Track Your Mail Via SMS

The Indian Government seems to be taking to technology pretty quickly. We’ve covered some of the initiatives to incorporate current easy-to-access technology like email and SMS to further their outreach to people before. Now, email’s predecessor, the humble post will undergo changes.

General Manager Business Development and Marketing Directorate Department of Posts, Alok Sharma, speaking to the Hindustan Times said, “Since Oct.10 last year we started electronic transmission of money orders by communicating the information of the money received through computers thus doing away with physical transit of forms and making delivery much faster. We could track the delivery of the electronic money order on our website – www.indiapost.gov.in by providing a unique PNR number. The customer could also do so by accessing the website and providing the PNR number. Now we can track it by sending an SMS to 55352.”

The service is being offered at over 7,000 post office across the country. At the same rates, and with the ease of access of sms, this facility will surely be useful. Speed post is fast facing competition with the private sector of courier services.

An 18 digit PNR number is provided to the customer which needs to be smsed which will return the status of the delivery. The service is available across all networks and service providers and may be accessed by typing MO <space> eMO PNR No for Electronic Money Orders and SP <space> Speed Post Number for speed posts.

In early April, we’ve written about IRCTC and how it was revolutionising E-commerce in India. A look at Alexa’s top websites in India lets you see that IRCTC is in the Top 20, showing the  predominance of the web effect. The Web has also been effective is helping with the RTI Act and recently, Voter’s ID. What else can the Internet, SMS and other technology be leveraged to help with? Talking specifically of Government Services? Hopefully, they’ll get creative.