National News
India Post resumes all postal services to the US; Launches DDP product with 6.5% lower duty on jewellery
India’s Department of Posts has announced the resumption of all categories of international postal services to the US with effect from 15th October 2025. Postal services to the USA were suspended on 22nd August 2025 following a U.S. Executive Order that withdrew de-minimis treatment for postal shipments. The services are now being fully restored after successful operational trials in Delhi and Maharashtra, where new systems aligned with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requirements were tested.
For the first time, India Post has introduced a Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) mechanism, allowing customers to pay all applicable US import duties at the time of booking in India. These duties will be directly remitted to the CBP through authorised Qualified Parties, ensuring faster customs clearance and hassle-free delivery to recipients in the US.
Developed in close consultation with industry stakeholders including GJEPC, the newly launched DDP product marks a major breakthrough in cross-border logistics.
Under the new system, postal shipments from India to the USA will attract a flat customs duty of 50% of the declared FOB value. No additional base tariff, which is currently 6.5% on jewellery, or product-specific duties will apply, making the postal route more cost-effective for MSMEs, small traders, artisans, and e-commerce exporters.
All categories of international mail—EMS, Air Parcels, Registered Letters/Packets, and Tracked Packets—can now be booked to the US from any Post Office, International Business Centre, or Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra (DNK), as well as through the India Post Self-Service Portal at www.indiapost.gov.in.
India Post clarified that no extra charges will be levied for the new DDP and Qualified Party services, and postal tariffs will remain unchanged. The initiative aims to boost exports through the postal channel while enhancing transparency and ease of doing business.
The Department reaffirmed its commitment to supporting government initiatives such as Make in India, One District One Product (ODOP), and Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras, by providing affordable and reliable global logistics connectivity.
India’s appetite for borrowing against gold is reshaping the country’s credit landscape. Outstanding gold-backed loans have surged 128% from a year earlier, crossing Rs.4 lakh crore ($48 billion) for the first time, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India. As of Jan. 31, loans secured by gold jewellery stood at Rs.4,00,517 crore, marking one of the fastest expansions in retail credit in recent years.
The boom in gold loans has helped propel overall non-food bank credit growth to 14.4% year-on-year. Personal loans now account for 34.5% of total bank lending, outpacing other segments and underscoring a broader shift toward consumer-driven credit expansion
Gold loans alone contributed roughly 9% of incremental bank credit during the period. Between January 2024 and January 2026, outstanding gold-backed credit rose by nearly Rs.3.1 lakh crore—an increase of about 338% over two years—more than quadrupling the size of the portfolio.
Two factors are driving the surge. First, gold prices have climbed roughly 152% over the past two years, increasing the collateral value of household holdings. Second, regulatory guidance requiring banks to classify loans secured by gold explicitly as gold loans has sharpened reporting and accelerated balance-sheet growth in the segment.
The trend highlights a distinctive feature of India’s financial system: households’ vast stock of physical gold, long viewed primarily as a store of wealth, is increasingly being mobilized as collateral for formal credit.
While personal lending and credit to nonbank financial companies within the services sector continue to expand rapidly, industrial credit remains uneven. Loans to micro, small and medium enterprises are growing steadily, but borrowing by large corporations has stayed relatively muted.
Since March 21, 2025, banks have added Rs.21.8 lakh crore to their non-food loan books, translating into 12% growth for the financial year to date. Yet it is gold—rather than factories or infrastructure—that is emerging as one of the most dynamic engines of India’s current credit cycle.
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