Dept of Post needs to get its act together
Liberalisation and globalisation have dealt dual blows to the country’s postal lifeline, India Post. Its own inability to cope with technological advancements has made it worse. On one hand, there is an influx of private players in the courier industry. Semi-organised local courier companies such as Blazeflash and DTDC are aggressive in the market along with larger, organised courier companies like DHL and TNT. On the other hand, information and communication technologies such as e-mail, e-fax, high-speed scanning, portable document formats, etc. are fast gaining momentum. Since the new formats are more efficient, accurate and convenient, they are being widely used by consumers. As a result, India Post’s balance sheet is screaming red. The organisation’s deficit in 2004-05 was Rs 1,475 crore, up 8 percent from the previous year. Snail mail has taken the biggest hit. According to Department of Post (DoP) officials, the mail traffic at India Post has fallen by close to 40 percent over the past decade.
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