Even Maoists do not target India Post: Minister Prasad

Patting on the back of postal officials, Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that India Posts is best equipped to lead government efforts to accelerate pace of economic growth in rural India as even Maoists don’t target the postal network for the fear of losing people’s support.

“People of the country still trust the postal department. I want to tell you a very sensitive thing, there is so much of Maoist violence, but still, the attacks on post is less because they (Maoists) also know that if they try to attack it, the people will be unhappy with them,” Prasad said during the launch of e-commerce Centre at Safdarjang. The centre, which is equipped with modern technology and capable of handling 30,000 parcels per day, is conceived by Pranab Kumar, a senior official in postal department. 

Aiming to tap most of e-commerce business, the union minister suggested that India Post should strive to become the largest player in the e-commerce segment. “I want that in e-commerce, India Post should become the largest player and you have to do it. Growth in the e-commerce business has brought India posts in a very advantageous position and in the backdrop of golden past, there is no reason why it should not take lead position in this sector,” Prasad added. 

The minister advised postal officials that to achieve this target, the workforce of the department has to change and approach new challenges with a positive mind. However, Prasad assured them that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would be fully supporting their efforts to establish a new image of the department. 

“We have to change the style of functioning to compete with other players. We have to keep our offices neat and clean by participating in the Swachh Bharat Mission,” the minister said.