National Policy to modernize postal services likely to be announced soon

02 Feb 2012 Evaluate

A national policy will soon be announced to revamp and modernize the postal service department of India. The policy will also aim at expanding the activities of the postal sector and providing affordable services at all points in the country. It also aims at repositioning the Indian Postal department as a self-sufficient and cost-effective provider of services. Further, since the postal department has already been working as a quasi bank, efforts are on to convert it into a full fledged bank.

Speaking on the sidelines of the postal policy round table organised by FICCI, the Communications Minister, Kapil Sibal confirmed that the Postal Department had applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a banking license and he had written to the Finance Minister to expedite the same. He said that there was need to modernize the postal department so that it could keep up with the changing trends and also attain new heights.

India currently has 1.55 lakh post offices, 95% of which are located in rural areas. The postal department provides a host of savings products, postal life insurance, pension payments and money transfer services through these branches. However, it does not provide credit, which is the most important part of a financial institution. A banking license will help fill that gap, enabling the delivery of modern banking facilities in the remotest areas and therefore help bring about inclusive growth.

The department is also expecting large scale private sector participation in providing value added services and extending the department's product range beyond the current core functions. It was earlier reported that the department had already hired international consultancy firm Accenture to modernise the post offices across the country, which will also help create infrastructure for banking services.

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