'Dak Sewa is Jan Sewa': Scindia says Dept of Posts to soon go digital

New Delhi: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said the Department of Posts is going through a business process restructuring exercise to transition to a digital platform as he asserted that Dak Sewa is Jan Sewa (postal service is public service).

Speaking on the occasion of the 50th Foundation Day of Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service, the minister said the shift is particularly relevant in the context of e-commerce growth, positioning the department to lead in this emerging business avenue.

"Our department is going to go digital. Our department is going through a business process restructuring exercise, where we will transform ourselves in the days to come into a logistics corporation, where we must become the leaders in the world, with a new business avenue that is growing in terms of e-commerce," he said.

He noted that the Department of Posts today is the largest distribution network across the world, with 1,64,000 post offices.

"We serve the common man...Not only officers sitting in Dak Bhawan, but my grameen (rural) Dak Sewak ... who on the field goes from house to house...he is the epitome of the slogans -- Dak Sewa is a Jan Sewa," he said.

The digital transformation aligns with India's broader goals of bridging the digital divide and enhancing access to information for all citizens, he said.

India has made remarkable strides in telecommunications, achieving a penetration rate exceeding 86 per cent, the minister said, adding that innovation, inclusivity, and security should be taken as guiding principles for future developments.

The minister further spoke on the transformative journey of the telecommunications sector over the past 50 years and acknowledged the critical contributions of various stakeholders..

"We were dependent fully on foreign technology. We were limited to the landline phones...we were used to manual switching systems, and mobile technology was a very, very distant dream, and in that environment, it is this cadre (IP&TAFS) that has formed the very backbone of our telecom sector,strengthening us financially and empowering us to look at new fields of development," he said.

It will be a quantum leap for the country as it moves from terrestrial networks to non-terrestrial networks, he added.

He said the country has experienced remarkable growth in internet and broadband subscriptions over the past decade.

"10 years ago, we had 250 million internet subscribers. Today, we have 954 million internet subscribers. Every single person in this country would only consume 1 GB of data. Today, the average GB of data consumed is 20 GB. Broadband subscribers have increased from 60 million to 924 million." "India followed the world in 4G, it marched with the world in 5G, and it will lead the world in 6G," Scindia reiterated his statement.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was also present at the occasion.