The Union government will invest Rs.4,909 crore to modernise all post offices in the country, Chief Postmaster General, Kerala Circle, Sobha Koshy has said.
At a biennial meeting of the Bharatiya Postal Accounts Offices Employees Association here on Sunday, she said under the modernisation plan, all post offices would be computerised and networked to provide facilities similar to the core banking system. In addition to electronically networking the post offices, customers would be given access to the Internet, ATMs, and kiosks. Urging the staff to gear up to the challenges, especially in the wake of competition by private players, she said the Centre expected the employees to roll up their sleeves to make its services profitable. “The Centre has made a decision to invest at a time when the department is facing huge revenue deficit. This shows the government’s trust in the department. You need to accept the change and then master it,” she said. Stating that the year 2013 would be crucial, she said apart from the modernisation plan, the Centre’s decision to implement the Direct Cash Transfer scheme would be a new challenge to the organisation.
