People would now be able to track their snail mails through an integrated online system.

Post offices, to implement the scheme, would have pre-printed bar codes on the postal articles, including postcards and envelopes, among others. People would track their articles on the India Post website, www.indiapost.org, using the bar code number.

The Bihar circle of India Post will launch a corresponding pilot project in the state from next month.

Elucidating the system, Anil Kumar, director, business development, technology and marketing, General Post Office (GPO), Patna, told The Telegraph on Thursday: “Under this tracking system, we are going to start a pilot project of tracking ordinary mail items, wherein the postal department would paste a barcode on each bag of postal articles leaving selected post offices. The department would then track the whereabouts of the bags through an integrated online system. In the second phase, we would start supplying postal articles having pre-printed bar codes to the post offices. People would be required to use these specific purpose articles for sending ordinary mails and then track these mails on the website using the bar code numbers.”

Anil added that the Bihar circle business has increased by 23 per cent in the 2011-12 fiscal. Sources said around nine to 10 lakh postal articles are circulated every month in and out of Patna region only.