India Post to start mobile money orders

Government is starting the pilot project in Bihar and Punjab which is aimed at facilitating people working in other states

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India Post under the ministry of communications and IT is expected to come up with pan-India rollout of mobile money order service. The pilot program for this project is currently under way in Bihar and Punjab.

Manjula Prasher, secretary (Posts), chairman of the postal services Board and director general, India Post, on the sidelines of National Postal Policy 2012 roundtable in New Delhi informed that they chose two states-- Bihar and Punjab-- where a lot of immigrant workers remit money to their states.

“The mobile money orders will be a good initiative to facilitate people,” she added.

The government has tied up with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for this initiative, though the service would remain operator-neutral. The individuals, who want to opt for mobile money order, need to furnish basic information to the designated post office.

The subscribers would get an SMS containing the details of remittance that would allow customers to collect cash from local post offices. The government didn’t disclose timeline for pan-India rollout, but said it’s a part of department’s modernization roadmap.

Postal Department applies to RBI for banking licence

New Delhi, Feb. 1:

The Postal Department has applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a banking licence, the Communications Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, said here on Wednesday.

Mr Sibal said he had written to the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, to expedite the granting of licence.

Speaking on the sidelines of the postal policy round table organised by FICCI, Mr Sibal said, “A national postal policy targeting expansion and modernisation of the postal network would be announced during this year. The Government does not intend to issue licences to courier service companies, but would make it mandatory for them to register.”

Aimed at modernising postal services, the policy is expected to make the department adopt a more financially viable revenue model. It would also provide affordable services at all points in the country as part of its Universal Service Obligation, the Minister said.

The Department is also expecting large-scale private sector participation in providing value added services and extending its product range beyond the current core functions.

“There are tremendous opportunities for the private corporate sector to use its ingenuity to create innovative products and delivery mechanisms through the Indian postal network,” Mr Sibal said.

India currently has 1.55 lakh post offices, 95 per cent of which are located in rural areas

Posted by: AIPEDEU,Odisha Circle