India Communications Postal Network

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Postal Communication India

At the time of independence there were 23,344 post offices throughout the country. Of these 19,184 post offices were in the rural area and 4,160 in the urban area. Today, as the Department celebrates 150 years of its existence, the country has 1,55,669 post offices, of which, 1,39,149 are in rural areas and 16,520 in urban areas. As a result of this seven-fold growth in the postal network, India has the largest postal network in the world.

The postal network consists of four categories of post offices, viz, Head Post Offices, Sub – Post Offices, Extra Departmental Sub – Post Offices and Extra Departmental Branch Post Offices. All categories of post Offices retail similar postal services, while delivery function is restricted to some offices.

Mail System :

First class mail, viz, post cards, inland letter cards and envelopes are transported by air, wherever found advantageous, without any surcharge. Second class mail, viz., book packets, registered newspapers and periodicals are carried by surface transport, i.e., through train and road transport.

Automatic Mail Processing Centres :

For efficient handling of mail in the metros, the Department has set up two Automatic Mail Processing Centres at Mumbai and Chennai. This has enabled processing of a large volume of mail efficiently. The Department has plans to set up more such centres.

Money Order :

Money Order service was introduced in 1880. Under the ordinary money order scheme, remittance of an amount up to 5,000 can be made through each money order. It also provides facility to send a message to the addressee along with the money transmitted.

Money Order transmission through VSAT Network :

As apart of modernisation strategy, in 1994, the Department of Posts successfully introduced Satellite based Money Order Service for speedy transmission of money orders throughout the country. 150 high-speed Very Small Aperture Terminals ( VSATs ) were established in major post offices during the Ninth Five Year Plan which are in turn connected to more than 1,300 Extended Satellite Money Order Stations ( ESMOs ), located in neighbouring Post Offices through telephone network.