Department of post From Post to E-post

Technology is transforming the Indian post offices as it helps in reducing
transaction time and increases the efficiency of the system, leading to better
customer service. The experiment of technology in the Department of Post (DoP)
started with money orders when transfer of money used to take place
electronically, with the help of VSAT. The experiment was a grand success and
the beneficiary were the Indian rural masses who were now able to send money to
their relatives, within a day’s time whereas in the past, it used to take more
than a week.

Seeing the success of VSAT technology, DoP recently launched the e-post
concept, based on the Internet technology. The experiment with this new
technology will help in reducing the delivery time of mails in the country, by
charging a small premium. For sending an e-post, a person can type a letter or
get his letter scanned at the e-post center and then send a message to anybody,
anywhere, in the country. Presently, DoP is running a pilot in the states of
Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, and Maharashtra. Once the message is sent
as a mail to the state GPO, it is sent to the concerned e-post center where it
is downloaded, printed, pasted in an envelope, and is ready to be delivered to
the relevant delivery post offices. The mail is delivered within two days and a
confirmation is sent to the sender who can track the movement of the mail, with
the tracking software if he or she has an access to the Internet. Using this
technology, DoP intends to communicate information from one place to an
inaccessible place, within a period of two days.

The e-post concept is innovative and is a very simple way to communicate with
the rural masses. But it seems strange why DoP launched it so late. Companies
like Deltagram have already launched a similar service based on satellite
technology, and delivers services like voice mail, e-letter (telegram), digital
mail (letter in one’s own handwriting), and e-fax based on store and forward
fax, since the last two years, and have been doing pretty well. Even, the
investment that Deltagram has done is noteworthy, considering the fact that it
plans to have around 13,000 centers spread across the country, and it is not
limited to a few states.

The DoP should go in full-swing with the e-post project, as it would be very
difficult for DoP to fight against Deltagram with the present service offerings.
Even in the future, the company plans to launch many innovative services, which
reside on a good and stable infrastructure based on the VSAT technology. It
seems though DoP has a vast network, it is still not quick in accepting
technology. The computerization process for the post offices, in the country, is
still going on and it will take a years time for its completion. Even the cost
of the computerization and networking is on a higher side and according to the
officials in DoP, it will cost Rs 2,000 crore approximately, which might delay
it implementation. Once the proper infrastructure is created we can see pilots
like e-post to succeed in the Indian market. But that would be too late, as we
can see many private players already occupying that space.

The DoP should also learn form the US Postal Service network, which is one of
the largest and one of the best network in the world, and has vast VSAT network
of around 30,000 VSATs for efficient functioning of its services.

Though e-post is a good move by the DoP, it should not remain a pilot for too
long. The concerned authorities should speed up and create a network that can be
used for postal applications initially, but can graduate and help the finance
and insurance sector in the future, with the vast reach that the postal
department inherits.

Pravin Prashant