India Post to become real estate player? Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reveals new plan to make postal department profitable

The Department of Posts is working on a plan to turn its nationwide network of 1.6 lakh post offices into a profit-generating system by monetising its land assets and developing new business verticals, said Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told ToI in an interview.

The minister said the department is identifying prime real estate it owns across the country and preparing to lease out commercially viable parts while continuing postal operations. He also said the government is looking to redesign the department’s operations and introduce new services to make it financially sustainable over the next five years.

Post Office's prime land to be monetised

“Whether it’s telecom or department of posts, we must sweat our assets. Therefore, if you have a large piece of land, you can have the post office on the ground and build the whole building and lease out space,” Scindia said. The ministry has started compiling a list of all its properties, verifying ownership documents and identifying land parcels with commercial potential.

India Post to run like a logistics firm

The postal department has been restructured into six strategic verticals including mail, international mail, parcels, Postal Life Insurance, savings bank services, and citizen-centric services. Each vertical will operate as a separate business unit with its own profit and loss statement.

Scindia said, “We have undertaken a business process reengineering and converted the department into six verticals and four horizontals... We are looking at six strategic business units with profit and loss for each of them.”

To support the digital upgrade, a chief technology officer and deputy CTOs have been appointed. The minister expects the organisation to become a full-fledged logistics platform using its vast reach across the country.

Cost still exceeds revenue

India Post currently incurs expenses of around ₹27,000 crore while generating revenue of about ₹12,000 crore. The government expects the gap to reduce gradually through service expansion, technology upgrades, and monetisation of assets.

“We are working on IT 2.0... The restructuring and capex by govt will hopefully turn it into a profit centre in five years,” Scindia said.

Expanding into new services

The postal department is partnering with government agencies and private players to offer new services such as Aadhaar enrolment, passport facilitation, and mutual fund distribution. It is also introducing express parcel delivery and new mail products to improve efficiency and relevance.

“No one has the breadth and depth of India Post, even internationally. The point is how much can you push through this pipe and increase different products,” Scindia said.

Government investing in the North-East

Scindia also highlighted development in the North-East, calling it a major focus for the central government. He said ₹5 lakh crore is being invested in infrastructure, and private firms have pledged ₹4.2 lakh crore in commitments at the North-East Investment Summit. He noted that the Prime Minister has personally visited the region more than 70 times in the past 11 years.

India’s 5G coverage reaches 99.6% of districts

On the telecom front, the minister said India has achieved the world’s fastest 5G rollout, now covering 99.6% of districts and 82% of the population. BSNL has installed 94,500 towers and is planning to lead the global 6G rollout. Scindia also confirmed that BSNL turned profitable after 18 years, with quarterly profits in December and March, and a 55% reduction in annual losses.