Virtues of snail mail

To ensure that people applying for the unique identification number or Aadhaar receive their intimation letters on schedule and can check the status if they do not, the government chose the more expensive and apparently faster Speed Post as a delivery mode. However, after horror stories surfaced of how several hundreds of Aadhaar letters were misplaced or undelivered, the government has now resorted to ordinary post. Authorities claim that anecdotal evidence suggests that the delivery rate may have increased after the switch. One, ordinary post is cheaper (Rs 5 compared to Rs 23 in the case of Speed Post) so even if a letter gets lost, it can be resent at minimal cost. The second reason is probably novel for any bureaucratic set-up. Since there is very little traceability possible with ordinary post, the authorities claim, it is considered less bureaucratic in nature - and therefore more efficient!