Postal Index number - wikipedia Postal Index number `` PIN code '' redirects here. For the non-postal usage, see Personal identification number. Example of a PIN : The PIN code of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh A Postal Index Number or PIN or PIN code is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long. Contents 1 History 2 Postal zones 3 PIN numbering 3.1 Sorting district 3.2 Service route 3.3 Delivery office 4 Delivery system 5 References 6 External links History The PIN Code 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. Postal zones There are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone ( for the Indian Army ). The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region. The second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices. The 9 PIN zones cover the Indian states and union territories as follows : 1 - Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh 2 - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand 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 8 - Bihar, Jharkhand 9 - Army Post office ( APO ) and Field Post office ( FPO ) PIN numbering Sorting district 2 - digit postcode areas in India ( defined through the first two postcode digits ) The first three digits of the PIN represent a specific geographical region called a sorting district that is headquartered at the main post office of the largest city and is known as the sorting office. A state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. PIN prefix ISO 3166 - 2 : IN ( Vehicle Code ) Region 11 DL Delhi 12 to 13 HR Haryana ( Kamania ) 14 to 15 PB Punjab 16 CH Chandigarh 17 HP Himachal Pradesh 18 to 19 JK Jammu and Kashmir 20 to 28 UP, UT ( UK ) Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand 30 to 34 RJ Rajasthan 36 to 39 GJ Gujarat 403 GA Goa 40 to 44 MH Maharashtra 45 to 48 MP Madhya Pradesh 49 CT ( CG ) Chhattisgarh 50 TG ( TS ) Telangana 51 to 53 AP Andhra Pradesh 56 to 59 KA Karnataka 60 to 64 TN Tamil Nadu 67 to 69 KL Kerala 682 LD Lakshadweep ( Islands ) 70 to 74 WB West Bengal 737 SK Sikkim 744 AN Andaman and Nicobar Islands 75 to 76 OR ( OD ) Odisha 78 AS Assam 79 AR Arunachal Pradesh 793, 794, 783123 ML Meghalaya 795 MN Manipur 796 MZ Mizoram 797 NL Nagaland 798 NL Nagaland 799 TR Tripura 80 to 85 BR, JH Bihar and Jharkhand 90 to 99 APS Army Postal Service DD Daman and Diu DN Dadra and Nagar Haveli PY Puducherry Service route The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district. This is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. Delivery office A post box with PIN ( 571120 ) marked on it The last two digits represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the delivery office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at a delivery office is too large, a new delivery office is created and the next available PIN is assigned. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other will only have the first four digits in common. Delivery system Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office ( GPO ), a Head Office ( HO ) or Sub Office ( SO ) which are usually located in urban areas. The post from the delivery office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices ( BO ) are located in rural areas and have limited postal services. References Jump up ^ Sometimes also written `` PINcode '' or `` pincode ''. Jump up ^ India. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. 1974. p. 305. Retrieved 17 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` Mails section ''. Indian government postal department. Retrieved 17 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` Using pincode, maps to trace address ''. timesofindia.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Tamilnadu Postal Circle - Pincode ''. tamilnadupost.nic.in. Jump up ^ http://www.icar.org.in/files/circulars/new_pin.pdf Jump up ^ http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/PO_Guide_Part-1.pdf External links Find Pincode -- India Post Postal codes in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor ( Timor - Leste ) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Hong Kong Macau Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Postal_Index_Number&oldid=818938808 '' Categories : Indian pincodes Postal system of India Postal codes by country Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia অসমীয়া বাংলা भोजपुरी Deutsch Español Français हिन्दी ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം मराठी ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ தமிழ் తెలుగు اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 6 January 2018, at 13 : 50. 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Question: how many total pin codes are there in india
Answer: nine