COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Communication 10.1 Efficient and well developed communication system has become synonymous with modernity and economic growth. For developing coun- tries like India, it is one of the critical inputs which would deter- mine the pace of socio-economic transformation of society. Telecommu- nication and Posts are the two main constituents of any modern commu- nication system.
Posts 10.2 India has the largest number of post offices in the world. In 1989, the latest year for which comparable data are available, there were 1.45 lakh post offices in the country, which was way ahead of USA (40,031), China (50,811) and France (17,099), South Korea (3,125) - to name a few. The numbers themselves do not convey much. They have to be seen n juxtaposition to the service they render. An average India post office serves an area of 22 sq km and 5,450 inhabitants, compared to 5079 sq km and 15,830 persons in Saudi Arabia, 1,746 sq km and 3,555 persons in Australia, 1,275 sq km and 49,099 persons in Ireq, 229 sq km and 6172 persons in USA, 188 sq km and 21, 883 persons in china and 62 sq km and 8056 persons in Pakistan.
10.3 Not only is the postal network well spreed out, the delivery system also compares favourably with other countries. India is among the few countries where all mail, irrespective of nature and destina- tion, is delivered at home. Singapore, Hong King, France and South Korea are some others. This is not so even in USA, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The burden cast by this service on the postal system can best be judged articles, which was lower than only USA (1597 billion), Japan (200 billion) and France (190 billion). In fact, most Asian countries other than Japan, did not have even half of the volume of traffic compared to India.
10.4 Postal saving splay pivotal role in the national resource mobili- sation effort. It is one of the biggest savings institution in the country operating 9.43 crore accounts and the single largest contribu- tor to national savings, accounting for 43.7% of gross domestic sav- ings (1989-90). It is also the most important means of mobilising household savings especially in the rural areas as it accounts for about 53% of household savings. During the Seventh Plan, postal sav- ings increased by 96%, from Rs. 21,430 crore in 1985-86 to Rs. 41,900 crore in 1989-90.
10.5 The main area where considerable qualitative improvement in the Indian postal system is called for the bring it at per with interna- tional standard is in mechanised handling of mails, productivity and speed. Even leaving aside advanced countries like USA, Australia and Japan who, for obvious reasons, have a highly mechanised system, in these aspects India does not compare favourably even the developing countries like Egypt, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Achievements of the Seventh Plan 10.6 The number of post offices in the country rose from a mare 22,116 in 1947 to 1,47,236 at the end of the Seventh Plan. The rapid growth is the result of a conscious decision at the start of planned develop- ment, to spread the postal network widely in character with the social responsibility of the postal sector. Despite emphasis on size, both in terms of extent of the network and the volume of mail handled, the Indian postal system has been maintaining a high degree of customer satisfaction and integrity of the system. The number of complaints received normally has been as low as 0.004% of the total traffic handled. More important than this ratio is the fact that there has been a secular decline during the Seventh Plan in the number of com- plaints received. From 8,17,000 in 1985-86 it came down to 7,12,000 in 1987-88 and further to 7,10,000 in 1989-90.
10.7 Integrity of the system can also be measured in terms of loss and fraud cases registered. Apart from a fall in the number of such cases received over the years including the Seventh Plan period, the abso- lute number has remained extremely low. The total registered mail handled in 1984-85 was 304 million and the number of loss and
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fraud cases registered was a mere 508. In 1989-90 the corresponding figures were 291 million and 149 respectively.
10.8 The volume of mail handled by the postal system increased rapidly in the Seventh Plan period. Between 1985 and 1990 the total mail traffic grew at an impressive rate of 26 percent. More than 90% of this traffic consisted of unregistered mail. Apart from mail, the system also undertakes transfer of money through money orders. Howev- er, over the years, there has been a gradual decline in the number of money orders issued, though the average value of the money orders has been rising by about 8% annually. This is largely due to the growth of rural banking network which provides an alternative and quick mode of transfer of money.
10.9 Having achieved a fair degree of spatial spread of the network the need for modernising the system became imperative at the end of the Sixth Plan. The Seventh Plan marked a watershed in this regard. The scheme of Panchayat Dak Sewak was introduced during this Plan to improve the rural postal network. It involved the village panchayats in collection and distribution of mails though the progress was not up to expectation. The Plan also saw introduction of Speed Post Service to compete with the private courier service and also to provide a comparatively faster and assured service to those who can afford. Modernisation of postal system makes it necessary to take recourse to mechanical aids to manage the ever growing volume of traffic. During the Seventh Plan a beginning was made in this direction by introduc- tion of elementary aids like multi purpose counter machines, bag deducting equipment, digital weighing machines etc. Simultaneously, a project for installation of integrated mail sorting system at Bombay was undertaken, but the scheme did not make much headway during the Seventh Plan. Computerisation of postal system was also introduced on a modest scale in this period.
10.10 The Seventh Plan performance is not a success story in some other respects. There were shortfalls in several significant areas. Only 4,003 new post offices could be opened against the target of 6,000. Similarly, the achievement in installation of letter boxes was 39%, in construction of postal buildings 38% and in construction of staff quarters only 62%. The main reasons for shortfall in the achievement of physical targets were ban on the creation of posts, non availability of inputs and raw materials and other logistic and in- frastructural constraints like scattered locations of buildings and non-execution of works by agencies entrusted with the job. These shortfalls led to substantial under utilisation (nearly 22%) of annual allocations.
10.11 In the early stage of its development postal service was con- ceived as a public utility' which met all expenditure from its own receipts. After independence, there was a change in the character of the service with the social aspect receiving considerable emphasis. In fact, the country's postal service has come to be viewed essentially as a social service. So much so, to the common man the post office is synonymous with (a) the presence of the Government and (b) the care and concern that the Government has for him. Consequently, strict commercial viability norms have not been followed and the system is now operating on a deficit. Though in absolute terms the deficit had increased to more than Rs. 1003 crore by the end of the Seventh Plan, the growth rate of net deficit which was 101% between 1980-81 and 1985-86, was brought down considerably to 60% during the period 1985- 96 to 1989-90.
10.12 In the Seventh Plan, Science & Technology activities were relat- ed mainly to equipment modernisation than research. Efforts were made to develop a prototype of the electronic weighing scale. PC-based multipurpose weighing machines were introduced on an experimental basis. Automatic sorting has been introduced in association with the Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC). Development of lighter syn- thetic material, consisting of jute and high density polythene for making mail bags, and the development of necessary hardware and soft- ware for the electronic mail were the other important Research & Development activities.
Eighth Plan 10.13 The principal objective in the Eighth Plan would be to transform the postal system into a modern one with necessary technological inputs. New services based on modern technology will be introduced. The recommendations made by the Expert Committee on Excellence in Postal Services would provide the basic framework of modernisation effort during the Eighth Plan. Emphasis will also be laid on upgrading estates management and expansion of postal network to rural areas not yet having postal facilities.
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10.14 The main schemes of the Plan would be :-
i) Opening of 500 new urban post offices and 3000 rural post offices;
ii)Installation of 10,000 multi purpose counter machines;
iii) Introduction of mechanised sorting machines in three more metro- politan centers in addition to commissioning of the machines at Bom- bay;
iv) Speeding up transmission of money orders in 75 centers through satellite link;
v) Computerisation of administrative offices and savings bank opera- tions in major post offices for providing better services to the customers;
vi) Modernisation of Postal Stores Depots/Regional Forms Depot;
vii) Construction of postal buildings and staff quarters and strength- ening of Speed Post service;
10.15 The Eighth Plan outlay for Posts is Rs. 325 crore. The scheme- wise break up of the approved outlay is presented in Annexure-10.1.
Problems & Strategy 10.16 A time has come when the mounting deficit of the postal system has to be addressed. The social character of the service should not be taken to be an open ended commitment to bear heavy deficits. Other than additional resource mobilisation, methods have to be devised to reduce deficits, contain working expenses and improve cost recovery. Since the volume of traffic handled is increasing steadily, better productivity is an answer to the mounting working expenses of which establishment alone accounts for more than 80 percent. So far, commer- cial considerations have received less importance in establishment of new post offices. Hence any village which has a population of at least 3000 and does not have a post office within a radius of 3 Km, quali- fies for one. In the case of hilly terrain, tribal and inaccessible areas, the population as well as distance criteria are relaxed. The post offices are expected to earn the minimum revenue of 33.33% of the cost in normal areas and 15% of the cost in hilly, tribal and inacces- sible areas. Thus while opening new post offices, the norms themselves build a deficit into the system and need to be reworked. Moreover, to limit the burgeoning establishment expenses, manpower for the new post offices should be found by redeployment of the existing staff or in the alternative, these may be opened only on an agency or contract basis.
10.17 The deficit is also attributable to the subsidized rates for a large number of postal articles and services. Low postal rates has starved the system of resources for development and has, thereby, led to deterioration in the quality of service and failure to introduce new services for which effective demand exists. The element of subsidy has to be rationalised and properly targeted so as not to cause a burden to the postal system. Closer attention also needs to be paid to proper remuneration for all functions performed by the postal system as an agent of the Government, such as small savings, postal savings bank and pension payment to railway pensioners. The strategy during the Eighth Plan will, therefore, be to bring about qualitative im- provement through appropriate technology application as well as better generation of resources and further lowering of deficit through im- proved productivity and rationalized postal tariffs.
10.18 Science & Technology efforts in the postal sector have been confined largely to the random supply of functional mechanical aids for more 30 years. These efforts will be pursued to increase the productivity of its employees by upgrading their skills and addition more premium services to meet the communication needs. The Science & Technology initiatives proposed include introduction of automation in mail handling, PC - based counter machines, electronic mail service using telecommunication network, computerisation of Postal Life Insur- ance, Saving bank, accounting and money order pairing work, installa- tion of beg de-dusting machines, improvement in the quality of produc- tion of metallic stamps and the use of polymer stamps for counter transaction. Benefits from these measures would reach all sections of the people in the country.
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Telecommunications 10.19 A well functioning telecommunication network is an essential component of economic infrastructure. The application of modern tele- communications technology can raise productivity and efficiency in all sectors, apart from contributing to improving the quality of life.
10.20 Although in the past Seven Plans telecommunication has made rapid striders in the country both in quantity and quality, its growth in India compared to the developments in the world telecommunication can at best be termed modest. At the end of 1988, the latest year for which comparable data are available, India was among the large number of Asian and African counties which had a telephone density of less than one for every hundred inhabitants. Obviously, comparisons with the highly advanced countries of North America and Western Europe, which have telephone density of 45 to 50 for ever hundred inhabitants, is not proper. However, even by the standard of many developing coun- tries, India is far behind is providing telephones to the population. The telephone density in the country at 0.52 per hundred, is less than that in China (0.78), Iran (3.43), Brazil (5.5), Egypt (5.1), Philip- pines (1.01), Malaysia (7.37), Pakistan (0.7), Singapore (35.42) or Thailand (1.84).
10.21 The above comparison is not intended to underplay the growth of telephone connections which the country has achieved during the last decade. Between 1.1.79 and 1.1.89, the average annual growth rate of direct exchange lines (DEIs) in the world was 5%, in America 3.5%, in Europe 5.7% and in Asia 6.2%. In this period, India averaged a growth rate of 8.4% annually, which was higher than Hong Kong, Iran, Isreal, Japan and the Philippines and only marginally lower than China, Kuwait and Singapore. At the same time, the registered demand has grown much faster at the rate of about 12 percent. Consequently, the waiting list at the end of 1990-91 has more than doubled since the beginning of the Seventh Plan (Figure-1). The telecommunication sector has perhaps, the highest proportion of unfulfilled demand among all service sectors.
10.22 Large population and the huge size of the country has adversely effected the telephone density in India in spite the fact that the telephone network has recorded a considerable growth in the last decade. In 1989, India ranked 19th among the 66 nations in terms of the size of the network. Predictably, countries like the USA, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy were ahead of India, but other advanced countries like Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Belgium, had smaller telecommunication networks.
10.23 Though the relative share of telecommunication services has increased in the successive Plans (Figure -2), the share of this investment in the gross investment on telecommunication services was 2.5% of the CDP on an average. At this level, India ranked third from the bottom in a list of forty five countries, while the Republic of Korea headed the list with the corresponding figure of 13.2 percent. However, one positive feature is that the low level of investment was not accompanied by less intensive utilisation of the assets created by the investment. This is borne out by the high traffic density wit- nessed in the country. In 1988, the total number of local calls was 19,334 millions. It was way ahead of the traffic density registered in Australia, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Israel, Saudi Arabia and several other developed and developing countries.
Seventh Plan Review 10.24 Originally, the Seventh Plan outlay for the telecommunication sector was Rs. 4530 crore, of which, Rs. 4010 crore was for the tele- communication services. Later, the outlay for the telecommunication services was raised on the condition that additional resources are mobilised. Consequently, the outlays in the successive Annual Plans on telecommunication services were continually revised upwards and at the end of the Seventh Plan, the approved allocation for the Plan period stood at Rs. 7135.42 crore, while the actual expenditure touched Rs. 8122.41 crore. Nearly 70% of the additional expenditure was financed by generating more internal resources.
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10.25 The Seventh Plan of the Department of Telecommunications was principally aimed at reducing the long waiting period for a telephone connection. Therefore, almost 60% of the investment on the telecom services was incurred on providing additional switching capacity in the local telephone system, though originally only 42% of the total outlay was contemplated to be spent as such. Consequently, 16.98 lakh direct exchange lines (DELs) were provided during the Plan against a target of 16 lakh lines. The waiting list, however, did not come down and actually increased from 8.43 lakhs to 12.87 lakhs. Targets were achieved in most of the other components excepts in the trunk automat- ic exchange capacity, telex capacity and optical fiber cables, where substantial shortfalls occurred.
10.26 In rural communications, about 2,500 exchanges were added with a local switching capacity of 0.84 lakh lines and 0.63 lakh of direct exchange lines. About 9.200 new Long Distance Public Telephones (LDPTs) were installed bringing the total number of LDPTs to 31,000. Around 5,000 new telegraph offices were also opened. Thus, by the end of the Seventh Plan, the country had 11,000 rural exchanges and 37,000 telegraph offices.
10.27 The principal physical targets and the corresponding achieve- ments during the Seventh Plan are given in Annexure-10.2.
10.28 Introduction of new technologies like the digital switching systems, digital microwave, coaxial and optical fibre system in the long distance transmission, multi access rural radio system in the rural network etc., are important accomplishments of the Seventh Plan. Further, digitalisation increased from 3% to 18% in the local switch- ing, from nil to 38% in the long distance switching, from 1% to 11% in the long distance transmission and from 30% to 39% in the telex. In the area of non voice services, a three Node Packet Switched Data Network (PSDN) was introduced on an experimental basis. Modern tech- nology also helped to extend the improved telecommunication services to rural, remote and backward areas. Against the six countries avail- able on the international subscriber dialing network at the beginning of the Seventh Plan, 178 countries were added by the end of the Plan. Of the 447 district headquarters in the country, 380 were put on the subscriber trunk dialing network.
10.29 During the Seventh Plan, the major thrust areas of Research & Development in the telecommunication sector were digital radio and line system, advanced switching system, large scale introduction of fibre optic technology, networks management system, development of CAD tools and data moderns besides development of transmission equipment for railways and steel plants. The Centre for Development of Telemat- ics (C-DOT) was set up in August, 1984 to develop a state-of-art digital switching system, suitable for Indian environment and with a capability of introduction in future of an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDM). Based on indigenous technology, the Centre successful- ly produced 128 port EPABX (Electronic Private Automatic Exchange) and RAX (Rural Automatic Exchange). The production of the same by a large number of licenses has already started. Another major achievement of the Centre was the completion of the design of larger capacity ex- changes. The prototype developed have been put on field trial.