Punjab postal circle posts good results

CHANDIGARH: India Post has travelledmiles from khaki-clad postman and his bagful of letters to providing a one-stopbusiness solution for the corporates.To generate additional revenuestreams, the Punjab postal circle had ventured into retail business services twoyears ago. Today, it figures among the top five circles having generated largerevenue in business post services.In fact, major corporates likeBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Reliance, Airtel, UTI, LIC Mutual Fund, PunjabState Electricity Board, ICICI Bank and many other satisfied customers featurein the list, which is increasing by the day.Says L K Puri, chiefpostmaster general (Punjab), "we have been successful due to our aggressivemarketing policy. In fact, credit for the achievement goes the marketing team of30 executives who look after retail sales only."Being nascent, thisservice in Punjab registered only Rs 1.64 lakh in 2002-03, but it grew by leapsand bounds in 2003-04 with Rs 324.25 lakh.Meanwhile Gujarat,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh occupy the top three positions recording impressivegrowth."Except for a few all-India projects, all others are left forthe local regions to tap. Our team came out with flying colours, while othercircles are yet to tap this potential market," remarks Puri.Some ofthe highlights include: Reliance and Connect last year approached the circle foraddress verification. In the two months campaign, a sum of Rs 3 per customer wascharged amounting to additional revenue of about Rs 33,000.TheRegistrar General of India (New Delhi) carried out a survey about the basicinfrastructure and amenities available in villages with population of more than5,000. For this survey, the circle charged Rs 800 pervillage.Similarly, BSNL customers can pay their mobile and landlinebills at various post offices. The revenue collected from BSNL alone amounts toRs 53,000 per month. Likewise Connect has signed up the postal circle till 2005in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar for cheque payment.Punjab StateElectricity Board and UT Chandigarh''s water and electricity department haveentered into similar agreements.Recently, Reliance Infocomm hasapproached the Punjab circle for bill post mail service which is expected togenerate a revenue of Rs 4.5 lakh per month.Now with huge revenueflowing in from the corporates, the circle is poised for a major leap.