Independence Day 2022: Postal Identification Number PIN Code turns 50 today
A PIN code was necessary due to the duplication of several place names across India. The Postal Identification Number helps the postman locate and deliver a letter or package to its intended recipient.
FollowIndia is celebrating another significant milestone on Independence Day 2022. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Postal Identification Number (PIN), which is used to send letters, couriers, and other postal items across the country. It was first released on August 15, 1972. PIN codes are six-digit codes used as a numbering system by the Indian postal service.
They are also referred to as area codes or zip codes. The Postal Identification Number aids the postman in locating and delivering a letter or package to its intended recipient.
Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, who served as an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications and a senior member of the Posts and Telegraph Bordas, introduced the PIN code system in the country.
Velankar died in Mumbai in 1999, three years after receiving the President's Award for his contributions to the Sanskrit language. He was a renowned Sanskrit poet.
The need for a PIN code was felt due to the duplication of several place names across India. People used to write addresses in various languages, making it challenging to trace addresses. A code system assisted postmen in delivering the address to the correct people.
A PIN code's first digit represents the zone, the second the sub-zone, and the third, along with the first two, the sorting district within that zone. Individual post offices within the sorting district are assigned the final three digits.
The sorting district, also known as the sorting office, is essentially the headquarters of the main post office of the largest city in a postal region.
According to India Post, the country is divided into 23 postal circles to provide postal services. A Chief Postmaster General leads each of these circles.
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