India has the world’s biggest postal network, with 1,54,939 post
As of March 31, 2015
offices, of which 1,39,222 (89.86 percent) are in rural regions. As of March 31, 2015, India
had the world’s largest postal network.
Some intriguing disclosures from India Post’s annual report 2015-16 are presented in the next section.
- Approximately 1.5 lakh post offices throughout the nation, including 1.3 lakh post offices in rural regions, would be digitised as part of a government-wide initiative.
- Online retailers such as Snapdeal and Shopclues provide an unique assortment of postal stamps from India Post, which can be purchased for a reasonable price.
- Philatelic items are also accessible via the e-post office, which is an e-commerce facility operated by the Indian Postal Service. Select postal services are also available via India Post’s e-commerce platform, which is accessible over the internet. The sale of postal stamps produced income of Rs 24.31 lakh for the department between April 2015 and December 2015, according to official figures.
- India was one of the first active members of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised agency of the United Nations with its headquarters in Berne, Switzerland. The UPU was established in 1868 and has its headquarters there.
- The savings plan of the department has more than 33.03 crore account holders, according to the latest figures.
- Currently, there is an outstanding amount of Rs 6,19,317.44 crore under all of the savings programmes and saving certificates available at Post Offices.
- In India, there is a money transfer service. Post facilitates real-time international money remittances to consumers in India from 195 countries around the world through the postal service. This service is available in conjunction with Western Union from 9,942 post office locations and MoneyGram from 6,070 post office locations. Western Union and MoneyGram are the service providers.
- The Department of Transportation has inked a deal for the supply and installation of GPS devices in 990 postal vans in order to guarantee the safe and timely delivery of goods. 926 postal vehicles have already been outfitted with GPS tracking systems.
- More than 500 India Post ATMs have been placed in various places around the nation.
- During the period April 2015 to December 2015, the department generated revenues of Rs 2,247 crore, representing a 15% increase over the equivalent period the previous year, according to the department.
- The agency owns 38 historic structures of significant architectural significance.
The telegraph, which revolutionized long-distance communication prior to the advent of digital communication, was the sole choice for conveying urgent messages. A line was built between stations to convey electrical signals.
As a result of the global outbreak of COVID-19, postal operators and their personnel made great sacrifices. As the epidemic spread around the globe, these postal employees worked tirelessly to get the mail delivered.
There were fatalities and serious health consequences for some of the employees. Many more people were harmed in a variety of ways…, “Bishar Hussein, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, said in his statement on World Post Day.
Facts about letters you need to know
- The first-ever World Post Day was held In 1969,
- As a representative of the Indian delegation, Anand Mohan Narula offered this idea
for consideration. - The UPU (Universal Postal Union) was established and formed In 1874
- UPU’s headquarters are located in Switzerland’s capital city of Bern.
- Hikkim in Himachal Pradesh is home to the world’s highest post office.
- In 1774, the East India Company opened the country’s first post office in Kolkata.
- For every 100 miles travelled, the post office tacked on two cents.
- In 1864, Kolkata’s landmark General Post Office was built.
Fun Facts of Indian Post Office
1) In India in 1911, the first airmail flight was conducted. Henri Pequet (1888-1974), a French pilot, flew the first official letter by aircraft on February 18, 1911. In India, the plane landed.
Humber biplane pilot Pequet had roughly 6,000 cards and messages in a bag on board.
From an Allahabad polo field, the aircraft flew across the Yamuna River to Naini, a distance of five miles. An aircraft, mountains, and the words “First Aerial Post, 1911, U. P. Every piece
of mail that came in was inscribed with the words “Exhibition Allahabad.
2) Unlike other Indian government agencies, the Department of Posts does not provide a unique service. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology oversees all of the organization’s activities.
3) Sir Bartle Frere, the governor of Sindh Province for the British East India Company, first introduced postage stamps in India in 1852 in the Scinde district (also known as Scinde Dawk). Chandragupta Maurya was the first Indian emperor to be depicted on a postal stamp prior to the country’s independence from British rule in 1947.
4) On November 21, 1947, India’s first postage stamp was produced after the country’s independence. The flag of India was represented on the first postal stamp of the newly independent country.
Free India’s first stamp featured a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi (1948).
5) In India, the world’s tallest post office is situated. Located at an elevation of around 15,500 feet above sea level, it serves the roughly 150 residents of Hikkim.
For six months of the year each year, the Hikkim Post Office is shut down because of the valley’s winter snowfall.
Every morning, two mail delivery runners go from Hikkim to Kaza to deliver mail for six months.
6) All of the most prominent monarchs of Cochin at that time were featured on the second-placed stamps at an international competition
in 1894. As an example, during the PCI National Stamp Show —INPEX 2019 — held in Mumbai in December, Mr. Ramesh Kumar, president of the Goa Philately and Numismatics Society, earned the silver award for his display on the history of the Cochin State Post Office.
7) All Indian Army Post Offices are used by 9 digit PIN numbers.
8) One of Srinagar’s most surprising government facilities is the city’s post office, which was inaugurated on Dal Lake in August 2011.
An artistically carved maroon houseboat known as the “Floating Post Office, Dal Lake” sits on the western shore of the Dal Lake as the only such building in the world.
9) Dakshin Gangotri PO, an Indian post office in Antarctica, used to exist. During the third Indian Antarctic mission in 1983, it was the primary Indian Post Office outside of the Indian Territory.
At the Dakshin Gangotri base station in Antarctica, India’s first scientific base station in Antarctica. In its first year of operation, this post office received and canceled 10,000 letters.
10) There is also a post office run entirely by women. Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi is home to India’s first post office with only female employees.
11) As many as 19,101 PIN CODES and 1,54,725 Post Offices are located across India, making it the world’s largest postal service. Among the Indian Postal Department’s sub-offices in the RLO is – Returned Letter Office, which receives and processes any mail that has been returned to the sender.
If you have sent a letter, you may stop its delivery via the Indian Postal Department’s administration is known as Recall of Postal Article.
India’s Postal Service employs more than 4.5 million people throughout the country.
That’s just about facts if you still reading this article means you are interested in letters. We at PostPatra offer online letter sending features. Must visit www.postpatra.com
