modernising postal services, the policy is expected to make the department adopt a more financially viable revenue model. It would also provide affordable services at all points in the country as part of its Universal Service Obligation, the Minister said.
The Department is also expecting large-scale private sector participation in providing value added services and extending its product range beyond the current core functions.
“There are tremendous opportunities for the private corporate sector to use its ingenuity to create innovative products and delivery mechanisms through the Indian postal network,” Mr Sibal said.
India currently has 1.55 lakh post offices, 95 per cent of which are located in rural areas.
Kapil Sibal Inaugurates Round Table on National Postal Policy
Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and Information Technology inaugurated a Round Table on National Postal Policy here today. Speaking on the occasion Shri Sibal said that in view of IT revolution India Post has to embrace the changes and to be prepared for challenges of tomorrow.
Shri Sachin Pilot Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology said that Department of Posts has to revisit and reinvent itself in the light of rapidly changing scenario. Though Department of Posts is already engaged in plethora of activities, it may explore other revenue streams.
Earlier Ms. Manjula Prashar, Secretary Department of Posts introduced the theme. Draft agenda for the Roundtable included –
Ø Vision, Mission and Policy
Ø USO of the Postal Sector.
Ø Organization and Market Research, environmental concerns and social responsibilities in the Postal Sector.
Ø Expansion and Modernization of Postal Network in India.
Ø Issues relating to Standardization of mail and National Address System.
Ø Issues relating to development of institutional framework with right and responsibility of Government regulator, operator and customer.
Ø Contours of Competition Policy in the Postal Sector.
Ø Issues of strategies relating to capacity development in the Postal Sector.
Ø Synchronization of domestic postal policies with WTO and other international norms.
Ø Roadmap for the Postal Sector.
Ø
The Round Table aimed at engaging in discussions with key stakeholders related to the Postal Sector. The conference was addressed by various stakeholders giving their inputs in order to frame a National Postal Policy which will address the interests and concerns of all. Indian postal sector requires a comprehensive policy document, representative of the interests of all the stakeholders and driving the postal sector to contribute to the social and economic development of the country.
In order to have a National Postal Policy which reflects the views of the broadest possible range of postal stakeholders, the participants at the Round Table included stakeholders from Government, Operators Representative Associations, Think Tank, Academia, Users of Postal & Communication Services, Banks, Regulators, Transporters and stakeholders in international business besides senior officers of Department of Posts.
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