In a move that will give courier service providers legal recognition, the government will soon start registering these entities, as under the present rules and regulations, they are not allowed to do business.

"We are suggesting registration, not licencing," Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal told reporters after a Round Table on National Postal Policy organised by industry chamber FICCI.

The Indian Post Office Act, 1898, which at present governs the postal sector, forbids carrying personal letters for the sake of profit or any rewards.

He said that government has no intention to licence the courier industry and will only register them to know the size and status of the industry.

"We do feel that registration of those who provide courier service is important, because we get to know then who are the players in the market and how many of them are there in a particular segment of the company," Sibal said.

The minister said dialogue has just started with the industry and there is a need to transform the postal department in tune with the changing nature of services.

"The nature of postal services has changed because the nature of services has changed. It is necessary for us to recognise the change and then to have a new policy framework, not only to participate in the change, but to take the Postal Department to new heights," Sibal said.

Meanwhile, the industry has demanded the separation of various functions of the Department of Post (DoP) during discussions with the minister.

"FICCI expects that in this view, the department as a whole cannot act as policymaker, regulator and service provider in unison," FICCI Additional Director Rajpal Singh said.

"It is expected that all the three arms within the same department, i.e. policymaking, regulation and service provider, need to be separated to ensure a level playing field, quality of services and proper responsibility and accountability," he elaborated.

The minister said the government is taking the views of the industry at present and the course of action will be decided later.

In the meantime, the DoP has started inviting comments from the public for formulation of a National Postal Policy.