PTI 

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Conscious of the waning popularity of snail mails in the age of e-mails, the postal department now plans to perk up its service with "perfumed stamps".

The first ever perfumed postage stamps in India, having the "unmistakable fragrance of sandalwood", are in the offing.

"As sandalwood is an integral part of Indian heritage, which needs to be treasured and conserved, the Department of Posts is issuing a perfumed postage stamp to commemorate this national treasure," the department said in a release here.

The Rs 15 perfumed stamps will be formally released by Minister of Communications and Information Technology
Dayanidhi Maran on December 13.

The stamps, measuring 29 by 39 mm, would be printed at the government security press at Nasik. The department claims its fragrance would last for over a year.

India will become the fourth country after New Zealand, Thailand and Switzerland to issue perfumed stamps.

The postal department has brought out more than 1,200 stamps since independence and a record 57 stamps have been released this year on a wide range of themes like the lakes of India, endangered birds and so on.