The Sunday Story The
Department of Posts is hard at work on a turnaround plan. But is the pace and
mode of change enough? Will it succeed anytime soon in re-engineering services
to become competitive and increase revenues?
India has the largest
postal network in the world. However, in recent years, growing access to
inexpensive telephone systems, and options such as e-mail, have reduced popular
dependence on the system — and sent the Department of Posts into the red.
Total volumes, both
domestic and international, of letters in physical form and parcels, have grown
manifold. But much of it has gone to private operators. The DoP’s market share
has fallen significantly.
Ranging from exploiting the
vast potential of the post office network in rural areas to using information
technology and changing the service and product profile, many measures have
been adopted to make a turnaround and to bring it out of the red. Indeed, the
results have started showing: in the last fiscal, the DoP recorded the sharpest
fall in losses in the last decade. Its revenue surged by 13.62 per cent to Rs.
7,910.51 crore, while the expenditure stood at Rs. 13,705.4 crore. Still, the
deficit was Rs. 5,794.89 crore.
The government is seeking
to achieve the turnaround through a multi-pronged approach. The seven-fold
growth in the number of post offices from 23,344 at the time of Independence to
1,54,866 (as on March 31, 2011) is proving to be an asset.
Most of these post offices,
1,39,040 of them (89.78 per cent), are in rural areas, with the remaining
15,826 in urban areas. The network is being used to increase the reach of
various social and financial schemes.
The expansion, especially
in rural areas, has also been brought about by opening part-time
extra-departmental post offices. Post offices now offer mail, retailing,
savings bank, life insurance and remittance services, in addition to delivery
of social security benefits such as pensions and wages under the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. As many as 5.59 crore MGNREGS
accounts were opened in post offices, and wages amounting to Rs. 7,860 crore
was disbursed to beneficiaries during 2011-12 through 98,491 post offices.
On an average, a post
office in India serves an area of 21.23 sq km, and a population of 7,814
people. The 5.6 lakh-strong workforce enjoys a special bond with the masses,
especially in the interiors.
Financial models are being
altered to lower operational costs. In urban areas, franchisee outlets are
being opened where it is not possible to open a regular post office.
The DoP launched Project
Arrow “to achieve a big increase in both customer satisfaction and employee
satisfaction with India Post.” The project seeks to cover 2,500 post offices by
March 2012 and 7,500 post offices during the 12th Plan period. It envisages a
pan-India network that is flexible enough to support future applications that
will ensure greater accountability and productivity through the use of technology
and improve working conditions.
The Mail Lighthouse Project
was the second major initiative to be undertaken. It seeks to optimise the mail
network. The three-year programme was launched in 2010 to optimise the postal
network from collection to delivery; standardise processes with focus on
significant quality improvement and reduction in network complexity; and to
establish a performance culture using key performance indicators and regular
reviews. It also aimed to modernise “the look and feel’’ of the postal services
and infrastructure.
To streamline its
bread-and-butter area of mail operations and improve the quality of
mail-related services, the Mail Network Optimisation Project was initiated in
March 2010. This involves the standardisation of processes and development of a
performance monitoring system.
The operational network for
Speed Post and other categories of mail has been restructured.
The DoP intends to
computerise all departmental post offices, mail offices, administrative and
other offices and establishments, under its Information Technology
Modernisation Programme. This also envisages provision of connectivity through
Rural ICT solutions to enable electronic networking of nearly 1,29,500
extra-departmental branch post offices.
With 99.26 per cent of the
25,154 departmental post offices having been computerised by March 31, 2012,
the DoP is looking to capitalise on this by making post offices the focal point
of delivery of social security schemes.
Its revenue share falling
in the core area of mail distribution due to the proliferation of courier
companies that took away a large part of the business, and the arrival of
cheaper and faster communication options of phones and e-mails that have
reduced dependence on paper-based communication, the DoP has also taken to the
use of technology to face the challenges.
Telecom Minister Kapil
Sibal wants the DoP to address the twin challenges of technological
modernisation and diversification. He also observed that while GIS mapping,
tracking of mails, automation of sorting services and standardisation of
parcels is being worked upon, there is a need to re-engineer the postal service
to keep it competitive and increase its sources of revenues. The DoP is using
technology to reach out to people, Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for
Information and Communications, asserts.
The DoP’s road map for the
12th Plan period indicates that the transformation process for making India
Post a pivotal player in the area of communications, logistic and governance has
started. But the challenge is to make the best of the enviable network of post
offices that has been built up and utilise the personnel who know their turf
well and who often have a special bond with the people they serve.
But it is bound to be a
long haul, and the challenges before the government are quite steep.
No comments:
Post a Comment