What record is hiding inside the story of Postal Index Number?
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THE QUICK ANSWER
Postal Index Number
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN Code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post.
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2 digit postcode india.png · GfK GeoMarketing · CC BY-SA 3.0Inspect media source ↗01 · WHAT
What am I looking at?
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN Code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post.
02 · WHY
Why is it here?
History The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Government of India's Ministry of Communications.
03 · BEFORE
What was here before?
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.
LOOK CLOSER
The detail that changes how you see it.
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.
INTELLIGENCE LAYERS
One place. More than one story.
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01 · HISTORY
What changed over time?
History The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Government of India's Ministry of Communications.
02 · ARCHITECTURE
What was designed deliberately?
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.
03 · ENGINEERING
How does it actually work?
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN Code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post.
04 · CULTURE
Why did people remember it?
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.
05 · CITY & INFRASTRUCTURE
How did it shape the place around it?
The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices within the sorting district.
TIME MACHINE
Watch the story change.
Dates are pulled from the source narrative so you can place the Aha in time instead of reading it as a floating fact.
1972
In the record
History The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Government of India's Ministry of Communications.
BEFORE
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.
→
NOW
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN Code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post.
TIME MACHINE
Don’t just read the past. Move through it.
Move through the dated record of Postal Index Number, separating what is documented, what is visible today and what still needs archival evidence.
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN Code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post.
02
How it came to be
The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Government of India's 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.
03
The detail most people miss
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.
04
Why it still matters
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:
05
Look closer
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.
THE STORY IN NUMBERS
Details worth remembering.
15 A defining date or measure
1972Found in the public record
403001, Found in the public record
VISUAL EVIDENCE
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This treatment is automatically structured from the linked public reference. Aha keeps the original record one click away and labels the confidence as medium until an editor adds independent corroboration.
