Post offices are utilized for delivering farm produce

The initiative aims to improve producers' incomes by shipping products directly to buyers and reducing dependence on middlemen. Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be able to use the rural postal network for storage, packaging, and shipping of goods.

Following the dark store pilot project in Gujarat launched in late November 2025 in Ahmedabad and covering six other locations (Jamnagar, Porbandar, Bhuj, Mehsana, Bhavnagar, and Gandhinagar), the program was rolled out in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The project is now planned to be expanded to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra via the MyStore app. If implemented on a large scale, the initiative will cover about 10,000 FPOs.

The MyStore app is a marketplace and a participant in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). In Gujarat, five FPOs sell pulses, cumin, peanuts, snacks, chili powder, and pickles through it. In Tamil Nadu, Maamadurai Farmers Producer Company Ltd and Varagananthi Farmers Producer Company Ltd have joined the project, and in Madhya Pradesh, Jay Kisan Unnat Producer Company Ltd. Also in Jamnagar, Ranmal Farmer Producer Company Ltd sells peanuts, kabuli chickpeas, green gram, and desi chickpeas.

India's postal network has 164,999 branches, more than 90% of which are in rural areas. Under the scheme, FPOs store products at designated post offices and list them on MyStore. When an order is received, the post office packs and ships it. Delivery costs are calculated at standard rates based on the shipment weight, with a bulk discount provided for farmers.