In an era of ultra high-tech communication and one-rupee-a-minute telephone calls, resistance for phasing out outdated technology by the postal department has been intriguing. Add to it the high subsidies for a number of postal services, which have turned them major fund-guzzlers.

The Planning Commission document has been more of a revelation. It refers to an average loss in sending a telegram to be close to Rs.124. The losses in other 'poor man's services' have been preposterous. A common post card consumes about Rs.3.11. Comparative figures have been Rs..2.01 and Rs..9.48 for letter cards and registration forms respectively. The seemingly innocuous money order leads to an average loss of about Rs.12.

In an economy already overburdened by subsidies, it is perhaps the right time to take pragmatic steps for minimising these losses. Significant initiatives are also urgently required for siding with new technology for converting the mammoth losses into high profit