Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Sachin Pilot has released a new solar powered delivery vehicle called 'Soleckshaw' for the postal department on Friday.

Postal workers will now be able to move around to deliver the mails in a more efficient manner. The postal soleckshaw is manufactured by Kinetic Motor Company in Pune based on the technology from the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur.

The top speed of the vehicle is 30 kilometers per hour and it runs for 50 kilometers on a once time battery charge of 6 hours. It is capable of carrying 50 kg of mail. The vehicle is solar-power assisted, pedal-operated vehicle where the rider needs to exert much lesser effort to paddle. It is a zero emission vehicle as its batteries are charged by solar power at charging stations.

Initially the pilot project will be carried out in a district in Rajasthan and the department will receive feedback from the mailmen and make suggested changes to the vehicle before it available in more regions.

Mr. Pilot said, "This effort is a step towards the Government's efforts to modernize and digitize the India Post services under Project Arrow by using green and eco-friendly technology. We will first deploy this vehicle in next 15-20 days in one district on pilot basis and then based on the results we will further take the decision on expanding the service."

Kinetic's managing director Sulajja Firodia Motwani has expressed that the vehicle that costs Rs.25,000 is also useful in other sectors as the commercial delivery market can use such a bike.