India Post equips its men with handheld devices for taking customers' signatures

Next time if your postman happens to ask you for your signature on a handheld device, don't think it's forgery. Postmen have actually been equipped with new tools to take down people's signatures and immediately upload the deliveries.

On Friday, chief postmaster general Ashok Kumar Dash announced that 'Pilot Postman Mobile Application' for real-time mail delivery has been initiated.

This move will cover speed post, registered letter, and registered parcels, among others. India Post has launched the app that will keep a tab on movement of your article to its destination.

"In Maharashtra Circle 18, postmen working at Bhandup east post office have been supplied with the smartphone loaded with Postman app, which has features of receiving the articles, obtaining e-signatures, uploading the data on the spot to the central server, etc," said Dash.

Once you 'ink' your signature on the smartphone, the details of delivery will be immediately uploaded to the central server, thereby, updating the records that the article has been delivered.

This system is similar to what's used by some of the private premium courier agencies, which update pick-up to delivery of any article on the palmtops.

The plan is to gradually increase the use of smartphones, but only after the results of the pilot project.

Meanwhile, an e-Commerce Parcel Processing Centre in Airoli is being developed on a plot of 4,000 sqmt. The complex would also house Airoli Post Office.

In Maharashtra, six locations have been identified for setting up of first year roll-out of India Post Payment Bank. This will be rolled out between January 2017 and March 2017. The six locations are Girgaum in Mumbai, Thane RS Sub-Office, Nagpur GPO, Cidco Colony in Aurangabad, Pune City Head Office and Satara Head Office.