Friday, January 6, 2012

How does Indian PIN code system work?

India Map with PIN codes Postal Index Number (PIN) code is a six digit number which was introduced on August 15, 1972 and appears in almost all postal articles. Though PIN code has not received much respect in the recent times with more private courier companies coming into picture and stressing more on providing phone number than PIN code, it is indeed one of the most important piece of information which ensures your package reaches the correct location. So it may not be wrong to say that the PIN code is as important to a letter as is a steering wheel to a car!!!
 
How does a PIN code work?
The PIN code system works on a coding system wherein each number represents a particular place and the combination of these letters determine the location to which the package is to be delivered.
The entire country has been divided into nine zones including eight regional zones and one functional zone, which is provided below:
Number
Region
States Covered
1
Northern
Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir
2
Northern
Northern Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal
3
Western
Western Rajasthan and Gujarat
4
Western
Western Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
5
Southern
Southern Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
6
Southern
Southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu
7
Eastern
Eastern West Bengal, Orissa and North Eastern
8
Eastern
Eastern Bihar & Jharkhand
9

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

The first digit indicates one of these zones / region.
First 2/3 Digits of PIN
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
Maharashtra
45 to 48
Madhya Pradesh
49
Chattisgarh
50 to 53
Andhra Pradesh
56 to 59
Karnataka
60 to 64
Tamil Nadu
67 to 69
Kerala
682
Lakshadweep (Islands)
70 to 74
West Bengal
744
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
75 to 77
Orissa
78
Assam
79
North Eastern
793, 794, 783123
Meghalaya
795
Manipur
796
Mizoram
799
Tripura
80 to 85
Bihar

The second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region.
image

The next three digits will indicate the particular post office where the letter is to be delivered.
The first 3 digits together will indicate the sorting or revenue district where the letter is to be basically routed. The last 3 digits refer to the actual post office where the article is to be finally delivered.
Example:
The PIN code for the Press Information Bureau in Madurai is 625 020. Here the first digit 6 again stands for the PIN zone – Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala. The next two digits – 25 – represent the District of Madurai, while the two final digits -20 - together represents the post office of Gandhi nagar, the delivery post office for PIB, Madurai!
Here it is also important to note that the number given to the Gandhi nagar post office in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu is unique. No other post office in India will have this number. A check with the post PIN code directory will reveal that the delivery post offices in Mathura – the holy city in Uttar Pradesh (UP) – with which the temple city of Madurai is likely to be confused has a completely different PIN code – 281 001. Two stands for the PIN zone consisting of UP and Uttarkhand; 81 represents the district of Mathura while 001 stands fro Mathura Head Post office.
Source - The Pincode – The “Steering Wheel” of a Letter by Dr. K. Parameswaran. Image from Wikipedia.



17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great info. Thanks for the detailed account on the way the Indian PIN code works!!!

Keep such interesting content coming.

Unknown said...

visit here to get Indian pin codes in one click
http://indiachacha.com/Pincodes.aspx

vicky said...

Here is the complete [1.5 laks] pin codes list for India only.
http://www.pricingindia.in/pincode.aspx

arun said...

Find PostOffice/Pincode details from biggest online pincode database.This website has more than 1,54,000 pincode details and counting. It gives Post office, Taluk, Division, District & State of each pincode.You can search by state/district & post office.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the post, this post really helps people to determine why a state has its Pincode. I found another site which provides complete list of Pincodes in India.
Pincodes of India

Support said...

Dear All
if any one required postal code map of India/or Post office locations (155000+) of India please visit to www,mapsolutions.in

Lijins said...

Great..Search pincodes here http://www.pincodedb.com/

Unknown said...

Thanks for ur information

PVRAO said...

when states and districts are divided how PN will change

Ram said...

you can find all pin codes of India at www.omsaisoft.com

Pin code said...

Find PostOffice/Pincode details from biggest online pin code database.This website has more than 1,54,000 pincode details and counting. It gives Post office, Taluk, Division, District & State of each pincode.You can search by state/district & post office.

This link might be useful: pin code search

Dummy Blog said...

Pincode.city is best website to find pincode of any location in India.

Travel with me said...

the updated and fast, easy to use

http://pincodedirectory.net/

Pincode India said...

Such a nice blog. Thanks for sharing How does Indian PIN code system work? In detail

pin code of center delhi

Anonymous said...

all india postal office pincode data search engine.

find pincode said...

Thanks for the post. Very useful information on Pincode.

saurav sharma said...

@venkat When new states are created , no changes are required as we can not change pincodes, just a range is assigned to the new state.
You can find out more here Pincodes india

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