World’s largest postal service India post is going to launch its own e-commerce portal like Amazon, eBay and others. This step is part of its massive IT based modernization initiative worth Rs 5,000 crore, reports the Economic Times.

"At planning and designing phase now, the final rollover of the dedicated postal e-commerce portal may take another 6 months. But we are excited about this new avatar in our service basket," John Samuel, member of Postal Services Board told the Economic Times.

According to the report, the portal will be a conduit between buyers and sellers, but it is not going to be entirely open for any item to be traded by anyone. Rather a moderated and scrutinized list will be followed.

The portal will focus on emphasizing on local specialties like Tea from Darjeeling, Mango from Malda in West Bengal or Saffron from Kashmir, among others. Samuel also added that India Post is tying up with different controlling authorities like Spices Board, Tea Board, or cashew Board to ensure 'quality trading of quality items only.'

In addition to the physical products, services of different public sector are also going to be offered via its new e-commerce portal.

"Wide and fast growing coverage of Internet through computer and mobile phones are bringing more and more people from even remote corners to the doorsteps of e-commerce. There lies our new opportunity. Moreover delivery of the items is a major issue for all e-commerce authorities. Here also India posts excel’s with its 1.5 lakh establishments and time tested connectivity network," Samuel told the Economic Times.