New Delhi, May 1 (IANS): In order to improve the visibility of rural branch post offices, the government directed the Postal Department to install large signage boards for them within a span of six months, an official statement said here on Friday.

Chairing a review meeting on the issues relating to setting up of post banks, mail delivery, and e-commerce at Dak Bhawan, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also said he will pay a surprise visit to a branch post office in National Capital Region in the coming weeks.

With a vast network of post offices at its disposal, the proposed post bank should become a game-changer in Indian banking sector, the minister said.

While reviewing the performance of the department in the field of e-commerce parcel delivery, he appreciated 36 percent growth in parcel revenue in the last one year.

"The department has collected more than Rs.500 crore for COD (cash-on-delivery) articles of major e-commerce players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Yepme, Naaptol, etc., in 2014-15," the statement added.