NewDelhi, 23 December (H.S.): The year 2025 marked a transformative chapter for the Department of Posts, positioning it as a pivotal hub for passport services, Aadhaar updates, export facilitation, financial services, and digital innovations across India.

From January to November, the department operated 452 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras nationwide, processing over 29 lakh passport applications—including 1.54 lakh Police Clearance Certificates—and generating revenue exceeding ₹114 crore.

In partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, it expanded services to remote areas like Araku in Andhra Pradesh, Tiruppur and Pollachi in Tamil Nadu, Bakra and Rajnagar in Bihar, Kalpetta in Kerala, Khargone, Bhind, and Mandla in Madhya Pradesh, and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, elevating the total centers to 452.

Plans are underway to establish one such center per Lok Sabha constituency to streamline passport issuance for citizens.The department managed 13,352 Aadhaar centers countrywide, completing over 2.35 crore enrollments and updates from January to November, yielding ₹129 crore in revenue.

Mobile and laptop Aadhaar kits extended services to remote villages, with 1,552 school camps organized during National Postal Week in October—facilitating 4,335 new enrollments and 35,606 biometric updates for children aged 5 and 15.

Notably, India's highest Aadhaar center opened in Siachen, alongside 110 centers in army areas, simplifying updates for names, addresses, mobile numbers, fingerprints, and retina scans.

During the nationwide 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign from August 1 to 15, the department distributed over 28.13 lakh national flags, available at post offices and via the ePost Office portal. Postal staff conducted village rallies, morning processions, door-to-door distributions, bike rallies, and school activities where children crafted rakhis and letters.

Through 1,013 Dak Ghar Export Centers spanning 762 districts—including 122 in the Northeast—the department enabled artisans, weavers, women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, and MSMEs to export directly abroad without intermediaries.

This facilitated 12.31 lakh shipments valued at approximately ₹287 crore throughout the year.

A major innovation, the 10-character geocode-based Digital Address System (DigiPIN), developed with ISRO and IIT Hyderabad, earned a Special Mention Award for innovation at the Asian Pacific Postal Union Forum in Bangkok.

Launched in March 2025 with a web app in May, it uniquely identifies every 4x4 meter area, aiding e-commerce, government schemes, and emergency services.In financial services, the department mandated doorstep KYC by postmen for mutual fund investors, forging agreements with UTI, SUUTI, Nippon India, SBI Funds, and AMFI in July—covering all 50 mutual fund companies.By November, over 5 lakh KYC processes were completed, with post offices soon to sell mutual funds and boost rural investment awareness.

A September pact with BSNL will introduce SIM sales and recharges nationwide following a successful Assam pilot.Internationally, integrating UPI with the Universal Postal Union simplified foreign remittances; the department hosted the Asia Pacific Postal Leaders Forum in Jaipur in March, attended by 28 nations, and signed a tracked packet service deal with Russia Post in December.

It released 42 commemorative stamps honoring RSS's centenary, Kodaikanal Observatory's 125 years, Sikkim's 50 years as a state, Vande Mataram's 150 years, Chenab Rail Bridge, and MS Swaminathan, plus 47 personalized 'My Stamp' sheets. A UN 80th anniversary stamp design contest drew 7.4 lakh child participants.

Additional achievements included verifying 1.69 lakh units under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, installing over 1,000 upgraded ATMs, launching an e-KYC drive in January that opened over 1 lakh accounts with 24 lakh transactions, and partnering with TRAI in December for a rural mobile connectivity survey covering 6.5 lakh villages via the Dak Sevak app.

The department will also verify MSME registrations and informal micro-enterprises to ensure subsidies and loans reach genuine entrepreneurs.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar