It's not the same post office any more

From buying Nokia cell phones to electronic money transfers and even receiving prasad from a far-off temple. You could do all this and more at your neighbourhood post office.

Surprised? Don't be. The good old post office has undergone a makeover. It is no longer a place where bored clerks sell postal stationary, book parcels and money orders.

The post offices have reinvented themselves and offer a host of services to keep the postal department's deficit under check.

With stiff competition from the new-age communication modes like telecommunications and e-mail, India Post has been forced to come out with innovative offerings targeted at corporate and the retail consumers.

In states like Maharashtra, the department of posts has tied up with Nokia to offer sales and service facilities within the post offices. Cellular service providers like Airtel and Hutch are now partnering with India Post to sell pre-paid mobile cards.

"Our prasad booking service has been popular, where we deliver the prasad through speed post," said an India Post official.

With its 1.55 lakh-strong nationwide network and locational advantage, India Post has lured corporates to use the post offices to show case their products. Recently, the department was approached by Emami Group to market its products.

"We are ready for partnerships that will contribute to our revenue," said an official.

As regards its core business, the department has initiated new services like e-post and business post. The e-post service allows people to send letters to any part of the country via electronic mail for just Rs 10 a page.

"This service addresses the digital divide. There are about 650 e-post centres across the country where letters are scanned and sent via Internet," said an official.

Services like business post and media post for corporates have proved to be popular. Under the business post service, India Post performs all functions on behalf of companies in sending communiqués. The media post service allows corporates to get their brands promoted through various offerings of India Post.

Electronic money transfer is another area in which the department is playing a major role. The alliance with Western Union has proved profitable and postal department currently accounted for 20 per cent of the international agency's business in the region. Even banks like UTI were using the postal network for money transfer.

Premium products contributed Rs 747.25 crore to the India Post revenues in 2003-04, with the business post service contributing the lion's share at Rs 365.11 crore.

Image makeover

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• India Post is offering innovative services tailored for corporate and retail consumers
• Services include facilities for electronic money transfer and e-post services, and business post and media post services for corporates
• In Maharashtra, the postal department has tied up with Nokia to offer sales and service facilities within the post offices
• Cellular service providers are partnering with India Post to sell pre-paid mobile cards at post offices