Postal Index Number PIN in India How does it work

Pincode Campaign special Stamp Cover Pigeon Bird with letter 1989 India FDC Rare

Postal Index Number (PIN) or PIN Code is a 6 digit code of Post Office numbering used by India Post. Postal services are used for the delivery of important mails, messages, couriers’ money order and other things. To deliver these things at right time to right place it is required to write correct address on the mail while you post it. Postal department sort all the mails and deliver them. To make this sorting easy and fast they established PIN code. The code is six digits long.

The PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Mr.Shriram Bhikaji Velankar. 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. There are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone (for the Indian Army).

First digit represent PIN zone and India has 9 PIN zones:

1 – Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir (including Indian-occupied Kashmir), Chandigarh

2 – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

3 – Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

4 – Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh

5 – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

6 – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep

7 – Odisha, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam

8 – Bihar, Jharkhand

9 – Army Post office (APO) and Field Post office (FPO)