Postal dept's Postinfo, RICT services, a crowd puller

Postal dept's Postinfo, RICT services, a crowd puller

Mysuru, Jan 08, 2016, DHNS

Visitors to ‘Pride of India’, particularly students, were excited to witness a variety of initiatives and services of Postal department. Recent initiatives such as Rural Information and Communication Technology (RICT) and Postinfo, a mobile application.

H P Vinayak, a class nine student, said, he was unaware about a variety of services that the Postal department offered. “I have never visited a post office and did not know much about the facilities available. It offers a wide range of services,” he said.

Like him, a majority of the students were unaware about the services and facilities available in the department. A majority of visitors to the stall were students, with not much knowledge about the department. But, they were keen to know about it, said G Kanchana, Assistant Manager, Centre for Excellence in Postal Technology (CEPT), Mysuru.

Indian Posts, Mysuru division, has displayed a variety of services with recent upgrading. Of them, Postinfo and RICT were attracting the crowds.

With the help of Postinfo, developed by the CEPT, one can easily locate a post office, track containers and calculate insurance premium and interest provided by the department to its customers. Besides, customers can track their mail such as Speed Post, Registered Letter, Registered Parcel, Insured Parcel, Business Parcel, Express Parcel and Electronic Money Order. 

Customers need to enter the article number to get the status of the service. The app also provides the interest rate for different savings schemes like National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and others. At present 70,000 customers across the country are using the app. It can be downloaded from Google App store for free.

In a move to computerise all the post offices and to offer services at the customers’ door steps, the department has introduced the RICT. The concept offers a wide range of services and facilities, particularly for rural citizens, including financial services, and disbursement of social security schemes. 

Through the RICT, the department also aims to generate more revenue, by offering new services to rural customers like collection of electricity and telephone bills, booking of train tickets, etc. The RICT provides higher self-esteem for Gramin Dak Sevaks, says Kanchana.

Through the hand-held device, postal personnel are able to transact for core banking, insurance and mail operations at the customers’ door steps. Regional language support on the device and provision of solar panels for battery charging has made the device unique, she added.