India 's Postal Network represents the country's largest and most wide-spread public distribution infrastructure with over 154,000 branches (of which 116,000 are in rural areas). India Post handles over 16 billion mail items and 110 million money orders per year and administers over 114 million postal savings accounts. It is possible to conceive of many new roles that this vast and credible public infrastructure can perform in the Indian economy. This Report was jointly commissioned by India Post, The World Bank and IIEF in 2001 and examines the potential applications of India 's postal network in delivering financial services and information, e-governance, e-commerce and other services. This report encapsulates the ideas proposed by domestic and global experts in this area.