Government to turn India Post into a logistics company expecting a 60% rise in revenue

In the next three to four years, the government wants to turn India Post into a logistics company and boost the department's earnings by fifty to sixty percent, according to Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's statement.

While addressing a Public Affairs Forum of India event, the minister revealed that by next year almost 25,000 villages in the country have mobile connectivity.

"Postal department is moving leaps and bounds. Today, our turnover is close to about Rs 12,000 crore per annum. I'm looking at possibly trying to increase that by 50-60 per cent over the next 3-4 years," Scindia said.

He added that he will be considering all possible options to boost India Post's revenue and that the postal department has the ability to bring services to people's doorsteps in rural and distant locations.

"We need to transform ourselves from just a mail business and a letter business. We need to transform ourselves into a logistics company. We have got to look at route optimisation, multiple sources to be able to transport our services," Scindia said.

Regarding development in the Northeast, the minister stated that the government is making significant investments in infrastructure, including Rs 48,000 crore for the road network.

He mentioned that 6,000 villages in the Northeast and 25,000 villages nationwide still lack mobile towers.

"Through USO Fund we are trying to set up mobile networks in all the 25,000 villages by the middle of next year... after that there be not a single village left in the country without mobile connectivity," Scindia added.