Postal Index Number

Example of a PIN: The PIN code of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh[1]

A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long.

History

The PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972.[2][3] The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names and different languages used by the public .

Postal zones

There are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone (for the Indian Army). The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region. The second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices.

The 9 PIN zones cover the Indian states and union territories as follows:

PIN numbering

Sorting district

2-digit postcode areas in India(defined through the first two postcode digits)

The first three digits of the PIN represent a specific geographical region called a sorting district that is headquartered at the main post office of the largest city and is known as the sorting office. A state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled.

First 1/2 Digits of PIN Postal Circle
11 Delhi
80 to 85 Bihar and Jharkhand
12 and 13 Haryana
14 to 15 Punjab
16 Chandigarh
17 Himachal Pradesh
18 to 19 Jammu and Kashmir
20 to 28 Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
30 to 34 Rajasthan
36 to 39 Gujarat
40 Goa
40 to 44 Maharashtra
45 to 48 Madhya Pradesh
49 Chhattisgarh
50 Telangana
51 to 53 Andhra pradesh
56 to 59 Karnataka
60 to 64 Tamil Nadu
67 to 69 Kerala
682 Lakshadweep (Islands)
70 to 74 West Bengal
744 Andaman and Nicobar Islands
75 to 74 Odisha
78 Assam
79 Arunachal Pradesh
793, 794, 783123 Meghalaya
795 Manipur
796 Mizoram
799 Tripura

Service route

The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district . This is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district.

Delivery office

A post box with PIN (571120) marked on it

The last two digits represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the delivery office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at a delivery office is too large, a new delivery office is created and the next available PIN is assigned . Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other will only have the first four digits in common.

Delivery system

Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office (GPO), a Head Office (HO) or Sub Office (SO) which are usually located in urban areas. The post from the delivery office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices (BO) are located in rural areas and have limited postal services .

References

  1. ↑ "Pincode of Ujjain - Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh". Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. ↑ India. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. 1974. p. 305. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Mails section". Indian government postal department. Retrieved 17 May 2013.

External links

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