In the age of e-mails, the postman could be relevant
again. As part of its Digital India programme, the Narendra Modi government
plans to tie up with major e-retailers like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Myntra for
them to use the postal department's services to deliver consumer goods in
remote areas of the country.
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Ravi
Shankar Prasad is expected to meet Sachin and Binny Bansal, the founders of
e-commerce giant Flipkart soon to hold detailed discussions. He will also meet
other e-tailers.
In preliminary conversations, government sources said,
the companies have raised concerns like how the postman will be tracked
real-time - a must-have in effective e-commerce - who the single-point contact
will be and also efficiency in a department not famous for its timely delivery.
Right now, the postal department can only track a parcel
from one centre to another. The government has said it is ready to upgrade
technology at post offices, including arming postmen with mobile phones, to
address some of these concerns.
The Modi government expects its digital impetus to reach
broadband services to far-flung rural areas. The postal department's wide
network connects far-flung areas of the country. It employs more than 4.5 lakh
people.
Earlier this month Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had met
both PM Modi and Mr Prasad on his first visit to India and offered to help
connect the country's remote villages to the Internet. He said he was excited
about Mr Modi's Digital India initiative and the opportunity it offered.
In August this year, the textile ministry had announced
an agreement with Flipkart to provide an online marketing platform to handloom
weavers in the country to boost the sector and boost manufacturing in the
country.
SOURCE- ND TV
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