Ever thought about how India Post Works? India Post is a government-run postal service in India supervised by the Government of India’s Department of Post, Ministry of Communications. In India, it is often referred to as “the Post Office,” and it is the world’s most broadly dispersed postal system. In 1766, Warren Hastings took the initiative under the East India Company to establish the country’s postal service. Initially, the company was known as “Company Mail.” Lord Dalhousie subsequently transformed it into the Crown service in 1854. Dalhousie established standard postage rates (universal service) and aided in the passage of the India Post Office Act 1854, which vastly improved on the 1837 Post Office Act, which established regular post offices in India. It established the job of Director General of Posts for the whole nation.
What is a PIN?
The Postal Index Number (PIN, or PIN code, commonly abbreviated) is a six-digit postal number. Shriram Bhikaji Velankar invented the PIN system while serving in the Indian army in Kolkata. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced it on August 15, 1972. The nation has nine postal zones; the first eight are geographical areas, while the ninth is for the Army Postal Service (APS905898).
The PIN system is structured as follows:
- The first number indicates the zone.
- First two numbers represent the sub-zone (or postal circle).
- The first three numbers correspond to a sorting district.
- Last three numbers indicate the delivery post office.
- The Postal Service website has the PIN for an address. As of 2014, there were 19,101 PINs
spanning 154,725 post offices across India, excluding the Army Postal Service.
To know the pin code of your location check Pin Code Finder
Services
Philately
- On March 6, 1897, established the first philatelic society in India in Calcutta to serve postage-stamp collections. Design, printing, distribution of special or commemorative postage stamps, definitive postage stamps, and postal stationery, promotion of philately, national philatelic examinations, participation in international exhibitions, monitoring exhibitions at the state, regional, and district levels, and maintenance of the National Philatelic Museum are all functions.
- Philatelic bureaus were created in circle headquarters and district-capital head post offices.
Army Post Services
- The Army Postal Service (APS) is a government-run military postal system in India. One distinguishing characteristic of Army Postal Service networks is they are often sponsored to guarantee that military mail sent between duty stations overseas and the home nation does not cost the sender any more than regular domestic mail traffic.
- In certain situations, Indian military personnel in a conflict zone may send letters and parcels to their home country for free. In others, senders based in a specified overseas region may send military mail to another military recipient located in the same overseas area for free.
Electronic Indian Postal Order
- On March 22, 2013, the Electronic Indian Postal Order (e-IPO) was established, originally solely for Indian nationals residing overseas. Postal orders may be used to pay costs for access to information online under the Right to Information Act of 2005. On February 14, 2014, e-IPO extended the service to cover all Indian nationals.
- The elPO service of Rs. 10/-, Rs. 20l-, Rs. 50/-, and Rs. 100/- provided in Bihar, Delhi, and Karnataka Circles were withdrawn on October 10, 2019. However, the elPO service for obtaining information from Central Ministries under the RTlAct, 2005 will continue similarly.
Postal Life Insurance
- Postal Life Insurance (PLI) was created on 1 February 1884 with the sanction of Her Majesty, the Queen Empress of India’s Secretary of State.
- It was mainly a welfare system for Postal workers in 1884, and the department subsequently expanded it to Telegraph Department in 1888.
- PLI offered insurance coverage to the female workers of the P&T Department in 1894, at a period when no other insurance firm covered female life. It is the country’s oldest life insurer.
- As of March 31, 2015, about 6.4 million active policies with a total value insured of 130,745 crores. PLI’s premium income in 2014-15 was 6,053.2 crore. On March 24, 1995, income extended to all rural inhabitants.
Postal Savings
Recurring deposit accounts, Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts (SSA), National Savings Certificates (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), the Public Provident Fund, savings-bank accounts, monthly-income plans, senior-citizens savings plans, and time-deposit accounts are all available at the post office.
Banking
Following the introduction of RBI guidelines for the issue of new banking licenses in 2013, Banking reported that the Indian postal service had developed plans to join the banking market. Eventually, they want to launch a Post Bank of India, an independent financial business.
Data Collection
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the Posts collaborated to create consumer-price indexes for rural regions. These data were previously unavailable owing to distance and scale issues.
- The agreement allows the postal service to gather information on the prices paid for certain consumer items.
- MoSPI issued its inaugural Consumer Price Index (CPI) and All-India Consumer Price Index in February 2011. Since then, the information has been provided every
month, based on data from 1,181 communities around the nation.
E-commerce Delivery
Because of the surge in e-commerce and the increasing amount of cash-on-delivery consignments, India Post has partnered with major e-commerce sites to deliver pre-paid and cash-on-delivery (COD) packages. According to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, India Post’s income from such deliveries would increase to $15 billion in 2015–16.
Speed Post Courier of Indian Post
India Post’s Speed Post service is a high-speed mail service. It was founded in 1986 and provided speedy delivery of goods, mail, cards, papers, and other critical items. The Indian Postal Department launched this service under “EMS Speed Post.”
Features
- Can deliver to 35 kgs and on-time across India.
- Huge network coverage throughout the nation up to 50 kg at INR 15.00.
- Consignments are insured up to INR 1 lakh.
- Provides information on SMS of the delivery.
- For corporate or wholesale clients, there is no charge for pick-up.
- You don’t have to pay anything afterward.
- Corporate and bulk purchase discounts depend on volume.
- eCommerce and online retailers may use a cash-on-delivery service.
- If there is a delay, loss of an object, pilferage, or damage, the reimbursement is double the Speed Post rates or INR 1000, whichever is less.
How does it work?
- Purchase an envelope at the post office. Place the letter/courier inside the envelope, seal it, and write speed post’ on the top of the envelope. On the left side of the envelope, write the recipient’s name, address, and contact information.
- Next, provide your contact information on the right side, including your name and address. Turn over the courier to the speed post personnel. Speed post will calculate the shipping charge based on the courier’s weight and its destination.
- The next stage is for the speed post workers to print and affix the shipping label before passing it to the courier for further processing.
