Universal Postal Union (UPU) Report: India Leads in Leveraging Post Offices as Inclusive Digital Infrastructure (DPI)
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Ministry of Communications
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) Digital Panorama Report 2025 highlights the global postal network’s strategic potential to promote inclusive digital transformation and bridge the digital divide, especially for the 2.6 billion people who remain offline. The report emphasizes transforming the network of over 650,000 post offices—the world’s most extensive physical service network—into multi-channel digital service hubs.
Global Trends and Strategic Gaps:
Digital Service Provision: Designated Postal Operators (DOs) are rapidly diversifying: 71% offer e-commerce services, 58% offer digital financial services, and 51% offer e-government services. Nearly 34% of DOs operate as “one-stop shops” by combining these three categories.
Infrastructure Gap: A critical limitation remains: approximately 100,000 post offices globally (one in six) are unconnected to the internet, primarily in rural and developing regions where digital services are needed most.
Barriers: The most pressing global barrier is insufficient investment resources (cited by 61% of DOs), followed by competition and inadequate digital infrastructure.
The report argues that the global postal network is uniquely positioned to serve as the inclusive layer of DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure). By leveraging their trusted, extensive physical network (”phygital” infrastructure), post offices ensure that individuals lacking reliable connectivity or digital skills can still access essential services—such as identification, payments, and social benefits—in person with assistance from trained staff. Post offices are critical for for MSMEs, women, and rural communities, but service depth and diversity are still uneven across regions.
India-Specific Relevance
India is showcased as a global leader in successfully leveraging its postal network as foundational DPI:
Financial Inclusion: India Post has connected all of its over 155,000 post offices to the internet. Its subsidiary, the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), leverages this network to serve over 105 million accounts. Crucially, 77% of new accounts in 2024 were opened in rural areas, and 59% were opened by women, demonstrating successful inclusive financial outreach.
Digital Government Access: India Post operates Aadhaar updation centres through its post offices, facilitating enrollment and biometric updates for citizens, particularly those in remote areas, and acting as a physical extension for digital identity services.
E-Commerce Export: The Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra initiative facilitates cross-border e-commerce for MSMEs and artisans from rural areas, aligning the postal network with the “One District-One Product” national policy.
Policy Relevance
India’s success in achieving universal post office connectivity and strategically integrating India Post into the national DPI (Aadhaar, IPPB) serves as the primary operational blueprint for the world, proving that maintaining and strategically expanding the physical network is essential for inclusive service delivery. Policy must focus on addressing the next phase of challenges, including competition and ensuring that the workforce is trained to deliver increasingly complex digital services.
Follow the full report here: The postal sector’s role in the digital economy and digital society