Tag: India

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) products at post offices

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

After selling agarbattis, post offices will now sell Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) products. One can purchase a BSNL recharge coupon or a top-up card at any of the post offices in the State.

The Department of Posts had entered into an agreement with the BSNL for sale of the latter’s products through post offices in Andhra Pradesh.

Disclosing this at a press conference on Tuesday, Vijayawada region’s Post Master General (PMG) B.V. Sudhakur said that the strong network of post offices in the State would be of help to the BSNL to serve its customers better.

BSNL customers would be able to purchase prepaid connections, postpaid connections, broadband connections, Sancharnet cards and India Telephone Cards at all post offices.

Mr. Sudhakur said the department was also planning to set up retail book marts at post offices in the State. This would enable the students to purchase books at a discounted price. ‘We hope that the retail book mart will bring good revenues to the department,’ he said.

The PMG said a state-level philatelic exhibition would be held at Sri Sitarama Kalyana Mandapam of Port Trust in Visakhapatnam from October 31 to November 2. Nearly 500 philately frames would be arranged in the exhibition and allotted to philatelists. Visakhapatnam region’s Assistant Director K. Vara Prasada Rao could be contacted over phone on number 0891-2544933 for further information on the exhibition.

Mr. Sudhakur said mechanised delivery through Mail Business Centres (MBCs) was introduced with a view to delivering the mails at the earliest. In the new system, mails would be delivered to the addressees from MBCs located at Vijayawada, Guntur, Ongole and Khammam. The MBCs were main hubs of activity at the Rail Mail Service (RMS), he said. Director of Postal Services J.T. Venkateswarlu was also present.

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UPS faces protective challenges with India

Posted by | Jul 22, 2007 | |

India’s postal service wants to rein in international express couriers doing business in India, in what many here see as a backward step in the liberalization of the country’s economy.
A recent proposal to be reviewed by Parliament gives the postal service exclusive rights for express delivery of letters weighing up to 300 grams within the country, virtually shielding the government agency from competition.
The proposal also blocks foreign ownership of express couriers operating in India and requires large private courier services to fork over 10 percent of their profits to a fund that helps the government improve its delivery service to the country’s rural areas.
For now, UPS is hoping its retail stores bring more brand-name recognition in a country where many people still go to streetside letter-wallahs who type up their correspondence on manual typewriters.
Already, international express carriers are part of a new trade route as millions of Indian expatriates living in the U.S. and Canada use companies like UPS to send an endless stream of birthday and wedding gifts, as well as the latest technological gadgets that might be hard to find in India. In return, Indian families here send their relatives abroad hard-to-find Indian spices, textiles and other gifts from the homeland, turning international companies like UPS into the modern-day equivalent of ancient trade routes. The UPS Store chain offers packaging and express shipping, as well as digital printing, office supplies and ticketing services for Jet Airways, one of India’s largest airlines.

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Hutch enters into collaboration with Indian postal services

Posted by | Jul 21, 2007 | |

India’s leading telecom service provider Hutch and the Indian Postal services today announced a unique public-private partnership in an endeavor to promote telecom services among the masses.

”Under this partnership subscribers can now submit their Hutch bills at their nearest post office. The payment has to be made through cash. Subscriber will receive an electronic receipt after transaction. Service will be available at 255 locations in Gujarat with the first phase covering 135 locations,” Hutch’s Gujarat senior vice president (sales and marketing) Mr Balesh Sharma told reporters here.

The company has been exploring innovative options to make bill payment a simple process. Mr Sharma said and stressed that accessibility of services is the key to customer satisfaction.

”Through this latest service initiative, Hutch subscribers can conveniently pay their bills by cash at the nearest post office,” Mr Sharma said.

The service is completely automated and will be available across 255 locations in various districts of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Gandhidham, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat and Vapi.

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Postal bill not to deliver FDI cut to couriers

Posted by | Jul 17, 2007 | |

Much to the relief of multinational courier giants interested in India, the controversial plan to restrict foreign direct investment (FDI) in courier services has been quietly put on the backburner. Following change of guard at the telecom ministry, the draft Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill of 2006 –– which contained provisions to curtail FDI in courier and express cargo services to 49 pct –– has gone into cold storage, according to senior government officials.

The move comes as a shot in the arm for major players like Federal Express, TNT and DHL Express with substantial interest in India. Other foreign investors in the sector include UPS which runs a joint venture with Jetair and Temasek which recently picked up stake in First Flight.

FDI in courier services now stands at 100 pct and companies engaged in the business were apprehensive of the postal department’s proposal. The draft bill was posted for comments when Mr Dayanidhi Maran was communications & IT minister. After Mr Raja took over the portfolio recently following a rift within DMK’s first family, not much has been heard about the bill. Officials say that current indications are that FDI ceiling for the sector would not be rolled back.

The feeling within the government is that it is not desirable to disturb a sector which has been attracting FDI in a big way. DHL recently took over Blue Dart which Fedex bought Prakash Air Frieght. Marking the first private equity (PE) investment in the sector, Temasek recently picked up stake in First Flight while TNT bought Speedage.

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Postal financial services are developing at a rapid rate

Posted by | Jul 16, 2007 | |

The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised agency of the UN, plays a crucial and often under-appreciated role in international movement of mail by co-ordinating postal services between member countries.
Today, the UPU’s 191 member countries plus post offices make up the largest physical distribution network in the world, accounting for billions of letters and packages processed every year.

With the mandate of promoting universal postal service, development and technical co-operation, it acts as an international forum and sets technical standards for effective postal operations and interconnecting the global postal network.

Speaking to Business Line in an e-mailed interview, Mr Edouard Dayan, Director-General of UPU, dwelt on issues and challenges before the agency.

Public-private partnerships can be very beneficial for postal operators, but they must determine the need according to their own domestic strategies. Some postal operators are also partnering with private postal operators that have traditionally been considered competition, which is why these days many postal executives talk about “co-opetition.”

In the area of money transfers, the UPU is helping member countries make the transition from the traditional paper money order, a service created by it in the late 19th century, to electronic money transfer.

Through its own international financial network, the UPU is facilitating the exchange of electronic money transfers in many member countries, thus providing greater access to such affordable services to migrant workers and other citizens.

India is actually one of the latest large countries to adopt the UPU’s International Financial System, developed by its Postal Technology Centre, which facilitates money transfer exchanges for many migrants working in India to support their families in another country.

Postal financial services, for example, are developing at a rapid rate, and in some countries revenues from this segment of activity account for more than 50 per cent of total postal revenues. The growth of e-commerce and the parcel volumes thus generated are also opportunities to consider.

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