India Post has opened a new Automated Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) in Delhi to upgrade its mailprocessing operations as part of its overall modernisation strategy.
Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, dedicated thecentre yesterday. “The Department of Posts has to gear up to the challenges of the 21st century ina comprehensive manner. These efforts will go a long way in making the DoP a more efficient,reliable and trustworthy organisation,” he said.
The Indian government highlighted the AMPC Delhi as an important milestone for the Department ofPosts “to provide a reliable, efficient, safe and cost effective postal service to the nation”.
Over Rs 420 million (€6 million) were invested in the so-called new generation machines at thecentre. A Letter Sorting machine (LSM) and one Mixed Mail Sorter (MMS) feature state-of-the-artOptical Character Recognition (OCR) and a Video Coding System (VCS) that can read the addresswritten on the mail pieces and sort them to the correct destination. The LSM has a sorting speed of35,000 letters per hour and MMS can process 20,000 ordinary as well as Registered and Speed Postletters, packets and small parcels per hour.
Previously, first class and speed post mail sent within Delhi was processed by over 12 smallermail sorting centres. This has now been consolidated at the new facility due to its capacity tohandle nearly 1 million items per day.
“Mail operations at the AMPC not only enhance the speed of mail processing but also lead tobetter efficiency and improved quality,” the government stressed. It is also expected to improvethe efficiency and motivation level of India Post’s staff.
Construction of the 7,000 sqm AMPC Delhi started in October 2010 and was completed exactly oneyear later with a total area of the site amounting to 10,000 sqm and nearly 500 staff working therein three shifts. In Kolkata, a similar facility is expected to be inaugurated in a few weeks.
Earlier this month, India Post selected Infosys, a global leader in consulting and technology,to upgrade financial services at the country’s 150,000 post offices under the contract worth €103million. It is part of the ‘India Post 2012’ modernisation programme to achieve transparency,agility, flexibility and scalability for the company’s operations.
