With an eye on furthering sales of collectible stamps to boost revenues, India Post is betting on a ‘catch them young’ strategy to inculcate an interest about philately among school children.
Department of Posts Secretary S.K. Sinha has written to the secretary of Department of School Education and Literacy in the Ministry of Human Resources Development S.C. Khuntia, seeking inclusion of a chapter on philately in textbooks of children studying in Class V, VI, or VII. “We are trying to publicise stamp collection among the younger citizens, as today’s generation has lost touch with this hobby. We have written to the Ministry of Human Resource Development to include a chapter on philately and the technicalities of stamp collection,” Mr. Sinha said.
India Post is eyeing a jump of about Rs. 100 crore in turnover from the philately segment to Rs. 141 crore in the current fiscal over 2015-16.
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“We are focusing on philately to increase our revenues and have been making consistent efforts towards this,” he added.
Besides, India Post expects its customised stamp service ‘My Stamp’ – a personalised postage stamp, to contribute about 40 per cent of this revenue.
‘My Stamp’ for businessADVERTISEMENT
With ‘My Stamp’ an individual or a corporate firm can get their photo of their choice or their logo printed on the stamp.
Individuals can order a minimum of one sheet of pre-printed stamps (with 12 stamps in it, costing about Rs 300), however, a corporate firm will need to order a minimum of 5,000 sheets costing Rs 12 lakh as the stamps are specifically designed for them.
Till now, India Post has issued customised ‘My Stamp’ for Amazon India and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
It has received various proposals from various entities, such as from Western Union, SNDT Women’s University, and Allahabad High Court.
The department is also looking at pushing sales through its online platform and mobile application called ePostOffice.