A messenger post system was introduced by Qutb-ud-din Aybak. This was expanded into the dak chowkis, a horse and foot runner service, by Alauddin Khilji in 1296. This was reformed completely during Sher Shah Suri (1540s) who constructed the 4,800-km Grand Trunk Road from Bengal to Peshawar. According to the Tarikh-i-Sher-Shahi by Abbas Khan Sherwani, the postal service Diwan-i-Insa employed nearly 3,400 people to man 1,700 horse-relay stations at "serais", which also served as post offices. Two clerks (tarikh nawis) served at each sarai and the post was carried by mewras, members of a lower cast tribe. This system was largely retained during Mughal rule.
The British East India Company established post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata from 1764-1766, each serving the Bombay, Madras and Calcutta presidencies. During Warren Hastings' governorship, postal service was made available to the general public. A letter would cost 2 annas (one-eighth of a Rupee) for distances up to 100 miles. Payments would be done through copper tokensp; a letter was hand stamped "post paid" if it was paid for, else it was stamped "post unpaid" or "bearing".
In 1839, North West Province Circle was formed and since then, new Postal Circles were formed as needed. In December 1860 Punjab Circle, in 1861 Burma Circle, in 1866 Central Province Circle and in 1869 Sind Circle were formed. By 1880 circles had been formed in Oudh (1870), Rajputana (1871), Assam (1873), Bihar (1877), Eastern Bengal (1878) and Central India (1879). Afterwards, the creation of new circles was accompanied by the merging of some circles. By 1914, there were only 7 Postal Circles — Bengal & Assam, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay (including Sind), Burma, Central, Madras, Punjab & NWF and U.P.
The usage of the stamps began on 1 July 1852 in Scinde/Sindh district, with the use of an embossed pattern on paper or wax. The shape was circular, with "SCINDE DISTRICT DAWK" around the rim, leading to the common name "Scinde Dawk". 1854 was the year of the first issue for all of India. The stamps were issued by the British East India Company, which first printed a 1/2a vermilion in April but never sold it to the public, then put four values (1/2a, 1a, 2a, 4a) on sale in October. All were designed and printed in Calcutta, featuring the usual profile of Queen Victoria. A new set of stamps, with the queen in an oval vignette inside a rectangular frame, and inscribed "EAST INDIA POSTAGE", was printed by De La Rue in England (who produced all the subsequent issues of British India) and made available in 1855. These continued in use until after the British government took over administration of India in 1858, and from 1865 were printed on paper watermarked with an elephant head.
GOVERNANCE AND ORGANIZATION
The postal service comes under the Department of Posts which is a part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology under the Government of India. The apex body of the department is the Postal Service Board. The board consists of a chairman and three members. The three members hold the portfolios of Operations & Marketing , Development and Personnel. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Board is also a permanent invitee to the Board.
Postal operations at the post office encompass the entire gamut of the basic postal services which interalia include: (i) Sale of stamps and stationery (ii) Booking of registered articles (iii) Booking of insured articles (iv) Booking of value payable articles (v) Remittance of money through money orders and postal orders (vi) Booking of Parcels
Traditionally, these services were being provided at manually operated counters. Considering the vital need for providing the benefit of technology to the customers, the counter operations are now being progressively computerised to provide a greater range of service to the customer from a single window leading to services being more responsive, and error free.
Click below to Calculate Postage for your self before entering the counter of a Post office :
Postage Calculator
Due to increasing competition in the World, Postal Department in India is also striving hard to stand up in the amidst of heavy competition and create a unique recognition for itself. In this journey, Indian Postal Department has introduced many other products for its customers and has suceeded to a major part. Some of them are :
Mutual Funds Marketing
Westren Union Money Services
e-Post
iMO
Business Post
Media Post
Direct Post
Logistic Post
For many more details and services you can please visit India Post Website.
For various types of Forms used in the Post Office, please click here to go to Forms.
POSTAL LIFE INSURANCE
Postal
Life Insurance was started in 1884 as a welfare measure for the employees of Posts & Telegraphs Department under Government of India dispatch No. 299 dated 18-10-1882 to the Secretary of State. Due to popularity of its schemes, various departments of Central and State Governments were extended its benefits. Now Postal Life Insurance is open for employees of all Central and State Government Departments, Nationalized Banks, Public Sector Undertakings, Financial Institutions, Local Bodies like Municipalities and Zilla Parishads, Educational Institutions aided by the Government etc.
Postal Life Insurance Schemes
Endowment Assurance(Santosh)
Whole Life Assurance(Suraksha)
Convertable Whole Life Assurance(Suvidha)
Anticipated Endowment Assurance(Sumangal)
Joint Life Endowment Assurance(Yugal Suraksha)
Children Policy
For further details please click here
Pincode enables quick reach to the Destination. Pincode consists of 6 digits. There are 8 PIN regions in the country. The first digit indicates one of the regions. The first 2 digits together indicate the sub region or one of the postal circles. The first 3 digits together indicate a sorting / revenue district. The last 3 digits refer to the delivery Post Office.
First 2 Digits of PIN Postal Circle
11 Delhi
12 and 13 Haryana
14 to 16 Punjab
17 Himachal Pradesh
18 to 19 Jammu & Kashmir
20 to 28 Uttar Pradesh
30 to 34 Rajasthan
36 to 39 Gujarat
40 to 44 Maharastra
45 to 49 Madhya Pradesh
50 to 53 Andhra Pradesh
56 to 59 Karnataka
60 to 64 Tamil Nadu
67 to 69 Kerala
70 to 74 West Bengal
75 to 77 Orissa
78 Assam
79 North Eastern India
80 to 85 Bihar
To search Pincode of any place, please click here
PHILATELY
Philately is a delightful hobby that sharpens and satisfies your aesthetic tastes. While expanding your knowledge of and interaction with the world you live in, you get to know interesting details of politics, history, prominent personalities, national and international events, geography, flora and fauna, agriculture, science, monuments, soldiers, warriors, scientists, arms and ammunition, modes of transport etc. This process of learning becomes more delightful through visuals and brief write-ups. In addition, philately cultivates a meticulous and focused attention to detail. It also helps you to make friends across boundaries and age limits.
Click here for further details on Stamps, Philately and opening of Philatelic Accounts.
Also, hereunder I am mentioning some of the countries Postal Website addresses for your information. Please find time to visit them and learn atleast a bit about them.
USA
Britain
Pakistan
Srilanka
Newzealand
.........thank you one & all for your patience in reading this. I really thank all the contributors of the above information, which I searched and downloaded from the Internet. Mail your comments to me
N.Nagamahesh, Accountant, Anantapur D.O
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