Unique digital address for every home in India

NEW DELHI: After 53 years since the Department of Posts adopted the IN CODE system, a path-breaking digital initiative has been launched by the department with an aim to further reduce emergency response time and ensure better citizen-centric delivery of public and private services.

The Department of Posts has recently launched a digital addressing system based on geographical data. This marks a major upgrade over the present pin code system which is area-specific, as it would be unique for each residence or office.

“The National Addressing Grid or Digital Postal Index Number (DIGIPIN) will speed up service delivery and emergency response,” said a senior official in the department.

It has been developed in collaboration with the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad and NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre).

The DIGIPIN is a 12-digit alphanumeric code. “In a nutshell, it is a democratisation of the address system with each individual having a unique one. This is an open-source, geo-coded, grid-based digital address system,” the official said, adding, “We are in the initial stages. As it progresses and becomes popular in future, one can just provide their name and house number with the DIGIPIN and everything could be delivered smoothly.”

The new address system uses the latitude and longitude coordinates to fetch a unique DIGIPIN of a certain place and simplifies location mapping, the official added.

It was in 1972 that the postal department adopted the PIN CODE system, which serves as the backbone of the Indian postal service. The novel digital initiative marks a modernisation of the address system.

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