DIGIPIN MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for India Post's DIGIPIN geocoding system - the Digital Public Infrastructure for standardized, geo-coded addressing in India.

Overview

DIGIPIN is a national-level addressing grid system developed by the Department of Posts in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and NRSC, ISRO. It divides India's geographical territory into uniform ~4m × 4m grid cells, each assigned a unique 10-character alphanumeric code derived from latitude and longitude coordinates.

Key Features

• 🗺️ Precise Location Encoding: ~3.8m × 3.8m resolution across India
• 🧭 Directional Properties: Logical naming pattern with built-in directional attributes
• 🌐 Offline Capability: Works without internet connection
• 🔒 Privacy-Respecting: Represents location only, stores no personal information
• 📍 Comprehensive Coverage: Entire Indian territory including maritime EEZ
• 🎯 Standards-Based: Uses EPSG:4326 (WGS84) coordinate system

What is DIGIPIN?

DIGIPIN provides "Address as a Service" (AaaS) for India by creating a standardized addressing reference system. Each DIGIPIN code:

• Is a 10-character alphanumeric code (format: XXX-XXX-XXXX)
• Uses symbols: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,C,F,J,K,L,M,P,T
• Represents a hierarchical grid from 1000km regions down to ~4m cells
• Can be encoded/decoded to precise latitude/longitude coordinates

Example

Dak Bhawan, New Delhi

• Coordinates: 28.622788°N, 77.213033°E
• DIGIPIN: 39J-49L-L8T4

Installation

npm install @indiapost/digipin-mcp

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/Yash-Kavaiya/Digipin-mcp.git
cd Digipin-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "digipin": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Digipin-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

The server communicates via standard I/O and can be used with any MCP-compatible client:

node dist/index.js

Available Tools

1. encode_digipin

Convert latitude/longitude coordinates to a DIGIPIN code.

Parameters:

• latitude (number): Latitude in decimal degrees (2.5° to 38.5°N)
• longitude (number): Longitude in decimal degrees (63.5° to 99.5°E)

Example:

{
  "latitude": 28.622788,
  "longitude": 77.213033
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "digipin": "39J-49L-L8T4",
  "coordinates": {
    "latitude": 28.622788,
    "longitude": 77.213033
  },
  "gridSize": "~3.8m x 3.8m"
}

2. decode_digipin

Convert a DIGIPIN code to latitude/longitude coordinates.

Parameters:

• digipin (string): 10-character DIGIPIN code (with or without hyphens)

Example:

{
  "digipin": "39J-49L-L8T4"
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "digipin": "39J-49L-L8T4",
  "coordinates": {
    "latitude": 28.622788,
    "longitude": 77.213033
  }
}

3. validate_digipin

Validate the format of a DIGIPIN code.

Parameters:

• digipin (string): DIGIPIN code to validate

Example:

{
  "digipin": "39J-49L-L8T4"
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "valid": true,
  "digipin": "39J-49L-L8T4"
}

4. get_digipin_info

Get detailed information about a DIGIPIN code.

Parameters:

• digipin (string): DIGIPIN code to analyze

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "39J-49L-L8T4",
  "coordinates": {
    "lat": 28.622788,
    "lon": 77.213033
  },
  "level1Region": "3",
  "level2Region": "39",
  "level3Region": "39J",
  "gridSize": "~3.8m x 3.8m",
  "hierarchy": {
    "level1": "3 (1000km x 1000km region)",
    "level2": "39 (250km x 250km region)",
    "level3": "39J (62.5km x 62.5km region)",
    "level10": "39J-49L-L8T4 (~3.8m x 3.8m cell)"
  }
}

5. validate_coordinates

Check if coordinates are within the DIGIPIN bounding box.

Parameters:

• latitude (number): Latitude in decimal degrees
• longitude (number): Longitude in decimal degrees

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "valid": true,
  "coordinates": {
    "latitude": 28.622788,
    "longitude": 77.213033
  },
  "bounds": {
    "latitude": "2.5°N - 38.5°N",
    "longitude": "63.5°E - 99.5°E",
    "coverage": "India including maritime EEZ"
  }
}

DIGIPIN Specification

Bounding Box

• Latitude: 2.5°N to 38.5°N
• Longitude: 63.5°E to 99.5°E
• CRS: EPSG:4326 (WGS84)
• Coverage: All of India including maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Grid Hierarchy

Level	Code Length	Grid Size	Approx. Distance
1	1 char	9° × 9°	~1000 km
2	2 chars	2.25° × 2.25°	~250 km
3	3 chars	33.75′ × 33.75′	~62.5 km
4	4 chars	8.44′ × 8.44′	~15.6 km
5	5 chars	2.11′ × 2.11′	~3.9 km
6	6 chars	0.53′ × 0.53′	~1 km
7	7 chars	0.13′ × 0.13′	~250 m
8	8 chars	0.03′ × 0.03′	~60 m
9	9 chars	0.5″ × 0.5″	~15 m
10	10 chars	0.12″ × 0.12″	~3.8 m

Character Set

DIGIPIN uses 16 alphanumeric symbols arranged in a 4×4 grid:

F  C  9  8
J  3  2  7
K  4  5  6
L  M  P  T

Labels are assigned in an anticlockwise spiral pattern, providing directional properties.

Use Cases

Emergency Services

"Send ambulance to DIGIPIN 39J-49L-L8T4"

Precise location without complex addresses, reducing response time.

Delivery Services

Package delivery to remote areas with no traditional addresses

Banking & KYC

Enhanced address verification using DIGIPIN as additional attribute

Government Services

Linking beneficiaries to precise locations for service delivery

Urban Planning

GIS-based infrastructure mapping and planning

Technical Details

Design Principles

1. Hierarchical Partitioning: Each level divides the previous level into a 4×4 grid
2. Reversible Encoding: DIGIPIN ↔ Lat/Lon conversion without data loss
3. Human-Readable: Intuitive format with directional meaning
4. Permanent Infrastructure: Codes don't change with urban development
5. Efficient Representation: Minimal length for maximum coverage

Grid Line Alignment

• Level-1 grids align with Survey of India's 0.25° × 0.25° toposheets
• Ensures compatibility with existing mapping infrastructure
• Level-1 lines avoid cutting through major population centers

Boundary Handling

Coordinates on grid lines follow these rules:

• Vertical lines (N-S): Assigned to eastern (right) grid
• Horizontal lines (E-W): Assigned to northern (upper) grid
• Intersections: Assigned to top-right grid
• Exceptions: Top and right boundaries assigned to southern/western grids

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Development mode (watch)
npm run dev

# Start server
npm start

API Reference

Core Functions

encodeDIGIPIN(lat: number, lon: number): string

Encode coordinates to DIGIPIN code.

decodeDIGIPIN(digipin: string): { lat: number, lon: number }

Decode DIGIPIN to coordinates.

validateDIGIPIN(digipin: string): { valid: boolean, error?: string }

Validate DIGIPIN format.

validateCoordinates(lat: number, lon: number): { valid: boolean, error?: string }

Check if coordinates are in bounds.

getDIGIPINInfo(digipin: string): object

Get detailed DIGIPIN information.

Testing

Test with known locations:

// Dak Bhawan, New Delhi
encodeDIGIPIN(28.622788, 77.213033)
// Returns: "39J-49L-L8T4"

decodeDIGIPIN("39J-49L-L8T4")
// Returns: { lat: 28.622788, lon: 77.213033 }

Contributing

This implementation is based on the official DIGIPIN technical specification (March 2025) from the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

Contributions are welcome! Please ensure:

• Code follows TypeScript best practices
• All functions have proper type definitions
• Changes align with official DIGIPIN specification
• Tests cover new functionality

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India
• IIT Hyderabad - Technical collaboration
• NRSC, ISRO - Geospatial infrastructure support

Resources

• National Geospatial Policy 2022
• Model Context Protocol Documentation
• Survey of India Topographical Maps

Version History

1.0.0 (2025)

• Initial release based on final DIGIPIN specification (March 2025)
• Complete implementation of encoding/decoding algorithms
• MCP server with 5 tools
• Full coverage of India including maritime EEZ

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DIGIPIN - Digital Public Infrastructure for Addressing Developed by Department of Posts, Government of India