Chennai :

Even as the Internet era has upset the fortunes of India Post, the postal department in the Tamil Nadu circle is trying to merge emerging technology with its ubiquitous presence in the nooks and corners of India to make inroads in e-commerce as well as financial segments.

The department, which is in the red now, is vying to establish a major presence in the e-commerce segment, Chief Postmaster General of Tamil Nadu circle T Murthy told Express. “We already have a tie-up with Amazon and an online supermarket in Chennai and are currently negotiating for a tie-up with Flipkart,” Murthy said.

“Currently we deliver around 50,000 parcels from the supermarket chain alone and 5,000 from Amazon,” said Murthy.

He says India Post’s plans to have a tie-up with Flipkart have reached an advanced stage. “We have heard reports that they are opening godowns here in Chennai,” he said.

Through the tie-up with e-commerce firms, their products will be delivered to every corner of the State as the department has a vast network that no one in India has, he said.

India has close to 10 million online shoppers and the numbers are growing at an estimated 8-10 per cent annually.

Electronics and apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales.

The postal department is also planning to have Internet connectivity in all its post offices located across Tamil Nadu. “This is likely by the end of the financial year,” said Murthy.

He says currently the Tamil Nadu circle is facing a loss of 30 per cent as its market has been eaten away due to the Internet revolution.

The postal department is planning to capitalise on its vast infrastructure by investing Rs 5,000 crore in core banking services and other financial services, he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by C. ShivaKumar / October 04th, 2014