Bangalore: India Post is going high-tech, in a limited way to start with.

Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka, Meera Datta launched here on Friday the instant money order service called iMO. The money order you send will reach the other party within half an hour.

You need to go to any of the three designated post offices in Bangalore: the GPO, head post offices in Rajajinagar or Jayanagar and fill up a form with details and addresses. Sums between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 50,000 can be sent, and the charges range from Rs. 150 to Rs. 330.

After collecting the cash, the post office issues you a unique 16 digit iMO number known only to you.

There are also 16 standardised messages than can sent with the money.

At the other end, the recipient can furnish identification and collect the money either at his house or from a designated post office after filling up a form. From Bangalore, the iMO service is initially available to Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Patna and Jaipur. Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Devaki Muthukrishnan, who facilitated the first iMO to Chennai by a customer, said the Postal Department had made money transfers more secure now.

To make money transactions more transparent and also quicker more people should opt for Electronic Clearance Service, she suggested. The department has also offered colourful parcel boxes in two sizes (25 x 16 cm costing Rs. 17 and 15 x 12 cm costing Rs. 10) for those who need to send small parcels without the hassle of having to pack them.

"We wanted to ready for the New Year but were let down by the supplier," Ms. Datta said. The parcel boxes are expected to be useful to many during festivals.

Children's policy

The other new service launched is a children's policy under postal life insurance, available to parents under the age of 45 and for children aged from 5 to 20 years.

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