Mark that special occasion with your own postage stamp

NEW DELHI: Don’t be surprised if you receive a wedding invitation card that bears photographs of the bride-to-be or groom on the postage stamp. Or one with the photograph of a child celebrating her birthday, or a grandfather his centenary.

The Department of Posts (doP) has decided to woo a larger audience, including tourists, with philately — a collection of customised postage stamps. You will be able to order customised postal stamps to mark a special occasion.

What’s more, instead of buying a postcard in Agra with the photograph of the Taj Mahal, you can now get a customised postal stamp of you posing beside the Taj.

A collection of 12 such stamps will cost you around ₹300.

The department is betting big on philately for revenue growth. Sample this. China earned ₹9,000 crore from philately in the last fiscal year (2015-16), while India generated a small ₹40 crore. For 2016-17, the department has set a target of ₹150 crore.

“This is one area we will focus on and want to go very big. We hope to generate a sizeable revenue from this initiative during the current fiscal year,” SK Sinha, secretary, DoP, told HT.

However, the stamps will be available for a limited period of time. “To maintain their uniqueness and add to the value, these stamps will be collectors items,” Sinha said.

The department is also planning to launch a limited collection of postal stamps to mark specific occasions, including Independence Day, Republic Day or others.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 20 stamps on Surya Namaskara to mark the International Yoga Day. Their sale has fetched the DoP around ₹5 lakh.