India Post in for a major facelift
The archaic Indian post office is in for a major image makeover. The boring distribution counters selling postal stamps; inland letters will soon be transformed into financial service hubs. At the core of what’s going to be known as postal financial marts will be a full-fledged bank, that will exploit India Posts’ Rs 4 lakh crore worth public savings.
India Post is the largest savings bank. But unlike other banks it can neither lend nor invest the money for further revenue generation. The basic objective behind the face-lift is to place postal services on the corporate path without diluting its social responsibilities. An inter-ministerial committee appointed for the purpose will give its final report in May. It has on its table the recommendations of KPMG, an internationally reputed firm hired by India Post as part of its plans to acquire a new look.
The marts will provide services such as banking, life and general insurance, mutual funds and securities, product selling and money transfer – both national and international – all under one roof. “We will approach the finance ministry for necessary clearances, particularly for setting up a proper bank, once the inter-ministerial group’s report is received,” U Srinivasa Raghavan, secretary, postal department, told the Hindustan Times.
And what would be the proposed financial marts’ USP: Attractive, high-tech ambience, together with free and friendly advice to potential customers and investors. “Given our phenomenal reach, the India Post intends to use its network for providing similar banking facilities to the common man, particularly in small towns and villages, as is being done by other banks. This will be in addition to the existing postal services,” Raghavan said.
For starters, India Post will have financial marts in 300 bigger post offices. By the end of the 11th five-year-plan (2012), it will have 26,000 post office-cum-marts and all linked to its Central Server Technology. Moreover, India Post is already the second largest life insurance service provider in the country. “Our growth in this sector is faster than that of 12 private life insurance companies put together. An integrated approach will further increase our revenue and capacity to face the corporate sector’s challenges,” Raghvan observed.
The Hindustan Times is provided through HT Syndication, New Delhi.
