Beyond Gen Z: Saving the Soul of India Post
-Bruhaspati Samal-
For more than 17 decades, the Department of Posts has been woven into the everyday life of India like a quiet but steadfast companion. Long before smartphones, fintech apps or private couriers, the red post office was the Republic’s most trusted public institution. It delivered not merely letters, parcels or money orders, but emotions, opportunities and hope. From freedom fighters sending coded messages under colonial surveillance, to soldiers writing home from distant borders, to pensioners receiving their first assured income after retirement, India Post stood as a symbol of reliability, neutrality and human touch. Its journey mirrors the journey of the nation itself—slow, resilient, inclusive and deeply humane.
Yet, as India sprints into a digitally driven future, this historic institution today stands at a crossroads. On the one hand, there is genuine effort to modernise and reconnect with younger generations through initiatives like the N-Gen (Next Generation) Post Offices. On the other hand, there exists a vast and uncomfortable reality: the overwhelming majority of post offices across the country continue to function in substandard, undignified and customer-unfriendly conditions. The contrast between a handful of vibrant, campus-based “Gen Z Post Offices” and thousands of neglected rural and urban post offices raises a fundamental question—can selective modernisation sustain a national institution built on universal service?
The N-Gen Post Office initiative adopted by India Post in late 2025, it must be clarified at the outset, is not a financial savings scheme, as some misunderstand it to be. It is essentially a branding and infrastructure intervention. These revamped offices, often located on university campuses or in rent-free premises provided by educational institutions, are designed as youth-centric, technology-enabled service hubs. Bright interiors, comfortable seating, Wi-Fi connectivity, QR-based cashless payments, instant Aadhaar-based account opening, mini-libraries, indoor games, coffee machines and flexible working hours are meant to transform the post office from a dull service counter into a lively campus hangout. Alongside this new ambience, traditional postal, banking and insurance services continue, sometimes with student-friendly incentives such as discounted Speed Post.
Conceptually, there is nothing objectionable in this. In fact, the idea of improving the “look and feel” of post offices is neither radical nor new. As early as 2008, the Department launched Project Arrow, aimed at upgrading primarily the Lower Selection Grade Post Offices and above located in departmental buildings. That initiative recognised a basic truth: customer behaviour is deeply influenced by physical ambience, staff comfort and service environment. Clean halls, functional furniture, signage, queue management and basic amenities can significantly alter public perception.
However, the problem lies not in the concept, but in its selective and symbolic implementation. India has about 1.65 lakh post offices, making it the largest postal network in the world. Out of these, nearly 1.49 lakh are in rural areas, while only about 16,000 are in urban locations. Around 25,000 are departmental post offices, staffed by regular employees, whereas an overwhelming 1.4 lakh are Branch Post Offices (BOs) managed by Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS). The structure of this network itself reveals the social mission of India Post: serving the last mile, not the elite corridor. Yet, when we look at infrastructure ownership, the picture becomes grim. Only about 4,756 post offices function from departmental buildings. As many as 19,278 operate from rented premises, and around 1,917 run from rent-free accommodations, often provided by local bodies or educational campuses. In the case of Branch Post Offices, it is the Branch Postmaster (BPM) who must provide accommodation as a precondition of engagement. The fixed allowance given for this purpose is far below prevailing market rates, forcing BPMs to operate from cramped, substandard and often unhygienic spaces.
Against this backdrop, the Department has so far targeted roughly 6,000 post offices under various “Look and Feel Good” initiatives, including Project Arrow and now N-Gen. That means more than 1.59 lakh post offices where the real India transacts remain untouched. The consequences of this neglect are visible and painful. In a vast majority of Post Offices, there is no standard furniture. Broken chairs, wobbling tables, obsolete almirahs and congested counters are the norm. Computerisation has arrived without ergonomics; digitisation has come without dignity. Many rural Post Offices cannot even offer a chair to elderly customers. Drinking water, clean toilets, waiting areas, ventilation and lighting are luxuries rather than basics.
The condition of employees is even more distressing. Lady employees work without access to lavatories. Postmasters, who are officially entitled to Type-III quarters, are forced to run Post Offices from Type-II residential quarters that also serve as their family homes. Imagine managing official work, public dealing and household life within a single or two rooms, while raising children—sometimes marriageable sons and daughters—along with a spouse. There is no privacy, no dignity, no work-life boundary. Postal colonies and staff quarters, where they exist, are rarely maintained. Civil and electrical works in rented buildings, which account for nearly 90 per cent of Post Offices, are chronically neglected under the familiar excuse of “paucity of funds”. Adding insult to injury is the recent push towards centralised delivery systems—Integrated Delivery Centres (IDCs), Nodal Delivery Centres (NDCs) for parcels, Speed Post and parcel hubs. These are often opened in extremely cramped spaces, without standard furniture or basic amenities, in the name of efficiency and logistics optimisation. Productivity is demanded without providing the minimum conditions required for human work.
All this has a direct bearing on customer behaviour. A customer’s attitude towards any service institution is shaped not only by the outcome, but by the experience. In banks, customers often wait silently during server failures or technical glitches because the ambience communicates professionalism, comfort and authority. Air-conditioning, seating, water and orderly surroundings subconsciously command patience. In Post Offices, by contrast, customers shout, complain and vent frustration not merely because of service delays, but because the environment itself signals neglect and inferiority. The institution appears weak, and so it becomes an easy target. This is where the principle of “as you sow, so you reap” becomes profoundly relevant. If the State sows neglect, indifference and substandard infrastructure, it reaps customer dissatisfaction, declining business and erosion of trust. Conversely, if it invests in dignity, comfort and professionalism, it reaps loyalty, patience and growth.
From a business perspective, the current approach is self-defeating. Attracting Gen Z customers through a few visually appealing Post Offices while allowing existing customers—the backbone of India Post—to drift away due to poor service environments is not sustainable. Students may open an account or use Speed Post occasionally, but it is the rural saver, the pensioner, the self-help group, the small trader and the migrant worker who generate steady volume and trust. Retention is as critical as acquisition. Moreover, a corporate look is not about glamour; it is about consistency. A customer must feel the same sense of reliability whether they enter a campus post office or a village branch. Uniform signage, standard furniture, clean interiors, functional toilets, drinking water and basic seating are not extravagances—they are investments in brand equity. India Post already enjoys unparalleled reach and trust. What it lacks is a uniform service experience that matches its legacy. The irony is stark. An institution that handles lakhs of crores in small savings, insurance and postal banking transactions, pleads poverty when it comes to providing chairs, toilets and decent buildings for its frontline offices. Modernisation cannot be cosmetic or selective. It must be systemic and inclusive.
The message to the Government and postal administration, therefore, must be clear and unequivocal. Stop treating “Look and Feel Good” as a pilot project or a publicity exercise. Make it a universal mission. Allocate dedicated funds for infrastructure upgradation of all Post Offices, prioritising rural and branch offices. Revise accommodation norms and allowances for BPMs. Ensure basic amenities for employees, especially women. Standardise furniture and layout across the network. Maintain rented buildings with the same seriousness as departmental ones. India Post does not need to reinvent itself; it needs to rediscover its respect—for its employees, its customers and its own history. The red pillar has stood through wars, famines, reforms and revolutions. If it is to stand tall in the digital age, it must be supported not by neon corners for a few, but by dignity for all. Only then will the next generation truly inherit the legacy of the last mile.
(The author is a Service Union Representative, currently working as the General Secretary, Confederation of Central Govt. Employees and Workers, Odisha State CoC, President, Forum of Civil Pensioners’ Association, Odisha State Committee, Bhubaneswar and a columnist. eMail: samalbruhaspati@gmail.com)
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