The 28th Universal Postal Congress, the supreme decision-making body of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), opened in Dubai on Sunday, bringing together more than 2,000 delegates from 192 member countries to chart the future of global postal services. The quadrennial gathering, hosted in the UAE for the first time, will run until September 19 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia represented India, underscoring New Delhi’s long-standing commitment to the UPU, where it has been a member since 1874. India is expected to play a key role in shaping the UPU’s 2026–2029 roadmap, focusing on digital transformation, sustainability, and secure e-commerce services. Scindia held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Japan, the Pan African Postal Union, the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal, and the Caribbean Postal Union to expand cooperation in logistics and digital innovation. India has also offered its candidature for the UPU’s Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council, seeking to strengthen its role in driving technology adoption, sustainable practices, and equitable access to postal services.
Interacting with the press on the sidelines of the congress, the minister highlighted India’s rapid technological strides and said the country achieved the world’s fastest 5G rollout in just 22 months, supported by domestic firms, while continuing to offer the cheapest voice calls globally. With 93,000 BSNL-owned 4G towers and a fully indigenous 4G stack, India is ready to transition to 5G and export telecom solutions to the Global South. He stressed that India Post, the world’s largest postal system and distribution pipeline, is being transformed into a logistics powerhouse with six independent business verticals, and citizen-centric services like Passport Seva Kendras. Direct Benefit Transfers, advanced postal software, and customer relationship management tools are enhancing accountability and service delivery. Calling trust and nationwide reach India Post’s greatest strengths, Scindia said no private courier network could rival its presence across 680,000 villages. India is also signing Letters of Intent with partners in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa, and has secured a regional UPU office in New Delhi to amplify the voice of the Global South.
A key highlight for India at the Congress is the launch of the UPI-UPU Integration project, a collaboration between the Department of Posts, NPCI International Payments Limited, and the UPU. By linking India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the UPU Interconnection Platform, the initiative aims to create a secure and affordable channel for cross-border remittances, benefiting millions of Indian families and boosting economic growth.
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