KATHMANDU:- The home courier service that the government launched to deliver public services to the doorsteps of service recipients has gradually gained tangible progress.

According to the Department of Postal Service, the service delivery has so far reached 19 districts. As part of the government’s 100-day action plan for governance reform, the target was set to modernise postal services and develop it as a public courier service.

To implement this plan, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dr Bikram Timilsina, has been continuously coordinating and discussing its progress and the challenges facing with the relevant agencies.

Director General of the Department, Manamaya Bhattarai Pangeni, shared that since the initiative came into effect, 3,131 passports have been delivered to the relevant districts for home delivery. She further shared that 667 passports, among them, have already been directly delivered to the homes of the service recipients.

This has eased citizens ‘ access to services and also made service delivery more convenient. According to the Department, agreements have already been made with 19 districts, including Kathmandu, Gulmi, Dadeldhura, Jhapa, Sindhupalchok, Kalikot, Makawanpur, Bajhang, Kaski, Morang, Dhankuta, and Baitadi, for the delivery of such services.

“The process of expansion of the home delivery service has also gained progress in other districts”, she added. In addition, the delivery of other government services to households through postal services has been sped up.

So far, 260 educational certificates have been delivered, and in the health sector, samples from 14 laboratories have been transported in collaboration with the National Public Health Laboratory. The use of the postal system has also significantly expanded in transport services.

According to the department, as of 3:00 pm on Tuesday, 296,545 driving licenses have been sent to the relevant transport offices, including Morang and Kaski. In collaboration with Nepal Telecom, preparations are being made to soon start a service that delivers SIM cards to homes.

Similarly, the transportation of question papers, answer booklets, and certificates has already started in cooperation with Mid-Western University. Discussions have been progressing with the Nepal Open University for the transportation of educational certificates.

Regarding systemic improvements, a study committee has been formed to interlink systems with the Department of Passports, and initiatives are underway for system integration with the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), it is shared.

The department, in collaboration with provincial directorates and district offices, is reviewing postal routes and upgrading the postal code in the Postal Internal Tracking System (PITS).