Understanding PIN Codes
A Postal Index Number (PIN), or sometimes redundantly a PIN code, refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post. India has 19,252 unique pin codes for public.
India has the world’s largest postal network. Up to 31st March, 2016, there have been 1,54,882 post offices out of which 1, 39,182 are located in rural areas. At the time of independence India had only 23,344 post offices most of which were located in urban areas. Since independence, there have been seven folds increase in the number of post offices in India the majority of which have been set up in rural areas. Currently, there is a post office located at about 21.22 square kilometre for about 8221 people.
History The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. 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.
PIN Structure The first digit of a PIN indicates the zone, the second indicates the sub-zone, and the third, combined with the first two, indicates the sorting district within that zone. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices within the sorting district.
Example: - If the PIN code is 600014, it can be read as: - 6: indicates a Zone of South India, 60: indicates the Sub-zone of Tamil Nadu, 600: indicates the Sorting District of Chennai, 014: indicates the Post Office located in Royapettah area. Note: - Currently India has 6-digit post code and soon it will be converted in 8 digits.
Postal Zones There are nine postal zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone (for the Indian Army). The first digit of a PIN indicates the zone and is allocated over the 9 zones as follows:
1st digit of PIN Zone 1 Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh
3 Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
4 Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
5 Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
6 Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep
7 West Bengal, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Sikkim
9 Army Postal Service (APS), Field Post Office (FPO)
Sorting District
2-digit postcode areas in India (defined through the first two PIN digits)
The third digit of a PIN, combined with the first two digits, represents a specific geographical region (except in the case of the functional zone for the Army) called a sorting district that is headquartered at the main post office of the largest city in the region and is known as the sorting office. A state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volume of mail handled.
PIN Prefix ISO 3166-2:IN Region 11 DL Delhi
12–13 HR Haryana
14–15 PB Punjab
16 CH Chandigarh
17 HP Himachal Pradesh
18–19 JK, LA Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh
20–28 UP, UT Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
30–34 RJ Rajasthan
396210 DD Daman and Diu
396 DN Dadra and Nagar Haveli
36–39 GJ Gujarat
403 GA Goa
40–44 MH Maharashtra
45–48 MP Madhya Pradesh
49 CT Chhattisgarh
50 TG Telangana
51–53 AP Andhra Pradesh
56–59 KA Karnataka
605 PY Puducherry
60–66 TN Tamil Nadu
682 LD Lakshadweep
67–69 KL Kerala
737 SK Sikkim
744 AN Andaman and Nicobar Islands
70–74 WB West Bengal
75–77 OR Odisha
78 AS Assam
790–792 AR Arunachal Pradesh
793–794 ML Meghalaya
795 MN Manipur
796 MZ Mizoram 797–798 NL Nagaland
799 TR Tripura
80–85 BR, JH Bihar, Jharkhand
90–99 APS Army Postal Service
India is planning to add two more digits to PIN numbers which will help in indicating the locality to postmen and thus increasing the digits from six to eight. The last two digits would be between 02 to 99. This will not only help in smooth delivery of posts but also facilitate the functioning of postal department when they start using machines. This experiment has been started at selected locations and will soon be launched across the country.