India Post parcel revenue soars 37% in 2014 as ecommerce booms

The parcel business, in deep contrast, recorded a 2% decline in 2013 - 2014, an official of the Communications and IT Ministry said, livemint.com reports. With a decreasing letter or document traffic, the department is focusing on the fast-growing parcel segment, and various measures have been taken to modernise the department under the Digital India initiative.

As part of initiatives to leverage the ecommerce sector, the department has forged tie ups with online marketplaces like Snapdeal, Amazon, Paytm and Yepme for parcel delivery and has also set up modernised 48 centres to handle the packages. An Android-based mobile app has also been launched with features like real-time tracking, post office search and postage calculator.

The ecommerce sector in India is growing at 47% CAGR and India Post is the only delivery agency with a pan-India reach, the official said. The official said in its endeavour to help bridge the digital divide, the Department has taken an initiative to bring the rural artisans into ecommerce mainstream through a public private partnership.

According to an official in Communications and IT Ministry, cited by the source, as part of the Digital India initiative, various measures have been taken to modernise the Postal Department. Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier said that India Post was best suited to offer delivery services to e-commerce firms.

The Minister had suggested that India Post should strive to become the largest player in the ecommerce segment. The Postal Department has 1,54,882 post offices, of which 1,39,182 are in rural areas. The department employs around 4,60,000 personnel and handles close to six billion mail pieces yearly.