20 POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT POSTAL DEPARTMENT : FOR PREPARATION OF PA/SA EXAMINATION

1. JAI HIND was the first commemorative post mark of Independent India

2. 21st November 1947 First India Postage Stamp Depicting National Flag

3. In 1914, there were only 7 Postal Circles namely - Bengal & Assam, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay (including Sind), Burma, Central, Madras, Punjab & NWF and U. P.

4. By 1937, there were 8 Postal Circles, though Burma was separated from India on 1st April 1937. The Postal Circles were Bengal & Assam, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay, Sindh, Central, Madras, Punjab & NWF and U. P.

5. On 1st April 1946, the British India had the following Postal Circles - Bengal & Assam, Bombay, Madras, United Province, Punjab & NWF, Bihar & Orissa, Central, and Sind & Baluchistan.

6. After partition, the independent India had the following Postal Circles - Assam, Bengal, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay, Central, East Punjab, Madras and U. P.

7. Today, India have 22 Postal Circles namely - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J & K, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North Eastern, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal ,Chattisgarh ,Uttarkhand,Jarkhand.

8. The 15th August 1948, the 1st Anniversary of India's Independence was commemorated by issuing postage stamps on "Mahatma Gandhiji" in 4 denominations

9. 2 annas Inland Air Letter, (similar to the 6 annas Foreign Air Letter) was the first Postal Stationary of Independent India. It was issued on 15th September 1948 from a few important post offices viz., Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi & Madras and for others, it was from 1st October 1948.

10. The world’s first stamps were called the Penny Blacks. They were issued in Great Britain by Sir Rowland Hill in 1840

11. The year 2004 marked the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Indian Postal department.

12. October 1854 saw the formation of a centralized control of the subcontinent’s post offices under the first Director General.

13. The Indian postal system also boasts of postal code area “172114” in Sikkim,–at 15,500 feet (more than 4700 meters approx.) .

14. The Department of Posts is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India

15. The Secretary, Department of Posts, as the Chief Executive of the Department, is also the Chairperson of the Postal Services Board and Director General, India Post.

16. India Post increased the number of post offices from 23,344 to 1,55,204. It is the largest postal network in the world, with one post office serving 7160 people and covering an area of approximately 21.2 sq. kms.

17. Postal Index Number or PIN or Pin code is the post office numbering system used by post office . PIN stands for Postal Index Number and the code is 6 digits long. The PIN was introduced on August 15, 1972.

18. India has been divided into 22 postal circles. Each circle is headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service may exist in the Circles and Regions.

19. Postal Life Insurance was started in 1884 as a welfare measure for the employees of Posts & Telegraphs Department under Government of India

20. Speed Post, the market leader in the domestic express industry, was started by Department of Posts in August 1986 for providing time-bound and express delivery of letters ’ documents and parcels across the nation and around the world. In the past 20 years