Digipin: A new digital way to set accurate addresses in the country

It is a digital version of the pin code system and a more accurate address for a person or organisation. The 10-digit alphanumeric code will be useful for people on the move

From the traditional money order system to the modern ecommerce industry, people have relied on the postal pin code to send mail and materials to places. 

Digipin, a digital version of the pin code system, has been launched by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications. Short for Digital Postal Index Number, it is a more accurate address for a person or organisation. 

The area a pin code covers could be a few kilometres to thousands of square kilometres, with an average cover of around 170 sq km. Digipin will create a unique number for an area as small as 4 metre by 4 metre. It is a 10-digit alphanumeric code representing geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) and can be used by a person based on their current location. It is particularly useful for people who are on the move and want a specific service delivered outside a permanent location.  

For instance, a person can ask for a package to be delivered to them wherever they are using their Digipin location. A home or office address will not be needed. Similarly, a person in need of emergency service can provide their current digipin for support teams to reach the exact location. This can be especially useful in disasters and accidents. 

“The Digipin system serves as a strong and robust pillar of geospatial governance, enabling enhancements in public service delivery, emergency response, and logistics efficiency. It allows for logical location of addresses through a naming pattern with directional properties and is designed to be freely accessible in the public domain,” said the postal department in a statement. It has released a policy document called Dhruva (Digital Hub for Reference and Unique Virtual Address).  

“Dhruva creates an opportunity for structuring address information and creating efficiency in address information management across systems, akin to how barcodes standardised product identification information across systems of global commerce,” says the document. 

The document lays out the framework for a national Digital Address Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that can be used by industries for various services. The department says Dhruva follows the concept of address-as-a-service, which uses address data management to support secure and efficient interactions between users, government entities, and private organisations. 

 

As Unified Payments Interface (UPI) changed financial transactions, Digipin will enable a standardised, interoperable, and geocoded digital addressing system that supports secure, consent-based, and seamless sharing of address information. 

The postal department wants Digipin to help financial inclusion and assist innovation in governance, ecommerce and logistics. It wants the service to be adopted by government ministries and other stakeholders.  

Digital address codes used by other countries offer insights into a variety of industries and services. Location information allows marketers to shape campaigns according to consumer purchase patterns. Teams and resources can be allocated based on location feedback. Warehousing and logistics service providers can plan hubs based on such information. Even tax regimes for various products can be planned by logistics teams based on location data.  

Digipin’s initial phase of development will establish use cases and business models to enable sustained growth. 

“The Dhruva policy framework envisages that the Digipin ecosystem includes address information providers, address information agents and address information users. It is imperative that each and every one of these ecosystem partners’ economic interests are protected through the development of sustainable business models. This has been the reason for success in other DPIs that India has implemented (like the UPI),” says R Srinivasan, professor of strategy and chairperson of the Centre for Digital Public Goods at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. “User consent and active management of how their data is being used and shared should be made the core of the ecosystem.” 

Digipin promises to revolutionise location-based services in India with safeguards.