Daily Bulletin

Union Minister for Communications and DoNER, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, and Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, virtually inaugurated the newly renovated Kandivali West Post Office and 14 other post offices across eight postal circles on August 24, 2026. This initiative, part of India Post's 'Jan Sewa Connect' Project, aims to transform traditional post offices into future-ready, technology-enabled service hubs. On the occasion, revamped Dak Sewa and Dak Mitra apps were also launched, with India Post reporting a healthy 16% growth in Gross Postal Revenue in 2025-26 and crossing the ₹4000 crore turnover mark for the first time in the first quarter of 2026-27.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) organised a Regional Manthan Conference on Road Safety in Mumbai on August 24, 2026, chaired by Hon’ble Justice A M Sapre [Retd.], Chairman Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. During the conference, the expansion of the Zero Fatality District (ZFD) initiative was highlighted, targeting 100 critical districts across 15 states for comprehensive interventions in engineering, enforcement, emergency care, and education. These identified districts collectively record an average of over 400 road fatalities annually, with the initiative aiming to achieve a substantial reduction in fatalities by 2030.

A key initiative discussed at the MoRTH's Regional Manthan Conference was the PM Rahat Scheme, designed to provide cashless treatment of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh for up to 7 days to all road accident victims, irrespective of their insurance status. This scheme leverages a robust technology backbone, seamlessly integrating eDAR (MoRTH) with TMS 2.0 (NHA) and the 112 emergency helpline, ensuring real-time data sharing among Transport, Health, and Police departments. The objective is to prevent fatalities by ensuring timely medical care within the critical 'Golden Hour' post-accident.

The Rah-Veer Scheme was also detailed at the conference, establishing a formal recognition and reward system for Good Samaritans who assist road accident victims within the 'Golden Hour'. Individuals who save a life in a serious accident, defined by criteria such as major surgery or at least three days of hospitalization, are entitled to a cash award of Rs. 25,000 per incident and a Certificate of Appreciation. Crucially, the scheme also provides legal protection, ensuring that Rah-Veers cannot be subjected to legal proceedings without their consent.

The Sadak Suraksha Mitra (SSM) Programme, a joint initiative by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, was presented as a youth-led effort to strengthen district-level road safety. The programme engages trained youth volunteers through the MYBharat platform, focusing on the top 100 high-fatality districts, where they serve as Crash Scene Coordinators, data collectors for Road Safety Auditors, and Awareness & Engagement Leads. This initiative addresses the statistic that individuals aged 18-45 years account for 66.1% of all road fatalities, aiming to foster a community of road safety champions.

The Data-Driven Hyperlocal Intervention (DDHI) framework was introduced at the MoRTH conference to empower District Road Safety Committees (DRSCs) with evidence-based action plans. This structured five-stage cycle, encompassing Alignment, Capacity Building, Interventions Planning, Implementation, and Impact Assessment, enables districts to tailor interventions to their unique crash profiles. States and districts were urged to integrate these programmes and prepare action plans to achieve India’s ambitious goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030.

On August 24, 2026, Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Union Minister of State Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani launched the upgraded Dak MITRA and Dak Sewa mobile applications, marking a significant step in India Post's digital transformation. The Dak MITRA app, developed by the Centre for Excellence in Postal Technology (CEPT), serves as a unified operational platform for over 1.4 lakh Branch Post Offices, enabling paperless, real-time postal and financial transactions including doorstep delivery and banking services. Concurrently, the Dak Sewa app offers citizens 24x7 access to services like tracking and booking, supporting 23 Indian languages via BHASHINI.

Complementing the digital initiatives, 14 renovated Post Office buildings across various states, including Patliputra (Bihar), Vasant Kunj (Delhi), and Shankar Nagar (Nagpur), were also inaugurated on August 24, 2026. These modernised facilities are part of a Proof of Concept phase, based on a Design Manual developed with the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, focusing on functionality, accessibility, and enhanced customer experience. The renovation aims to strengthen last-mile service delivery and integrate technology-enabled features like 24x7 Sewa facilities and ATMs where feasible.