Digital Hub for Reference and Unique Virtual Address (DHRUVA)
Context:
The Department of Posts has released a draft amendment to the Post Office Act, 2023, to introduce DHRUVA, a standardized and user-centric addressing system.
This framework aims to create an interoperable system as part of the government's digital public infrastructure (DPI) initiatives.
About DHRUVA:
It seeks to replace textual physical addresses with email-like smart labels (for example, "name@entity"), acting as a virtual proxy for a physical location.
Users can share these unique labels across platforms (like e-commerce or gig apps) instead of repeatedly filling out address forms.
On these platforms, individuals would be able to provide a label instead of an address and authorise firms to receive the geographic coordinates and full text of their address instantly, instead of filling out address forms repeatedly
The amendment proposes setting up a Section 8 not-for-profit entity under government supervision to manage the system (similar to how the NPCI manages UPI)
Stakeholders:
Address Service Providers:
They will provide the address labels.
Address Information Agents (AIAs):
They will manage the consent architecture.
The DIGIPIN System
The DIGIPIN system is the foundational layer for the DHRUVA.
It is a 10-character alphanumeric code derived from the latitude and longitude coordinates of a location.
It is designed to provide precise location data for rural areas or places where textual addresses are inadequate.
DIGIPIN was open-sourced by the Postal department, and each DIGIPIN corresponds to a roughly 14 square metre patch of land, creating approximately 228 billion unique DIGIPINs.
Key Features
Consent-Based:
Users authorize companies to view their address coordinates for a specific period, after which re-authorisation is required.
Participation is not compulsory for private players, though the system aims to be compelling enough to drive adoption.