Business hours of counter services 24/7 in Post offices and Mail Offices across the country

3T 4G/DAKAR (5th VR Chair)

Vivek Kumar Daksh

Dy Director General (PO)

DO No:- PO-11/1/2025-Postal Operation-DOP

Malam/Sir,

This is regarding extension of business hours of counter services in Post offices and Mail Offices across the country, with the objective of improving customer convenience and customer satisfaction.

2. Presently, based on the business hours, Post Offices are placed in 3 categories - Morning to Afternoon Operations, Morning to Evening Operations and 24x7 Operations.

3. As you are aware, there has been a notable shift in the social and business environment, with a growing segment of the population now working beyond conventional hours. Therefore, the availability of postal services beyond standard working hours has become essential. During a recent review meeting, the Hon’ble Minister of Communications emphasized the need to realign our service delivery framework to meet these emerging demands and ensure customer satisfaction. It was directed that actionable solutions be devised and implemented in a time-bound manner.

4. In this context, reports were collated from Circles about the existing number of Offices working in the above three categories (Annexure-I). This list needs to be checked by Circles to ensure correctness of the details mentioned therein. From analysis of this data it is also observed that 85.36% of the offices are currently operating only during morning to afternoon hours, i.e., up to 1700 hours. This limited window of service does not align with the evolving expectations of customers in an increasingly digital and 24x7 economy. Therefore, there is a compelling need to consider the extension of business hours to ensure greater accessibility, enhance customer convenience, and improve service delivery. This is especially relevant for working professionals, small businesses, and digital economy stakeholders who require postal and financial services beyond conventional timings.

5. Accordingly, Circles/Regions are requested to identify suitable Post Offices/Mail Offices specially in Metro cities, MSME-e-Commerce clusters, District Headquarters, Suburban and Semi-Urban Growth Corridors, Post Offices Co-located with Business Development or Parcel Hubs or NSH where counter business hours may be extended.

6. The implementation plan, along with the timelines, is outlined below. The detailed strategy on the matter is attached as Annexure-II:

Action Item	Timeline
Identification of suitable offices	18.07.2025 to 26.07.2025
Planning & resource allocation (manpower, stakeholder consultation, mail arrangements)	27.07.2025 to 10.08.2025
Implementation (issuance of orders & public communication)	11.08.2025 to 16.08.2025
Review	40 days after implementation. (25.09.2025)

7. The competent authority has directed that the above timelines be strictly adhered to, and weekly progress updates may be shared with this Division for monitoring. Link for updating the data will be shared subsequently.

This issues with the approval of the Secretary (Posts).

Your sincerely,

(Vivek Kr. Daksh)

To,

All CPMsG

Copy to:

All RPMsG.

ANNEXURE - II

Action Plan with detailed strategy.

Phase 1: Assessment and Identification (18.07.2025 to 26.07.2025)

Demand Analysis:

• Analyze past 6–12 months of transactional data.
• Identify booking patterns and customer footfall trends.
• Consider e-commerce presence and local activity.
• Identify suitable post offices in Metro cities, MSME, e-Commerce clusters, District Headquarters, Suburban and Semi-Urban Growth Corridors, Post Offices Colocated with Business Development or Parcel Hubs or NSH hubs.

Office Shortlisting:

• Metro/Tier-I city POs.
• Parcel hubs & e-commerce-linked offices.
• Tourist and industrial belt offices.

Phase 2: Planning and Resource Allocation (27.07.2025 to 10.08.2025)

Manpower Planning & Stakeholder consultation

• Shift-based deployment & flexi-hour rosters to manage staff
• staff reallocation
• GDS utilisation

Mail arrangement

• Route optimization
• Due mail/ Sorting list modification

Accounting of transaction

Finalize Business Hours :

• Extension +1 or +2 hours daily/weekend booking
• Location-wise allocation to meet 24*7 hours

Phase 3: Implementation (11.08.2025 to 16.08.2025)

Issuance of Orders:

• Circles/Regions to issue office-specific orders as per Regulation No:4(2) of Post office Regulations, 2024 to extend the business hours.
• Awareness among Staff

Public Communication:

• Display boards, social media, press releases
• SMS/email alerts to customers

Phase 4: Review

Performance Monitoring:

• Daily booking/revenue tracking in extended hours.
• Weekly reporting to Circle HQs.

Mid-Term Review (after 20 days of implementation):

• Evaluate success, identify gaps, adjust hours.

Feedback Collection:

• Customer and staff feedback mechanism.

Phase 5: Consolidation and Way Forward

• Circle-wise evaluation report (after 40 days of implementation).
• Identify and replicate best practices.

S1 No.	CIRCLES	Number of Offices with 24*7 Operations	Offices with Morning to afternoon Operations	Offices with Morning to evening Operations
1	Bihar Circle	1	1080	17
2	Punjab Circle	0	703	27
3	Odisha Circle	3	1220	20
4	Gujarat Circle	6	1185	33
5	Haryana Circle	0	507	0
6	Kerala Circle	9	1504	26
7	Tamil Nadu Circle	5	482	2088
8	Himachal Pradesh Circle	1	471	6
9	Telangana Circle	4	507	332
10	Uttarakhand Circle	3	357	38
11	Madhya Pradesh Circle	4	990	34
12	Jammu & Kashmir Circle	0	264	0
13	West Bengal Circle	13	1353	252
14	Assam Circle	6	617	3
15	Delhi Circle	5	438	23
16	Chattisgarh Circle	1	194	159
17	Karnataka Circle	2	1671	82
18	Jharkhand Circle	0	468	5
19	North East Circle	0	350	4
20	Maharashtra Circle	8	1980	236
21	Rajashtan Circle	0	1321	0
22	Uttar Pradesh Circle	16	2913	244
23	Andhra Pradesh Circle	15	1514	57
Total		102	22089	3686
Percentage		0.39	85.36	14.25