The internet revolution has allowed rapid exchange of communication through email. However, the internet has not reached most of...
The internet revolution has allowed rapid exchange of communication through
email. However, the internet has not reached most of the rural India and
other remote areas. To bridge this digital divide, and to bring the benefit
of the revolutionary internet technology to people living in these areas,
Department of Posts has introduced epost.
The epost was initially launched in 5 States on experimental basis. In the
wake of the experience gained, a tie up has been established with National
Informatics Centre (NIC) who have developed the software, and the service is
being launched on national basis.
epost is a service under which printed or even handwritten messages of
customers are scanned and transmitted as email through internet. At the
destination offices, these messages are printed, enveloped and delivered
through postmen like other letters at the postal addresses.
For this purpose, epost centres have been set up in the Post Offices,
covering all the districts and major towns. These epost centres are equipped
with internet connection, computers, printers and other necessary
equipment.
However, epost service is not limited to the epost centres. It can be
availed of from any Post Office. Irrespective of whether a customer is in a
metropolis or in a remote village, he can send and receive epost messages.
The messages booked at Post Offices which are not the epost centres, are
sent to epost centres for scanning and dispatch. Similarly, messages
received at epost centres for areas beyond their delivery jurisdiction are
printed and sent to concerned Post Offices for delivery.
Besides availing epost service through Post Offices, it can also be accessed
from customer’s home or office if he has a computer and internet access. The
customer can make payment through a prepaid card that is available from
selected Post Offices and other outlets. The customer has to register as a
user, and can access the service at the epost portal indiapost.nic.in and
following the instructions. At present, only text messages can be sent in
this mode.
e messages can also be sent to email ID(s) anywhere in the world. Booking
can be done from both a Post Office or from customer’s computer at home or
office.
The epost messages would be printed on A4 (8.27” x 11.69”) size paper. Therefore, the message booked should be in sheets of no more than A4 size. However, there is no limit on the number of pages that can be sent.
epost messages are treated on par with the unregistered letters under the
Indian Post Office Act, 1898.
The current rates for the epost service are Rs. 10 per page per
addressee.
With the launching of the epost by INDIA POST, email can now be sent and
received by even the people living in remote areas, even without the sender
or the addressee having access to computers or internet.
Besides making the benefits of internet available even to Indians living in
remote areas, epost enables businessmen and professionals to advertise their
products and services to select customers. They can send their publicity
material even from their or home or office from their computers, without
having to spend for printing of advertisements and then on posting or hand
delivering them.
For availing the epost service, or to have further information, customers
can approach the nearest post office or log on to indiapost.nic.in.
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