From Letters to Doorstep Services: Nepal’s Postal Service Expands into SIM, Certificate, and Health Deliveries

Kathmandu. Postal services have existed for centuries and continue to evolve alongside changing public needs, according to the Director General of the Department of Postal Services, Manmaya Bhattarai Pangeni. While the traditional exchange of letters has declined with the rise of digital communication, she says the postal network remains one of the state's most extensive and accessible public service mechanisms.

Speaking about the evolution of Nepal's postal system, Pangeni said its roots date back to the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, when communication relied on handwritten letters carried through the postal network. During periods such as World War II, letters served as the only reliable link connecting families separated by conflict and migration. She noted that folk songs by singer Jhalak Man Gandarbha, including "Aama Le Sodhlin Khai Chhora Bhanlin...", reflected the emotional value of letters, which carried news, hope, grief, and personal connections.

Pangeni also highlighted a lesser-known historical role of Nepal's postal service. Besides delivering correspondence, postal workers were involved in transporting Jumla's historic Marsi rice to Kathmandu while simultaneously testing the travel time and route between the two locations. According to her, rulers in Kathmandu would order letters to be taken and Marsi rice to be brought from Jumla, enabling authorities to measure the duration and efficiency of the route while helping establish Marsi rice as one of Nepal's distinctive agricultural products.

She said Nepal later became a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Asia-Pacific Postal Union (APPU), marking the beginning of the modernization of the country's postal services. However, technological advancements and the rapid expansion of digital communication significantly reduced the volume of traditional letters, creating the public perception that postal services had lost their relevance.

According to Pangeni, administrative restructuring further weakened the institution. When postal services were merged into the general administrative system, experienced personnel left, institutional memory declined, and frequent staff turnover affected the department's ability to preserve its expertise in postal operations and international services.

Despite those challenges, Pangeni said growing public demand for reliable and accessible government services has restored the importance of the postal network. As one of the few government mechanisms with a physical presence across the country, the postal service has expanded its role beyond traditional mail delivery.

She said Nepal's postal service currently operates through three primary services: Letter Post, Parcel Service, and Express Mail Service (EMS), both domestically and internationally.

Recalling the department's earlier role, Pangeni said postal workers once primarily delivered legal notices, bank loan reminders, court summons, and other official documents that often caused anxiety among recipients. Since postal correspondence carried legal recognition, people in rural areas frequently associated postal deliveries with bad news and would run away.

After assuming leadership of the department, Pangeni said she wanted postal workers to deliver not only official notices but also services that directly benefited citizens. In line with the government's reform agenda, the department introduced home delivery of passports for the first time.

She said officials at the Department of Passports were initially skeptical about the proposal, questioning whether the postal service could securely deliver passports and integrate delivery records into the department's digital system. To address those concerns, the postal department developed a simple physical and digital process that allows applicants to choose postal delivery by ticking an option while applying for their passports.

According to Pangeni, the service has reduced both travel costs and hardship for thousands of citizens. Through technical coordination with the Department of Passports and transport offices in all 77 districts, the postal service has also begun delivering driver's licenses from seven districts to district headquarters and directly to citizens' homes.

So far, the department has safely transported more than 250,000 passports and over 800,000 driver's licenses to districts, while more than 7,000 passports have been delivered directly to citizens' doorsteps.

Pangeni cited Kalikot as an example of the service's impact. Previously, residents from the remote villages had to walk for several days to reach the district headquarters, spending thousands of rupees on transportation, accommodation, and food to collect their passports. Under the new system, passports can now be delivered to remote villages through the postal service for a minimum postal charge of Rs 55, depending on weight.

Citizens who wish to receive their passports directly at home can also opt for a doorstep delivery service by paying an additional Rs 55. Pangeni said postal employees continue delivering documents even during heavy rainfall, travelling through difficult terrain to reach recipients. She added that the positive response from citizens has reinforced the department's commitment to expanding public services.

Highlighting the postal network's reach, Pangeni described it as a nationwide chain connecting east to west and north to south. She said no government agency or private company has established a physical and human network as extensive as the postal service, with offices and personnel stationed in remote areas including Khangsar in Manang, Kimathanka, Humla, and Hilsa on the Nepal-Tibet border.

Explaining how the logistics system functions, Pangeni said mail dispatched from Kathmandu first reaches the transit hub in Muglin, Chitwan. From there, vehicles travelling to destinations such as Pokhara, Syangja, and Tehrathum transport mail designated for their respective regions, with each transit point handing over consignments to the next until they reach their final destination.

She said the department has recently completed a major route optimization initiative. Previously, mail travelling between provinces often had to pass through multiple provincial routes, taking 13 to 14 days to arrive. The revised routing system has introduced shorter, more direct transport links, reducing delivery times to two to three days in many cases.

Pangeni also said the department has upgraded Nepal's traditional five-digit postal code system to a seven-digit postal code aligned with the federal structure. While the previous system identified locations only up to the municipal level, the new coding system extends to the ward level. Once the department's postal software and digital infrastructure become fully operational, the seven-digit code will enable real-time tracking of mail and delivery routes, similar to ride-hailing and parcel-tracking applications.

The Department of Postal Services is now preparing to expand its role beyond the delivery of passports and driver's licenses, with plans to provide doorstep delivery of SIM cards, educational certificates, and medical laboratory samples as part of its broader modernization strategy.

Director General Manmaya Bhattarai Pangeni said the department, in coordination with Nepal Telecom, will begin delivering SIM cards to households in remote areas from July 17. She said the initiative is aimed at improving digital access for nearly 500,000 Nepalis who still lack adequate connectivity and have been unable to upgrade from 2G to 4G services.

According to Pangeni, postal employees will not only deliver SIM cards to remote settlements such as Hilsa, Manang, and Humla, but will also assist residents by activating mobile phones, installing SIM cards, completing verification procedures, and providing basic digital literacy support. She said the initiative is expected to strengthen the security of mobile banking and digital payment applications while helping bridge Nepal's digital divide.

The department is also working to expand the home delivery of educational certificates. Pangeni said an agreement has already been signed with Nepal Open University, while students of Mid-West University have already started receiving academic certificates through the postal service. She added that the department has formally recognized the university for its cooperation.

Discussions are also underway with Tribhuvan University and the National Examination Board to introduce similar services. Under the proposed system, students would be able to request postal delivery while filling out online application forms. Pangeni said the department is also prepared to process offline applications submitted through local post offices where digital services are unavailable.

Another major focus is the transportation of medical laboratory samples from remote districts.

Pangeni said the department has signed an agreement with the National Public Health Laboratory and has already begun transporting sensitive laboratory samples from 17 hospitals from all over the country, such as Surkhet, for advanced testing in Kathmandu.

Although the department currently relies on hospitals to maintain temperature-controlled packaging, samples are transported through Express Mail Service (EMS), road vehicles, and emergency flights when necessary. Pangeni said the department has proposed acquiring dedicated refrigerated vehicles to strengthen the service further, particularly for patients in remote districts where timely laboratory testing can be lifesaving.

Beyond public services, the department also aims to support rural entrepreneurs by using its nationwide network to connect locally produced goods with urban markets.

Pangeni said products such as Marsi rice from Jumla, Allo products from Bajura, medicinal herbs, and other locally produced goods could be distributed nationwide through the postal network. However, she argued that current transportation taxes on goods moving from rural areas to urban markets remain prohibitively high for small producers.

According to Pangeni, the department has submitted a proposal to the government seeking a review of existing tax rates and the integration of digital payment systems into postal services. She said the reform would reduce dependence on intermediaries while creating a direct market link between rural producers and consumers, similar to the "Postal Mart" model adopted in several developed countries.

Pangeni also emphasized that the postal service operates primarily as a public welfare institution rather than a profit-driven enterprise.

Referring to Nepal's commitment under the Universal Postal Union (UPU), she said the country has pledged to provide equal postal services to all citizens regardless of where they live. She argued that the success of services such as passport delivery should be measured by public benefit rather than financial profit.

According to the department, Nepal currently has 4,619 permanent employees under the restructured staffing system and more than 5,000 additional postal workers nationwide.

Pangeni said Nepal's international standing has also improved significantly. The country's overall UPU performance score has increased from 21 to 57, while its EMS score has reached 94. Nepal has also been nominated for the UPU Rising Star Award and received 15 scooters from the organization in recognition of improvements in service delivery.

The department has also reported significant growth in revenue. According to Pangeni, revenue generated through General Post Office increased from Rs 310 million last fiscal year to approximately Rs 522 million this year, while total departmental revenue has reached Rs 680 million.

Looking ahead, Pangeni said the department aims to fully modernize Nepal's postal service within the next five years. The plan includes deploying AI-powered chatbots for customer support and upgrading 50 post offices into smart post offices equipped with improved infrastructure and gender-inclusive facilities.

She concluded that the postal service remains a shared national institution that will continue serving citizens for generations, calling on the public to support its modernization and long-term development.

(The article is based on a conversation between TechPana and Director General of the Postal Service Department, Manmaya Bhattarai Pangeni)

पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: असार ३२, २०८३ १६:२

टिप्पणीहरू