India post offices looking to sell books

In an effort to increase services and boost revenues, India Post is planning to sell books at post offices.

Zeeshan Shaikh of the Hindustan Times reports, "You could soon pick up the latest Robert Ludlum bestseller or a copy of the latest exploits of boy-wizard Harry Potter at your city’s head post office."

Shaikh quotes Postmaster General (Foreign Post and Marketing) Col KC Mishra as saying, “In today’s competitive environment, it is important to provide utility services to customers."

"Many publishers do not have access to markets in the hinterland. We will provide them that access,” Mishra said.

India Post is looking for tie-ups with all major publishing houses and would get a commission on every book sold.

However, customers are sceptical according to Shaikh.

According to Wikipedia.org, the Indian Postal Service, with 154,000 post offices, is the most widely distributed post office system in the world (China is next, with 57,000).

To read the entire article, click here.