Did a letter trigger a national policy change expanding postal life insurance cover?

A letter to a Central Minister from a postmaster in Vijayanagara seeking urban insurance coverage finds an unexpected but a positive response in Rural Postal Life Insurance coverage

Published - August 28, 2026 06:29 pm IST - KALABURAGI

Anche Kotresh, a postmaster at Huvina Hadagali, wrote the letter to Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on June 22 this year. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A policy change does not always originate in a conference hall or a government office. At times, it is sparked by a citizen’s voice calling for something better.

A letter written by Anche Kotresh, an activist from Kotturu and a serving postmaster at Huvina Hadagali in Vijayanagara district, to Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on June 22 is one such effort.

He urged the Minister to introduce an Urban Postal Life Insurance (UPLI) scheme for city residents along the lines of Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) which is meant for the rural population.

Two months later, the Department of Posts has issued an order substantially widening the reach of the RPLI scheme.

The department has not introduced a scheme (UPLI) as sought for by Mr. Kotresh. Instead, it has taken a different route – making an operative Savings Bank account with a Post Office Savings Bank or any Scheduled Bank in India an additional eligibility criterion for RPLI.

Introduced in 1995, RPLI is essentially meant for the rural population. The new direction, however, allows a citizen to qualify for RPLI on the basis of an operative bank account, irrespective of whether he lives in a rural or urban area.

In his June representation to the Union Minister, who forwarded it to senior officials in the Postal Department, Mr. Kotresh argued that a large section of urban residents, particularly those who are uneducated, have studied below degree level or earn their livelihood through small businesses and self-employment, need an affordable and trustworthy life insurance facility.

He pointed out that while RPLI is available to rural residents, there is no corresponding Postal Life Insurance facility for the category of urban residents he had in mind. He, therefore, urged the authorities to introduce UPLI on the lines of RPLI.

Under the existing RPLI provisions, rural residence was the basis for eligibility so far. Rule 9(a) stated that the scheme will cover those who permanently reside in rural areas and are ordinarily residents in India, subject to the prescribed conditions.

However, on August 14, the department’s administrative instructions added a new route to eligibility by stating that “any person maintaining an operative Savings Bank account with a Post Office Savings Bank or any Scheduled Bank in India shall also purchase an RPLI policy, subject to the applicable provisions”.

The directions effectively widened the window for poor and disadvantaged urban population which hitherto remained outside the ambit of the scheme.

RPLI was introduced in 1995 following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee, which, in 1993, noted that only about 22% of the country’s insurable population were insured and that life insurance funds accounted for only about 10% of gross household savings.

The government subsequently introduced the RPLI with an objective of extending life insurance to the rural population, particularly weaker sections and women workers, and spreading insurance awareness, taking advantage of the extensive network of post offices and relatively low operating costs.

It was an extension of the much older Postal Life Insurance system, which was introduced in 1884 as a welfare measure for postal employees.

For Mr. Kotresh, the latest development is significant, even though there is no official evidence to establish that his June representation directly led to the August 14 decision. Yet, the similarity between his demand and the subsequent policy change is striking.

Mr. Kotresh said that he became concerned after finding that disadvantaged and financially vulnerable people in urban areas did not have access to the Postal Insurance facility available to their rural counterparts.

“When I raised the issue with my seniors, I was told that it was a policy matter to be decided at the higher level,” he said and added that this is what made him approach the policymakers directly.

“I wrote the letter to the Union Minister as a common citizen of this country and not as a postmaster of a government department. If I want to raise an issue in my official capacity, I have to follow the proper organisational method, which involves writing to my seniors, who will then forward it to their superiors. It may not reach the policymakers at the top. That is why I opted to approach the policymakers directly as a citizen of this country,” Mr. Kotresh told The Hindu.