The basic scheme of Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) was first introduced on March 3, 1995, for rural people of India. The whole aim of implementing a postal life insurance scheme is to extend the insurance coverage of people of rural India.

The Malhotra Committee observed that only 22% of the insurable population in this country had been insured. The Malhotra Committee recommended that particular emphasis action is needed on weaker sections and women workers in India. Before implementing this Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI), the numbers were exceptionally weak for people of rural India.

The government accepted the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee and allowed RPLI to extend its coverage to rural areas. Indian postal service has a vast network of Post Offices in rural areas and low cost of operations.

Therefore, it helped the government to spread insurance awareness among the rural population. The aim was to improve the insurance sector of India in rural areas. The plan of action was simple; post-masters enjoyed very trustworthy and friendly relationships with local customers.

Hence, this position could be successfully used to spread knowledge and popularize insurance in the nation. As per the latest report till March 3, 2017, the Department of Posts Ministry of Communications, Government of India have more than 146 lacs policies.

Indian has a strong network of post offices in both rural and urban areas. The postal life insurance was set to succeed with this huge network. This helped in cutting down the costs expected to be needed in operations, and because of the use of the existing network of post offices, the implementation was smooth and quick.

Compared with all insurance providers, RPLI is the only insurance provider to offer the highest possible returns for customers at the lowest premium amount in the whole nation. The postal life insurance scheme is aimed to offer insurance to all individuals working in the government sector, such as government school employees, military forces, nationalized banks, etc. Along with this, employees who work in the private sector can avail these RPLI schemes in post office.