Kathmandu, 16 Asar: Minister of State for Information and Communication Dr. Vikram Thimsina has stated that the postal service has been re-established as an effective means of delivering government services to the citizens' doorstep by making it modern, reliable and citizen-friendly.
The traditional postal service has been developed by the government into a technology-friendly and specialized 'Government Courier Service', which has successfully implemented the campaign to deliver government services to the citizens' doorstep, it is stated.
At the 'High-Level Dialogue Program on Modernization of Postal Service' organized by the Postal Service Department here today, Minister of State for Communication Dr. Thimsina said that the government is moving forward in a planned manner for the revival of the postal service and its positive results have started to appear.
He mentioned that although the nature of the postal service has changed with the expansion of the information technology sector, its need and importance still remain.
"Digitalization has not reduced the importance of postal service. Rather, the need to expand the service by modernizing it in a timely manner has increased," said Minister of State for Communication Dr. Thimsina.
Emphasizing the need for cooperation between the public and private sectors to increase the effectiveness of government services, he believed that it is imperative to have partnership with the private sector and effective coordination between government agencies as the government cannot do all the work alone.
Similarly, he said that the will of the employees, new thinking and service-oriented work style are necessary to improve the institutional image of the postal service, which is becoming weaker.
"The postal service itself should change and provide services in a different way. The first basis of improvement is the will within the institution itself. Since the postal service is directly related to the daily life of the citizen, it should be made simple, easy and specialized," he said.
Referring to the arrangement of delivering government documents such as driving license, passport, etc. to the citizens' doorstep, he said that it has brought a significant change in the service flow and has also increased the trust of the citizens towards the government service.
Minister of State for Communication Dr. Thimsina also said that the government postal service is reliable even from a security point of view.
He mentioned that the government is moving forward in the direction of making the public service flow effective by making maximum use of limited resources, and notable progress has been made in the work of the Ministry of Communication and its subordinate agencies under the 100-day work schedule of the government's administrative reform.
At the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Communication Laxmikumari Basnet said that even in the digital age, the need for postal service remains the same, and the department has so far signed an agreement with seven government agencies to deliver government services to the citizens' doorstep.
"Government documents such as driving license, passport, educational certificate, health test report, etc. are now being delivered to the doorstep. The ministry is working to make it more effective, commercial and citizen-friendly in the coming days," said Secretary Basnet.
Director General of the Postal Service Department Manmaya Bhatterai Pangen said that a campaign has been launched to make the postal service more effective by adopting international best practices.
Referring to the 'House-to-House Postal Service' campaign, which prioritizes citizen-centric service flow, she said that positive feedback is being received from the citizens after they started receiving government documents at their doorstep.
According to her, the progress of the 'Government Courier Service' launched by the department with the goal of making government services available to the citizens' doorstep is encouraging.
With the implementation of various programs to make the department technology-friendly and institutional reform, driving license, passport, health materials, educational certificates, and other government documents are being delivered safely to the citizens' doorstep.
After the formation of the new government, the 100-day work schedule of the government's administrative reform had mentioned that arrangements would be made to deliver government documents such as driving license, passport, etc. to the citizens' doorstep.
Similarly, the ministry has also launched a campaign to transform all postal offices across the country into 'Smart Postal Offices' in accordance with the government's annual policy and program and budget speech for the upcoming fiscal year.
According to the department, the government is implementing a policy to transform the traditional postal service, which was limited to sending letters, into a modern 'Government Courier Service'.
Under this, the scope of the service to make government documents such as driving license, passport, educational certificate, health materials, etc. available to the citizens' doorstep is being gradually expanded, the department said.
