Indian Post may soon get banking license from the Government. The idea to incorporate the postal service of India into a full fledged bank is part of the multi faceted strategy of the government to attain total financial inclusion.

RBI is soon expected to come out with draft guidelines for granting bank licenses to other institutions.

"India Post is a strong contender for banking license given its spread across the country," said a finance ministry official.

The department already has many banking facilities incorporated in its modus operandi like savings products, postal life insurance, pension payments and money transfer services. Also it bears the strength of a large branch network of 1.55 lakh.

"Once the infrastructure in place, we will able to assess if we need to rope in another player or not and accordingly get clearances from the RBI," said an official with the Department of Post.

The idea of incorporating Indian Post into banks for enhancing the speed of financial inclusion was discussed recently at the inter-ministerial committee for financial inclusion.

"India Post, with its ubiquitous reach should actively position itself to offer a low-cost, light-weight bank account to anyone enrolling for a Unique Identity Number," the committee recommended.