$880m upgrade approved for India’s post office IT network

The Indian government has given the go-ahead to the next phase of India Post’s IT modernisation programme, approving a INR 49bn ($880m USD) investment in the post office network. The programme will involve implementation, operation and maintenance for upgraded IT systems in all of India’s 155,000 post offices, with roll-out completed in a phased manner over a two-year period.

The Department of Posts proposal was approved by the Indian government’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs yesterday, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

It said the key objective of the India Post IT Modernisation project was to computerise all post offices across the country, including branch outlets in rural areas, creating an “urban-rural network spanning across the length and breadth of the country”.

With a fully networked post office system, the government said India Post would be able to provide faster and more reliable delivery of its services, improving customer satisfaction levels.

Post office and mail services will also have better visibility and transparency.

And, the government said customers would benefit from increased access to services via multiple channels, including kiosks and ATMs as well as Internet and mobile access, alongside traditional post office counters.

“National asset”

“The IT modernisation project will provide a national asset and infrastructure for all users, including various government departments, businesses and citizens, to use the services effectively for their communication, banking, insurance and service delivery needs,” the government explained in a statement.

“The project will improve delivery of mail, banking and insurance services rendered by the post offices across the length and breadth of the country.”

India Post’s IT Modernisation programme has been more than two years in development, with eight tender processes already held, leading to four contracts signed with chosen bidders. The bidding process is currently underway on two further tenders.

The eight different segments of the IT modernisation project include aspects like datacentre work, networking, computers and peripherals, along with software applications covering all the products and services of India’s Department of Posts, along with a contract for change management – preparing staff for “IT mode”.