India Posts need to offer quality services: Raja

New Delhi, Nov 27: Telecom Minister A Raja today said the country's postal administration will have to assure quality services tailor-made to the needs of the customers within and outside the country.

''There is no other alternative, Post has to be competitive, Mr Raja said.

The Minister was speaking at five day Executive Council Meeting of the Asian Pacific Postal Union here.

Minister of State for Communications Dr Shakeel Ahmad in his Presidential address said that the postal network in Asia Pacific region comprises 342,000 permanent post offices i.e. 51 per cent of the total number of Post Offices worldwide, manned by 17,15,600 postal employees which amounts to 31 per cent of worldwide postal staff.

''The anomaly in the percentage of employees to the number of Post Offices needed to be changed'' he said.

India Post is hosting the 30th Asian Pacific Postal Union, Executive Council (APPU-EC) Meeting from November 27 to December 1, 2007 here with an aim to exchange views and discuss matters of mutual interest, to strengthen co-operation amongst postal administrations and postal service providers in the Asia-Pacific region.

More than 150 foreign delegates from 29 countries are participating in the Meeting. This is the third time India Post is hosting an APPU-EC meeting. India Post earlier hosted this meeting in the years 1980 and 1992.

The APPU is an inter-governmental organization of 30 postal administrations of the countries of Asian-Pacific region founded in the year 1962. India became a member in the year 1973. APPU is affiliated to the Universal Postal Union, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

UNI