By Apurva Bhatt

Soon your postman will come home and collect your post. By the end of this year, heading to the post office will be a thing of the past. Moreover, India Post will keep you updated by SMS and email about the movement of your letters and parcels until the time of delivery.

"Tata Consultancy Services is working on the software so that people can get better information about their articles booked with us," said Ashok Kumar Dash, chief post master general of Maharashtra and Goa. "By year end we should roll out the facility," added Dash.

There will be an online booking service for parcel pick-ups. A handheld device will be used to book such articles at the customer's doorstep.

Senders of letters or parcels will also get an update by SMS once their posted article reaches its destination. By contrast, currently people have to track their articles online by keying in consignment numbers.

Even those sending parcels and letters in bulk will get benefits. "Those who do bulk booking will get an email detailing the status of all articles booked. Depending upon the need of the business firm they can update their internal software about when the article was delivered," said Dash.

This pilot project is likely to begin in Pune from September onwards. By December other major post offices will be covered, including Mumbai, Goa and Aurangabad.

These measures are part of India Post's modernisation programme. India Post is trying to keep pace with private competitors, as internet and email have considerably reduced the demand for postal services.