New Delhi: The Department of Posts has launched two digital platforms, ‘Know Your DIGIPIN’ and ‘Know Your PIN Code’ to enhance geolocation-based address mapping in India.
The move aims to improve precision in postal deliveries and government services, aligning with the National Geospatial Policy 2022.
The newly introduced DIGIPIN (Digital Postal Index Number) is a digital, geo-coded address format developed with support from IIT Hyderabad and NRSC (ISRO).
Unlike traditional PIN codes, DIGIPIN is based on exact geospatial coordinates. Citizens can access their DIGIPIN through the ‘Know Your DIGIPIN’ portal by entering either their address or latitude-longitude details.
This grid-based addressing system is being positioned as a technical tool to support a range of services, including logistics, governance, disaster response, and emergency management. The Department has also released DIGIPIN’s technical documentation and open-source code on GitHub to enable integration and feedback from developers, state departments and institutions.
The ‘Know Your PIN Code’ platform aims to refine the existing six-digit PIN Code system established in 1972. Backed by a nationwide geo-fencing exercise using GNSS data, this tool allows users to verify and correct PIN code assignments based on their real-time location.
As part of the update, the Department has published the “All India PIN Code Boundary geo-json” dataset on the Open Government Data platform. This data is available for use by both public institutions and private developers, marking a shift toward greater transparency in postal boundary definitions.
By digitising and geo-referencing addresses, the Department of Posts is exploring Address-as-a-Service (AaaS) as a foundational framework. This system could potentially enable more accurate citizen identification for welfare delivery, ease last-mile logistics operations, and support smart infrastructure planning, particularly in rural and underserved regions.
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