Changing the way the postman knocks – Analysis of the New Post Office Bill (2023) | 15 September 2023 | UPSC Daily Editorial Analysis

What's the article about?

• It talks about the new Post Office Bill (2023), introduced in the Rajya Sabha to replace the Indian Post Office Act (1898).

Relevance:

• GS2: Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency and Accountability, E-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; Citizens Charters, Transparency & Accountability and institutional and other measures
• Prelims

Context:

• The new Post Office Bill (2023) has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha to replace the Indian Post Office Act (1898).
• The changing role of post offices, where its “network has become a vehicle for delivery of a variety of citizen-centric services”, has necessitated the need for a new bill.

Analysis:

• Expansion of Services:
  • The 1898 Act had focused only on mail services, but the new Bill authorizes the Director General of Postal Services to make regulations related to activities necessary for providing various other services as the central government may prescribe.
  • This provision gives the postal department the requisite flexibility in deciding the prices of its services in a fiercely competitive industry and helps in responding quickly to market demands.
• Interception and Detention:
  • The new Bill authorizes the central government to intercept, open, or detain any item in the course of transmission by the Post Office in the interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency, or public safety or upon the occurrence of any contravention of any of the provisions of this Act.
  • This provision will arrest possibilities of smuggling and unlawful transmission of drugs and other contraband goods through postal parcels. However, there is no similar legislation for courier firms.
• Futuristic Postal Delivery:
  • The new Bill provides the central government “standards for addressing on the items, address identifiers and usage of post codes”.
  • This provision will have a far-reaching impact as the physical address may be replaced by a digital code using geo-spatial coordinates to identify a specific premise.
  • Digital addressing may ease the process of sorting and facilitate accurate delivery of mails and parcels.
  • This provision may even facilitate the delivery of parcels by drone, as is being experimented in some countries.
• Exclusive Privilege:
  • The most important aspect of the Bill is to drop the hitherto existing provision in clause 4 of the 1898 Act: “Central Government shall have the exclusive privilege of conveying by post, from one place to another, all letters … and shall also have the exclusive privilege of performing all the incidental services of receiving, collecting, sending, despatching and delivering all letters….”
  • This provision lost its relevance ever since couriers were allowed to operate in India since the 1980s.
  • Doing away with the provision of “exclusive privilege” by the central government in the new Post Office Bill is a step in the right direction and an acknowledgement of the reality.

Way Forward:

• The new Post Office Bill (2023) is a significant step towards modernizing the postal services in India. The expansion of services, interception and detention, futuristic postal delivery, and dropping the provision of “exclusive privilege” are some of the key features of the Bill.
• However, the effectiveness of the provision to intercept, open or detain any item in the course of postal transmission on the grounds of national security and public service has its limitations.