Postmen using their own 2-wheeler to deliver parcels likely to be paid rental

New Delhi: In a major move aimed at tapping lion's share of the e-commerce business, the India Post is working on a model to allow postmen to use their own two-wheelers for the delivery of those parcels that cannot be delivered on a bicycle and the department would pay a rental for the vehicle.

The objective behind the move is to address the major challenge that the postal department is facing in delivery of parcels in remote locations, particularly in rural areas and that is why the postal department is 'hesitant' in inking deal with e-commerce conglomerates, including Amazon, Flipkart, etc, for the delivery of parcels in rural areas.

While explaining about the proposed model, a senior official, who is associated with parcel division, said, "Procuring two-wheeler would be a very costly affair for the department at this point of time, so we are working on rent and pay model. It would be economically viable also as two-wheelers can be used to deliver bulk parcels."

"Given that India Post is a trusted and has a huge human resource in every city, panchayat, several e-commerce giants have shown their interest in partnering with postal department for delivery of parcels in both urban and rural areas. We are working on the finalisation of rentals for the vehicles and other modalities so that orders of people living in rural areas can also be delivered," the official said, on the sidelines of an event organised to mark World Postal Day.

Earlier, while addressing reporters Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said, "We will be setting up a new parcel directorate in the department to focus on the parcel business. The directorate will have an aim to increase the parcel business from current 3 per cent to 10 per cent in the next two years."

Sinha further said that the World Post Day is remarkable this year as the India Post office has leveraged its unmatched reach and trust to take digital banking and government services to the doorstep of every citizen.

On the India Post Payment Bank, the minister said, "Prior to the launch of the IPPB, there were less than 50,000 banks in rural India, but after the launch of the IPPB, 1.30 lakh new banks would be opened in extreme rural areas by December 2018."