Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia virtually inaugurated the renovated Shillong General Post Office on August 24. He opened 13 other refurbished offices across India during a national event held at Rang Bhavan in New Delhi. Local officials joined the ceremony in Shillong, including MLA Dr. M. Ampareen Lyngdoh, Chief Postmaster General Joseph Lalrinsailova, Executive Engineer Monjurlang Dkhar, and Deputy Director Yow Peter Raiphea.
Scindia pushed two digital tools: the Dak Seva App and the Dak MITRA App. These tools aim to modernize service delivery. The Department of Posts wants to reach citizens at the last mile. Scindia noted: "The Department of Posts has undertaken several initiatives to modernise postal infrastructure and strengthen technology-enabled service delivery, with a focus on improving efficiency and ensuring services reach citizens, including at the last mile."
The Dak Seva App offers a single platform for tracking parcels, booking services, making payments, and accessing insurance or savings accounts. It supports 23 languages. Meanwhile, the Dak MITRA App covers 1.3 lakh Branch Post Offices, giving staff a secure interface for financial and mail operations using two-factor authentication.
Minister of State for Communications Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani credited policy reforms and infrastructure upgrades for this shift. The department has already remodeled 110 university post offices and added 40 offices in major cities. They now use ABT 2.0 to monitor logistics in real-time. India Post currently manages 40 crore savings bank accounts and 4 crore Sukanya Samriddhi accounts, while processing 7.5 crore parcels and 90 crore mail items every year.
Updated at 25th August 2026 at 5:46am
The renovation falls under the Jan Sewa Connect initiative. The Shillong GPO, located on Soso Tham Road in the Secretariat Hills, now features a standard India Post design created with input from the School of Planning and Architecture. The facelift includes a new Dwar entrance arch, red cladding, and a dedicated wall panel honoring 50 years of Meghalaya statehood.
Inside the facility, customers get upgraded writing boards and dedicated letter-writing chairs at revamped service counters. Beyond standard mail, the site houses an Aadhaar Sewa Kendra and a Philatelic Bureau. Management plans to add self-booking kiosks soon to speed up parcel processing. The site has operated out of its current building since April 2002, following a construction phase that began in 1988.
In addition to his national communications role, Scindia serves as the Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region.
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