DIGIPIN: Self-Financing Model for India Post

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar on Monday asked the Department of Posts to explore the transition of digital address system DIGIPIN to an enterprise self-financing model to curb losses.

The Minister of State for Telecommunications also asked DoP officials to ensure that the DIGIPIN initiative aligns with broader goals of Digital India, postal reform, and citizen-centric governance.

The minister, in a post on social media platform X, said, "Chaired a meeting on DIGIPIN, India's open-source, geocoded addressing system, focused on enabling seamless service delivery while safeguarding data privacy."

The review meeting held by Pemmasani coincides with the completion of one year of his taking charge as the minister.

The postal department has developed the DIGIPIN (Digital Postal Index Number) as an open-source, interoperable, geo-coded, grid-based digital address system in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and NRSC, ISRO.

The postal department had announced the launch of 'Know Your DIGIPIN' and 'Know Your PIN Code' on May 27 in alignment with the National Geospatial Policy 2022, which envisions the development of an advanced geospatial infrastructure to support digital governance and public service delivery.

The minister asked Department of Posts (DoP) officials to ensure that the DIGIPIN initiative aligns with broader goals of Digital India, postal reform, and citizen-centric governance.

"Discussions included transitioning to an enterprise self-financing model to prevent revenue loss, ensuring faster, safer and more reliable mail delivery, and shaping a strengthened digital infrastructure," Pemmasani said.

The DIGIPIN initiative aims to simplify location mapping, enhance logistics and emergency response, and ensure last-mile delivery, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Through the 'Know Your PIN Code' service, the Department of Post aims to modernise and refine its geographic accuracy of the six-digit PIN Code system, which was introduced in 1972 and has been serving as the backbone of India's postal delivery.