Regulators
India Post launches ‘24 Speed Post’ for next day delivery in six cities
New service promises faster parcels with tracking, OTP delivery
NEW DELHI: India Post is set to introduce a faster mail service with the launch of 24 Speed Post, promising next day guaranteed delivery for urgent consignments in six major cities.
The service will be launched on 17 March by Jyotiraditya Scindia, union minister of communications, along with Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, minister of state for communications, at an event in New Delhi.
In its first phase, the new service will operate across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, covering some of the country’s busiest commercial and logistics corridors.
The 24 Speed Post is designed for time sensitive shipments and offers assured next day delivery. It will be supported by dedicated processing windows and priority air transmission to ensure faster movement of parcels between cities.
Alongside this service, India Post will also offer 24 and 48 Speed Post options that guarantee delivery within one or two days respectively, giving businesses and individual users more flexibility depending on urgency.
The upgraded service comes with a host of technology driven features including OTP based secure delivery, end to end tracking with SMS alerts and a money back guarantee in case of delays.
Business customers will also have access to additional facilities such as buy now pay later billing, free pickup for bulk shipments, API integration and centralised billing systems.
With the launch, India Post aims to strengthen its premium express delivery offerings and compete more effectively in the fast growing logistics and quick delivery market.
Regulators
Government eases food business rules, introduces perpetual FSSAI licences
Perpetual licences and higher turnover limits aim to cut red tape
NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry of India has approved a set of regulatory reforms designed to simplify compliance for food businesses while maintaining strict food safety standards across the country.
The reforms, developed after consultations with states, union territories and industry stakeholders, also draw on recommendations from a high level committee on non financial regulatory reforms set up by NITI Aayog.
One of the most notable changes is the move towards perpetual validity for registrations and licences issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Earlier, food business operators had to renew these periodically. Under the new framework, the licences will remain valid indefinitely, cutting down paperwork, compliance costs and repeated visits to licensing authorities.
Officials say the change will allow regulators to spend less time on administrative renewals and more on monitoring, enforcement and capacity building within the food sector.
The ministry has also raised the turnover threshold for registration from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore. Businesses with turnover up to Rs 50 crore will now fall under state licensing, while companies above that level will require central licensing. The revised thresholds will come into effect from 1 April 2026.
The change is expected to simplify compliance for micro and small food enterprises by reducing fees, paperwork and pre-inspection requirements. For state authorities, the adjustment is meant to sharpen focus on oversight and enforcement within their jurisdictions.
Street food vendors stand to gain as well. Vendors already registered with municipal corporations or town vending committees under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 will now be treated as automatically registered under FSSAI rules. The step is expected to benefit more than one million vendors by removing the need for multiple registrations across departments.
Another key feature of the reforms is the introduction of a technology driven risk based inspection system. Instead of routine checks for all operators, inspections will be prioritised based on factors such as the type of food handled, past compliance records and third party audit results.
The ministry said the approach would ensure focused oversight while reducing unnecessary inspections for businesses with strong compliance histories.
Taken together, the reforms aim to strike a balance between easing the regulatory load on food businesses and ensuring that food safety standards remain firmly in place for consumers.
