Revenue earned by the Department of Posts (DoP) from the sale of postage and other stamps dropped by 78.66 per cent to Rs 78.25 crore in the financial year 2018-19, as compared to the previous year.
An RTI query filed by a Neemuch-based activist has revealed that new communication tools and social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram have hit traditional letter writing.
Besides ordinary postage stamps, DoP earns from sale of revenue stamps, philately (collection and study of postage stamps) and other stamps. “The sale of postage stamps contributes the most in terms of revenue," a DoP official.
Postal services has been witnessing a huge decline in the sale of postage and other stamps over the last few years.
In a bid to encourage the use of postal stamps, the DoP has been promoting 'My Stamp' initiative, which aims at providing personalised postal stamp experience.
The initiative allows one to have his photograph, logos or photo printed on the stamps after paying the prescribed fee.
While the postal department have suffered losses, a rise in online communications has enabled other government departments to save on postage.
(With inputs from PTI)