Rediffmail Money rediffGURUS BusinessEmail

Postal department to apply for bank licence: official

June 27, 2013
By Devidutta Tripathy

The government's postal department will apply for a licence to enter mainstream banking, a communications ministry official said on Thursday, the latest to join a host of companies vying for the permits.

The Reserve Bank of India, in an effort to improve access to banking services, issued guidelines in February allowing any type of company

to set up a bank. The deadline for submitting applications is July 1.

The postal department, part of the ministry of communications and information technology, has a network of more than 150,000 post offices across the country, with close to 90 percent of those located in rural areas.

Indian post offices already offer savings schemes and sell insurance and mutual funds. The department has long been mulling over whether it should enter the banking services sector.

Devidutta Tripathy in New Delhi
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2025 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

More News Coverage

Reserve Bank of India postal department

RELATED STORIES

WEB STORIES

Kohli Kissed, Rohit Hugged It

11 Recipes That Say Holi Hai!

Submitting Fake Rent Receipts To Reduce Tax? DON'T

VIDEOS

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email