Ahmedabad: The long-standing concern about whether unaccountable mail sent through post offices has reached its destination will now be a thing of the past. Now, unaccountable mail can be tracked online. To facilitate this, unaccountable mail will be affixed with barcodes, enabling digital monitoring of its movement, said Krishna Kumar Yadav, Postmaster General, North Gujarat Region, Ahmedabad.

Postmaster General Krishna Kumar Yadav said that the Department of Posts has taken a significant step towards the modernization of postal services and the enhancement of operational efficiency by implementing the barcode-based induction and invoicing facility for unaccountable mail in the Advanced Postal Technology (APT) 2.0 application. Unaccountable mail constitutes the largest share of the Department’s annual mail traffic. With an annual volume of approximately 90 crore articles, it forms the backbone of Universal Postal Services. This category includes letters, newspapers, magazines, government communications, and other similar mail. Until now, these mails did not have any digital record, making individual tracking impossible. Their annual volume was estimated on the basis of manual counts conducted for limited periods twice a year. This process was not only time-consuming but also often fell short of providing fully accurate data. As a result, the Department faced challenges in obtaining reliable statistics required for operational planning, resource management, and service improvement.

Yadav further added that, to address this need, the Department of Posts has introduced barcode-based induction of every unaccountable mail in the APT 2.0 application. Further, each unaccountable mail received at the destination delivery post office will be delivered by the postman using the Dak Sewa App. As a result, the entire delivery process of unaccountable mail will be managed digitally. This system will provide accurate, real-time records of the volume of unaccountable mail and enable more effective monitoring of mail flow across the postal network.

Under the new system, bulk mailers are also being encouraged to print the barcode series allotted by the Department of Posts directly on unaccountable mail or affix pre-printed barcodes before presenting the mail for booking. In addition, they are advised to provide booking data in Microsoft Excel format to facilitate faster, error-free, and seamless induction of unaccountable mail. This will make the processing of mail quicker, more organized, and more transparent, while also promoting greater automation in postal operations.

Yadav said that the barcode-based induction and invoicing system will enhance transparency and accountability in postal operations while ensuring digital monitoring of the movement of unaccountable mail. The data generated through this system will enable better planning and deployment of resources and manpower, thereby boosting operational efficiency. It will also enhance service quality and customer satisfaction by providing reliable data for future policy formulation, operational planning, and process improvements. Furthermore, this initiative will accelerate the Department of Posts’ modernization and digital transformation efforts, contributing significantly to the development of a more efficient, transparent, and technology-driven postal service across the country. DeshGujarat