A high-power committee headed by B.N. Som of the Indian Postal Department will be submitting a report to the Union Finance Ministry next week with sweeping recommendations for launching a host of financial products, including ATMs, smart cards, through which utility bill payments such as electricity and water could be made and foreign exchange transactions, insurance policies as well, through select post offices. This was disclosed by Mr Vinod Dhamija, Deputy Director General of Indian Postal Services while speaking to reporters.

9th July, 2001 is significant milestone for the Indian Posts. The Indian Posts launched a partnership with SBI Mutual Fund for distribution of mutual funds from selected Post Offices at Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai. This facility will be available at the following Post Offices in our City.

Bangalore GPO, Bangalore City HO, Basavangundi HO, Jayanagar HO, Rajajinagar HO, Indiranagar HO, Chamrajpet SO, Brigade Road PO, Residency Road PO, Science Institute PO,Vijayanagar PO, Malleshwaram PO, Basaveshwar Nagar PO and Jalahalli HO.

The alliance coming in the wake of the partnership with IDBI-Principal to market Mutual Funds, is symbolic of the significant changes taking place within the Department of Posts to diversify into the Financial Services Sector. India Post had, just a few months earlier, entered into a partnership with IDBI Principal for distribution of their mutual fund. Today IDBI Principal mutual funds are available through Post Offices on a countrywide basis. Now with the addition of SBI Mutual funds, customers of the Post Office can pick and choose their investment portfolios with the help of their friendly neighbourhood Post Office.

The Post Office has traditionally been a distributor of financial services, from money orders to banking services.The Post Office Saving Bank is the largest retail bank in the country,operating from over 1,50,000 branches. In the last financial year alone, the POSB collections stood at Rs 1,82,000 crores. Over the years the Post Office has also added to its distribution network and today, apart from its physical locations spread over the length and breadth of the country, it also boasts of a dedicated VSAT network connecting 1250 post offices via satellite.These 1250 post offices are evenly distributed throughout almost all the districts of the country.Further additions are planned in the current financial year, but already the Post Office enjoys a reach unparalleled by any other institution or bank in the country-a fact that makes it an extremely exciting distribution network.

As the scope and ambit of the financial services available from the Post Office increases, a concurrent effort is going into upgrading employee skills, so that in the near future customers can look forward to investment advice from certified financial planners! All across the world, Post Offices are evolving into multi-dimensional one stop financial institutions.The Indian Post Office is very much a part of this global trend as it harnesses its traditional expertise in money related spheres, its unparalleled reach and a strong distribution network to access a potential market that no other step in this direction.

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