The Cat is out of bag. Whether the political and social activists like it or not, liberalisation of economy and trade along with globalisation have become a buzzword in the world of today. You cannot reverse the inevitable process.



Whether these are attempts by European countries to thwart away the efforts of the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal to acquire a loss-making steel unit in Luxemburg or the case of the Indian state to throttle booming courier services in India, the status quoists are persistently refusing to learn and amend themselves accordingly.



India in South East Asia has the biggest network of post offices in a country in the world. It has more than 56,000 post offices, a matter of envy for the developed countries. In the far-flung areas of India, persons manning the post offices’ branch or a field man, the postman, becomes a sort of lifeline for the residents. The postman is the guide, advisor and mentor of those villagers, steeped in abject poverty. In such a network, sluggish approach is bound to enter and no wonder, with the passage of time, the institution of post offices in India has become a monolith.



Less than two decades ago, private courier services emerged on the scene, catering to the need of the trade. In the beginning their activities were restricted from one point to the other. A few big courier companies charged prohibitive charges, much costlier than the state post offices. Within few years more localised courier companies entered the market snatching business from the Indian Post, the state run postal services.



Till three decades ago, the postal delivery in urban areas used to be made thrice a day. With the increase in postal items, the period was reduced to two and then to one and in some areas, the postman distributes the postal items on alternate days. An ordinary letter by the state run postal service often takes more than two days to reach the destination even though the delivery destination is not more than 50 kms.



The state run postal department too introduced its own courier service named SPEEDPOST. It failed grandly and gravely as it turned out to be the modified version of the registered mail. When major business was taken over by the courier services who provided dependable and timely services, the bureaucrats manning the postal services rose from their slumber and as per the practice of the bureaucrats proposed a number of restrictions on the courier services. Such restrictions included a clause that a private courier company cannot book a letter weighing less than 300 grams.



Perhaps these bureaucrats forget that the law should meant to smooth the working not to make it cumbersome. The private courier company will find ways to circumvent the proposed curbs on their business.