Our Vision India Posts products and services will be the customers first choice.

. Mission To sustain its position as the largest postal network in the world touching the lives of every citizen in the country. To provide the mail, parcel, money transfer, banking, insurance and retail services with speed and

reliability. To provide services to customers on value-for money basis. To ensure that the employees are proud to be its main strength and serve its customers with a human touch. To continue to deliver social security services and to enable last mile connectivity as a Government of India

platform. Our Customers/ Clients We serve all residents of India and we are the main service provider for rural citizens for mails and financial services Public Institutions , private businesses and print media, Government organizations,

Other postal administrations, Philatelists Our Services Mails Services o Letters, postcards, Inland letter cards, book packets, value payable post, parcels, Flat Rate Box, Logistics Post, ePost, etc. o o o o o o Registration and insurance of postal articles and parcels covered by such facility. Premium mail services like Speed Post, Business Post, Direct Post, Bill Mail Service, Express Parcel Post, etc. Delivery services are provided by the designated delivery post offices and Branch Post Offices in villages. Financial Services : Money Transfer Money Order, Instant money order, MO Videsh, Indian Postal Order, etc. Post Office Savings Bank- Small Savings Schemes and Savings Certificates. Postal Life Insurance and Rural Postal Life Insurance. Philately

o Promotion of philately, Issue of definitive postage stamps. Issue of commemorative and special postage stamps o Delivery through Philatelic Bureau and counters as well as through ePost Office. Counter Services : o Counter services are provided from post offices (Departmental and Branch Post Offices), Mail Offices or any other outlet designated for the purpose. These include : Sale of postage stamps and postal stationery etc. Booking of registered, insured, Speed Post and other mail articles etc. Booking of money orders, various transactions relating to Post Office Savings and Postal Life Insurance (PLI)/Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) etc. ePost Office for anytime anywhere transaction related to instant money order, electronic money order and philately products.

Philately
In keeping with their dual character as a "Token of Postage" and as "Cultural Ambassador", there are two categories of stamps. The first is meant for day-to-day use as a token of payment of postage on mail articles. These incorporate

less complicated design inputs, entailing minimum expenditure in their manufacture, and are printed in large quantities over longer periods. The second, on the other hand, are designed and printed with greater aesthetic inputs. They are manufactured in limited quantities and generate great interest among philatelists and collectors. Types of Stamps There are commemorative and definitive stamps. Commemorative stamps are issued, as the name suggests, to commemorate important events, prominent personalities in various fields, aspects of nature, beautiful or rare flora and fauna, environmental issues, agricultural activities, national/international issues, games etc. These stamps are only available at Philatelic Bureaux and counters or under the Philatelic Deposit Account Scheme. They are printed in limited quantities. Definitive stamps on the other hand, are used for day - to - day postal mailing purposes and are available in various ascending denominations from 20 paisa onwards at all postal counters. Services

Governance System
For providing postal services, the whole country has been divided into twenty two postal circles. Each Circle is coterminous with a State except for Gujarat Circle ( which also administers the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli), Kerala Circle (which includes the Union Territory of Lakshdweep) , Maharashtra Circle (which has within its jurisdiction the State of Goa), North East Circle (which comprises six North Eastern StatesArunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura), Punjab Circle (which has within its administrative jurisdiction , the Union Territory of Chandigarh ), and Tamilnadu Circle ( which also administers the Union Territory of Pondicherry ).Each of these Circles is headed by a Pr. Chief Postmaster General or Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units , called Divisions (Postal / RMS Divisions). Each Region is headed by a Postmaster General .In the Circles and Regions there are other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service etc. Besides these twenty two Circles , there is another Circle, called Base Circle, to cater to the postal communication needs of the Armed Forces. The

Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General ,Army Postal Service in the rank of a Major General. The officer cadre of the Army Postal Service comprises officers on deputation from the Civil Posts. Seventy five percent of the other ranks of the Army Postal Service are also drawn from the Department of Posts and the remaining personnel are recruited by the Army.

Postal Services Board

Ms. Manjula Prasher, Secretary (Posts) & Chairman, PS Board. Ms. P. Gopinath, Member (Technology). Shri Kamleshwar Prasad, Member (HRD). Ms. Suneeta Trivedi, Member (Planning). Ms. Yesodhara Menon, Member (Personnel). Member (Operations). Shri S. Sarkar, Member (PLI) & Chairman, Investment Board.

Organization Overview
The Department of Posts comes under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The Postal Service Board, the apex management body of the Department, comprises the Chairman and six Members. The six members of the Board hold portfolios of Personnel, Operations, Technology, Postal Life Insurance, Human Resources Development, Planning respectively. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Department is a permanent invitee to the Board. The Board is assisted by a senior staff officer of the Directorate as Secretary to the Board. Deputy Directors General, Directors and Assistant Directors General provide the necessary functional support for the Board at the Headquarters.

Post Office Network

India has the largest Postal Network in the world with over 1, 55,015 Post Offices (as on 31.03.2009) of which 1, 39,144 (89.76%) are in the rural areas. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 Post Offices, which were primarily in urban areas. Thus, the network has registered a seven-fold growth since Independence, with the focus of this expansion primarily in rural areas. On an average, a Post Office serves an area of 21.21 Sq. Km and a population of 7175 people

India has an interesting postal history and there is enough philatelic material available for a philatelist to make it speciality. The early postal history of India can be divided into two categories-pre-1837 and post-1837, when the Post Office Act was passed. The famous historian, Ziauddin Barani, has described in his records that the horse and the foot runner were in existence for means of communication from way back in the 13th century in India. Horses were used for speedy delivery in certain parts of the country but it was really the foot runner who was the mainstay. The foot runner is called Harkara in ancient books but for our purposes he is the postal runner or dak runner. Dak is the Hindi word for post or mail. The runner carried a cleft stick; the small bag with the mail was held in this cleft. When traveling at night, he lit resinous twigs to guide him on his way. These postal runners had to face a lot of hardship and danger, traveling through forests with wild animals, crossing swollen rivers during monsoons and trekking across snow-capped regions. The stick and a spear could hardly afford any protection. In spite of all these odds, they kept running and delivered the mail. They were a hardy race of

people, honest, with a great sense of duty. Even today the postal department has to use runners in some parts of the country like Badrinath during the pilgrim seasons and also to the Gilgit and Leh snowbound areas. Wheeled traffic can operate only up to a point, thereafter the runners take over and deliver the mail to its destination. The Mughal emperors Babar and Akbar, tried to improve the postal service. Babar helped to organize a horse courier system from Agra to Kabul. Akbar introduced camels for carrying mail to the desert regions. Once the East India Company was formed and received the Royal Charter, in the interest of trade with India, they had to develop a more organized system of communication. They organized postal runners on regular routes, setting stages of handing over. By 1688, the Company asked its Bombay and Madras offices to build a post office each and directed that all mail should be brought to the post office first. Lord Clive introduced the system of sorting mail into different bags according to destination. These bags have to be sealed with Company seal and only the chiefs at different places could open it. When Warren Hastings took over in 1774, he introduced further reforms. Postal rates depended on weight and distance. Hand struck Bishop Marks(explained later) were applied on letters at Calcutta. These are known as the Indian Bishop Marks and they differ from the foreign Bishop Marks in that the months are printed in three letters, such as JAN, FEB, and so, whereas the foreign ones have the months in two letters. The three presidencies of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta used different hand struck stamps. After the East India Company had established itself, they decided on major changes in the postal system. The Post Office Act of 1837 was passed which combined the presidencies and declared all private posts illegal. Even so, they continued to function in many parts of the country some time. A parcel post service called Bhangies, for deliver of bulky parcels was established. Its rates were cheaper than that for ordinary mail. The Companys letters were carried by merchant ships to England. It used to take almost a year to get a reply to a letter from Calcutta. Mail from India was transported to Marseilles in France and then on horseback to Calais where a steamboat then took it to Dover. It was once again carried on horseback to London. Gradually the time taken was reduced with the formation of the Overland Route, in which mail was transported across land and at certain points carried over water, instead of relying exclusively on ships and steamers. The first Indian stamps, known as the Scinde Dawks were issued by the Commissioner of Sind, Sir Bartle Frere, who was an admirer of Sir Rowland Hill, in 1852. He authorized the use of half-anna stamps in his district. Every collector should know something about the Scinde Dawks. These stamps were first introduced as red on vermillion wafers but they were soon discarded. A new issue came out in July 1852, embossed in white on white, which was later changed to a bluish wave, unevenly spaced on sheets of three inches by six inches. Sir Bartle Frere was not satisfied with the local printing, so he sent the design to his friends in England, and asked them to print the stamps in blue. In 1852, the Postmater General of Karachi received 10,000 stamps. These orders were repeated till almost 50,000 of them were in circulation, when Sir Bartle Frere withdrew them on the release of the All India Postage stamps. There is a theory that the Scinde Dawks were not adhesive stamps but simple was seals, used as trial at a post office in Karachi. In the eyes of the stamp collector, the best loved and desirable of early Indian stamps are those issued between 1852 and 1870. These are called Classics. The Indian Classics comprise the first three series of stamps known respectively as the Scinde Dawks, the East India Company and the Crown Colony stamps. The Court of Directors of the East India Company were keen that stamps should be printed in India. Col. Forbes was put in charge but he was not successful and gave it up. Then Capt. H.L. Thuillier, Deputy Surveyor General of the Survey Office, Calcutta, was asked to undertake it. After some trial and error and experiments, stamps in the denominations of one anna and four annas were released. Capt. Thuilliers essays are valuable. From 1855 to 1926, stamps were printed in England by M/s. De La Rue and Co., and the inscription on stamps was East India Postage. In 1877, when Queen Victoria assumed the title of Empress of India, the inscription was changed to India Postage. A new printing press established in Nasik and all stamps since 1926 have been printed there. After the Indian empire was consolidated by the British, the centrally issued stamps ere valid throughout the country, but the native Maharajas also issued stamps which were valid only in their territories. Some of them over printed the name of their States on the centrally issued stamps. After Independence and amalgamation of the Indian States into the Republic of India, these stamps were no longer valid; they are now collectors items. The value of a stamp depends

upon scarcity and demand. Between unused copies of a mint stamp and used copies of a stamp, the value depends on the relative availability. A stamp which has been issued a long ago is more valuable if unused. In the case of Scinde Dawks, there is only one unused, uncancelled stamp, which is the British Royal Collection and is not for sale.

The Department of Posts, functioning under the brand name India Post, is a government operated postal system in India; it is generally referred to within India as "the post office". The Indian Postal Service, with 154,866 post offices as on 31-03-2011, of which 139,040 (89.78%) are in rural areas & 15,826 in urban area (10.22%) 25,464 departmental POs & 1,29,402 EDBPOs. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 Post offices, which were primarily in urban area. Thus the network has registered a seven fold growth since independence, with the focus of the expansion primarily in rural areas. On an average, a post office serves an area of 21.23 [Link] and a population of 7114 people. This [1] is the most widely distributed post office system in the world. The large numbers are a result of a long tradition of many disparate postal systems which were unified in the Indian Union post-Independence. Owing to this far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service is also involved in other services such as small savings banking and financial services. The postal service comes under the Department of Posts which is a part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology under the Government of India. The apex body of the department is the Postal Service Board. The board consists of a chairman and six members. The six Members of the Board hold portfolios of Personnel, Operations, Technology, Postal Life Insurance, Human Resource Development (HRD) and Planning functions. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Board is also a permanent invitee to the Board. India has been divided into 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster [Link] divided into divisions headed by SSPOs/[Link] divisions are divided in to Sub Divisions Headed by ASPs/IPS. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service may exist in the Circles and Regions. Besides the 22 circles, there is a special Circle called the Base Circle to cater to the postal services of the Armed Forces of India. The Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General, Army Postal Service holding the rank of a Major General.

his is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of India. Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When thePortuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British displaced the Mughals, their postal systems existed alongside those of many somewhat independent states. The British East India Company gradually displaced other powers and brought into existence a British administrative system over most of India, with a need to establish and maintain both official and commercial mail systems.

Although the Indian Post Office was established in 1837, Asia's first adhesive stamp, the Scinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 by Sir Bartle Frere, the British East India Company's administrator of the province of Sind. The Indian postal system developed into an extensive, dependable and robust network providing connectivity to almost all parts of India, Burma, the Straits Settlements and other areas controlled by the British East India Company (EIC). Based on the model postal system introduced in England by the reformer, Rowland Hill, efficient postal services were provided at a low cost and enabled the smooth commercial, military and administrative functioning of the EIC and its successor, the British Raj. The Imperial Posts co-existed with the several postal systems maintained by various Indian states, some of which produced stamps for use within their respective dominions, while British Indian postage stamps were required for sending mail beyond the boundaries of these states. Telegraphy and telephony made their appearance as part of the Posts before becoming separate departments. After the Independence of India in 1947, the Indian postal service continues to function on a countrywide basis and provides many valuable, low cost services to the public of India.

Postal history of India

[edit]The Post in ancient and medieval India

The history of India's postal system begins long before the introduction of postage stamps. The antecedents have been traced to the systems of the Persian Empire instituted byCyrus the Great and Darius I for communicating important military and political information. The Atharvaveda records a messenger service. Systems for collecting information and revenue data from the provinces are mentioned in Chanakya's Arthashastra (ca. 3rd century BC). In ancient times the kings, emperors, rulers, zamindars or the feudal lords protected their land through the intelligence services of specially trained police or military agencies and courier services to convey and obtain information through runners, messengers and even through pigeons. The chief of the secret service, known as the postmaster, maintained the lines of communication ... The people used to send letters to [their] distant relatives through their friends or neighbors.[3] For centuries it was rare for messages to be carried by any means other than a relay of runners on foot. A runner ran from one village or relay post to the next, carrying the letters on a pole with a sharp point. His was a dangerous occupation: the relay of postal runners worked throughout the day and night, vulnerable to attacks by bandits and wild animals. These mail runners were used chiefly by the rulers, for purposes of information and wartime news. They were subsequently used by merchants for trade purpose. It was much later that mail runners came to be in use for the carriage of private mail.

The postal history of India primarily began with the overland routes, stretching from Persia to India. What began as mere foot-tracks that more than often included fords across the mountaneous streams, gradually evolved over the centuries as highways, used by traders and military envoys on foot and horses, for carriage of missives. The Arab influence of the Caliphate came about with the conquest of Sind by Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 A.D. Thereupon, the Diwan-i-Barid or Department of Posts established official communication across the far-flung empire. The swiftness of the horse messengers finds mention in many of the chronicles of that period. The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak (Persian: ) was Sultan for only four years, 12061210, but he founded the Mamluk Dynasty and created a messenger post system. This was expanded into the dak chowkis, a horse and foot runner service, by Alauddin Khilji in 1296. Sher Shah Suri (15411545) replaced runners with horses for conveyance of messages along the northern high road, today known as the Grand Trunk Road, which he constructed between Bengal and Sindh over an ancient trade route at the base of the Himalayas, the Uttarapatha. He also built 1700 'serais' where two horses were always kept for the despatch of the Royal Mail[4] Akbar introduced camels in addition to the horses and runners.[4] In the South of India, in 1672 Raja Chuk Deo of Mysore began an efficient postal service which was further improved upon by Haider Ali.[4]
[edit]Posts and the East India Company

The East India Company took constructive steps to improve the existing systems in India when in 1688, they opened a post office in Bombay followed by similar ones in Calcutta and Madras. Lord Clive further expanded the services in 1766 and in 1774 Warren Hastings made the services available to the general public. The fee charged was two annas per 100 miles.[4] The postmarks applied on these letters are very rare and are named 'Indian Bishop Marks' after Colonel Henry Bishop, the Postmaster General of the United Kingdomwho introduced this practice in Britain.[4] The Post Office Department of the East India Company was first established on March 31, 1774 at Calcutta,[5] followed in 1778 at Madras and in 1792 at Bombay.[6] After 1793, when Cornwallis introduced the Regulation of the Permanent Settlement, the financial responsibility for maintaining the official posts rested with the zamindars. Alongside these, private dawk mail systems sprang up for the commercial conveyance of messages using hired runners. Also, the East India Company created its own infrastructure for the expansion and administration of military and commercial power. The runners were paid according to the distance they travelled and the weight of their letters.

Thomas Waghorn, ca. 1847 by Sir George Hayter

The Post Office Act XVII of 1837 provided that the Governor-General of India in Council had the exclusive right of conveying letters by post for hire within the territories of the East India Company. The mails were available to certain officials without charge, which became a controversial privilege as the years passed. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on October 1, 1837.[7] The urgent European mails were carried overland via Egypt at the isthmus of Suez. This route, pioneered by Thomas Waghorn,[8] linked the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, and thence by steamer via Marseilles, Brindisi or Trieste to European destinations. The Suez Canal did not open until much later (17 November 1869). The time in transit for letters using the Overland Mail [9] route was dramatically reduced. Waghorn's route reduced the journey from 16,000 miles via the Cape of Good Hope to 6,000 miles; and reduced the time in transit from three months to between 35 and 45 days.
[edit]The Scinde District Dawk

1852 red sealing wafer Scinde Dawk

The use of the Scinde Dawk adhesive stamps to signify the prepayment of postage began on 1 July 1852 in theScinde/Sindh district,[10] as part of a comprehensive reform of the district's postal system. A year earlier Sir Bartle Frere had replaced the postal runners with a network of horses and camels, improving communications in the Indus river valley to serve the military and commercial needs of the British East India Company.[11] The new stamps were embossed individually onto paper or a wax wafer. The shape was circular, with "SCINDE DISTRICT DAWK" around the rim and the British East India Company's Merchant's Mark as the central emblem. The paper was either white or greyish white. The blue stamp wasprinted onto the paper by the die during the embossing, while the wax version was embossed on a red sealing wax wafer on paper; but all had the same value of 1/2 anna. They were used until October 1854, and then officially suppressed. These are quite scarce today, with valuations from US$700 to $10,000 for postally used examples. The unused red stamp was previously valued at 65,000.00 by Stanley Gibbons (basis 2006); however, it now appears that no unused examples have survived.
[edit]The Reforms

of 1854 and the First Issues

4 annas, 1854

The first stamps valid for postage throughout India were placed on sale in October, 1854 with four values: 1/2 anna, 1 anna, 2 annas, and 4 annas.[12] Featuring a youthful profile of Queen Victoria aet. 15 years, all four values were designed and printed in Calcutta, and issued without perforations or gum. All were lithographed except for the 2 annas green, which was produced by typography from copper clichs or fromelectrotyped plates. The 4 annas value (illustrated)

was one of the world's first bicolored stamps, preceded only by the Basel Dove, a beautiful local issue. These stamps were issued following a Commission of Inquiry which had carefully studied the postal systems of Europe and America. In the opinion of Geoffrey Clarke, the reformed system was to be maintained "for the benefit of the people of India and not for the purpose of swelling the revenue."[13] The Commissioners voted to abolish the earlier practice of conveying official letters free of postage ("franking"). The new system was recommended by the GovernorGeneral, Lord Dalhousie and adopted by the East India Company's Court of Directors. It introduced "low and uniform" rates for sending mail efficiently throughout the country within the jurisdiction of the East India Company.[14] The basic rate was 1/2 annaon letters not more than 1/4 tola in weight. The stamps were needed to show the postage was prepaid, a basic principle of the new system, like the fundamental changes of the British system advocated by Rowland Hill and the Scinde reforms of Bartle Frere. These reforms transformed mail services within India.

The De La Rue design for the Recess Printed issues: an 1856 color imprimatur, 2 annas "bottle green"

The East India Company already had attempted a 1/2 anna vermilion stamp in April, 1854, known as the "9 arches essay". This could not be produced in quantity because it required an expensive vermilion pigment not readily available from England, and the substituted Indian pigment destroyed the printing stones. A new design for stamps, with Queen Victoria in an oval vignette inside a rectangular frame, was inscribed "EAST INDIA POSTAGE". These stamps were recess printed by De La Rue in England (who produced all the subsequent issues of British India until 1925).[15] The first of

these became available in 1855. They continued in use well after the British government took over the administration of India in 1858, following the 1857 Rebellion against the East India Company's rule. From 1865 the Indian stamps were printed on paper watermarked with an elephant's head.
[edit]The Reforms

of 1866 and the Provisionals

The volume of mail moved by the postal system increased relentlessly, doubling between 1854 and 1866, then doubling again by 1871. The Post Office Act XIV introduced reforms by May 1, 1866 to correct some of the more apparent postal system deficiencies and abuses. Postal service efficiencies also were introduced. In 1863 new lower rates were set for "steamer" mail to Europe at 6 annas 8 pies for a 1/2 ounce letter. Lower rates were introduced for inland mail, as well. New regulations removed the special postal privileges which had been enjoyed by officials of the East India Company. Stamps for official use were prepared and carefully accounted for to combat the abuse of privileges by officials. In 1854 Spain had printed special stamps for official communications, but in 1866 India was the first country to adopt the simple expedient of overprinting 'Service' on postage stamps and 'Service Postage' on revenue stamps. This innovation became widely adopted by other countries in later years.[16][17]

6 Annas Provisional, 1866 Bombay to London by Steamer, 29 days

Shortages developed, so these stamps also had to be improvised. Some of the "Service Postage" overprinted rarities of this year resulted from the sudden changes in postal regulations. New designs for the 4 annas and "6 annas 8 pies" stamps were issued in 1866. Nevertheless, there was a shortage of stamps to meet the new rates. Provisional[18] six annas stamps were improvised by cutting the tops and bottoms from a current Foreign Bill revenue stamp, and overprinting "POSTAGE". Another four new designs appeared, one at a time, between 1874 and 1876.

A complete new set of stamps was issued in 1882 for the Empire of India that had been proclaimed five years earlier, in 1877. The designs consisted of the usual Victoria profile, in a variety of frames, inscribed "INDIA POSTAGE". The watermark also changed to a star shape. These stamps were heavily used and are still quite common today.

Three stamps, featuring a detail from Heinrich von Angeli's 1885 portrait of Queen Victoria,[19] in 2, 3 and 5 rupee denominations, were introduced in 1895. Other existing designs were reprinted in new colors in 1900.
[edit]Postal

history of Indian states

Main article: Postage stamps and postal history of the Indian states

Anchal Petty (Post box) of Travancore

1916 red-brown 2 anna of Orchha, a feudatory state

British India had hundreds of Princely States, some 652 in all,[20] but most of them did not issue postage stamps. The stamp-issuing States were of two kinds: the Convention States and the Feudatory States. The postage stamps and postal histories of these States provide great challenges and many rewards to the patient philatelist. Many rarities are to be found here. Although handbooks are available, much remains to be discovered. The Convention States are those which had postal conventions (or agreements) with the Post Office of India to provide postal services within their territories. The adhesive stamps and postal stationery of British India were overprinted for use within each Convention State. The first Convention State was Patiala, in 1884, followed by others in 1885. The stamps of the Convention States all became invalid on 01 Jan 1951 when they were replaced with stamps of the Republic of India valid from 01 Jan 1950. The Feudatory States maintained their own postal services within their territories and issued stamps with their own designs. Many of the stamps were imperforate and without gum, as issued. Many varieties of type, paper, inks and dies are not listed in the standard catalogs. The stamps of each Feudatory State were valid only within that State, so letters sent outside that State needed additional British India postage.
Below is a list of the Convention states and Feudatory Indian states
Convention states Feudatory states (starting - ending years)

Chamba Faridkot (formerly feudatory; convention from 1887)

Alwar (18771899) Bamra (18881893) Barwani (19211938) Bhopal (18761932) Bhor (18791901) Bijawar (19351937) Bundi (18941941) Bussahir (18951900) Bahawalpur (1947 1949)

Faridkot (18791900) Hyderabad (18691949) Idar (19391944) Indore (18861941) Jaipur (19001947) Jammu and Kashmir (18781886)

Morvi (19311935) Nandgaon (18921893) Nowanuggur (18771893) Orchha (19131939) Poonch (18761884) Rajasthan (19491949) Rajpipla (1880) Sirmur (18791899) Soruth (18641937) Travancore (18881946) Travancore-Cochin (1949

Gwalior Jind (formerly feudatory; convention from 1885)

Jammu (18661877) Jind (18741885) Kashmir (18661867) Jasdan (19421942)

Charkhari (1894

Nabha Patiala

1943) Cochin (18921933) Dhar (18971898) Duttia (18931916)

Jhalawar (18871887) Kishangarh (18991928) Las Bela (18971904)

1950) Wadhwan (18881889)

Both Faridkot and Jind, as feudatory states, issued their own stamps before they joined the Postal Convention. Faridkot joined on January 1, 1887. Jind joined in July, 1885; its stamps from the feudatory period became invalid for postage, but they continued to be used for revenue purposes.
[edit]The

early 20th century

Edward VII One rupee (1902)

In 1902 a new series depicting King Edward VII generally reused the frames of the Victoria stamps, with some color changes, and included values up to 25 rupees. The higher values were often used for the payment of telegraph and parcel fees. Generally, such usage will lower a collector's estimation of a stamp's value; except those from remote or "used abroad" offices.[21] The 1911 stamps of King George V were more florid in their design. It is reported that George V, a philatelist, personally approved these designs. In 1919 a 1 anna stamp was introduced, inscribed "ONE AND HALF ANNA", but in 1921 this changed to "ONE AND A HALF ANNAS". In 1926 the watermark changed to a pattern of multiple stars. The first pictorial stamps appeared in 1931. The set of six, showing the fortress of Purana Qila, Delhi and government edifices, was issued to mark the government's move from Calcutta to New Delhi. Another pictorial set, also showing buildings, commemorated George V's Silver Jubilee in 1935.

The stamps issued in 1937 depicted various forms of mail transports, with King George VI's effigy appearing on the higher values. A new issue in 1941, constrained by the austerity of World War II, consisted of rather plain designs using minimal amounts of ink and paper. As Indian Post Offices annually required some billions of stamps for postage, as a measure of economy the large pictorial stamps were immediately withdrawn and smaller stamps were issued. Even this did not ease the paper situation and it was thought desirable to reduce the size even more.[22] A victory issue in 1946 was followed in November, 1947 by a first Dominion issue, whose three stamps were the first to depict the Ashoka Pillar and the new flag of India (the third showed an airplane). Postage stamps were generally issued separately from the revenue stamps. However in 1906, the set of King Edward VII stamps were issued in two values, half anna and one anna with the caption "INDIA POSTAGE & REVENUE". The George V Series (1911 to 1933) added two more values, two annas and four annas to the Postage & Revenue stamps. These dual-purpose issues were an exception and generally the two types were issued separately.
[edit]India Security Press

The 1931 series celebrated the inauguration of New Delhi as the seat of government. The one rupee stamp shows the Secretariat and Dominion Columns.

From 1 January 1926 all printing and overprinting of India' postage stamps was condcuted at India Security Press, Nasik. The possibility of printing postage stamps and other security items in India had been enquired into before the First World War but could not be pursued at that time. In 1922, the feasibility of this issue was explored in England by Lt Col C.H. Willis, C.I.E. then master of the Bombay Mint, and Mr F.D. Ascoti, I.C.S., Controller of Printing, Stationery and Stamps. Their favourable report, followed by a successful demonstration of production techniques in Delhi in 1923, led to the decision of the Government to establish a security press

at Nashik. The responsibility of setting up the Press was entrusted to none other than the London firm of Thomas De La Rue which already had a six-decade long association with Indian stamps. The construction began in 1924 at an original estimate of Rs 27 lakhs and was completed in 1925 with additional costs of Rs 67 and 1/4 lakhs.[23] The printing of stamps at Nasik began in 1925. The first stamps produced were the definitive series of George V, printed using typographyfrom the same plates used earlier in England by De La Rue, which were now transferred to India. The watermark was changed by the Press to multiple stars. Lithography was now re-introduced and the first stamps printed with this technique were the first Air Mail series of 1929. The Security Press continued to use typography for most stamps, reserving the lithographic process for the most important commemorative issues, the next being the 1931 series commemorating the inauguration of New Delhi as the seat of government in 1931. The one rupee stamp shows the Secretariat and Dominion Columns. This practice continued after independence. The first definitive series to be issued was the misnamed "Archaeological" series of 16 values; the top four values were produced by lithography and the remaining values by typography.[23] The new technique of photogravure printing was installed in 1952. The October 1952 series of six values on the theme of Saints and Poets was the first to be so produced. However, these were not the first photogravure stamps of India, having been preceded by the first Gandhi series of 1948, which were printed by Courvoisier of Geneva using the photogravure technique. Since then, photogravure has been used to produce all Indian stamps; typography and lithography being reserved only for service labels.[23]
[edit]Independent

India

The Rs 10 stamp showing Mahatma Gandhi, released August 15, 1948

Satrunjaya, Jain temple complex near Palitana, August 15, 1949. Indian stamps reflect the country's old and rich cultural heritage.

The First Stamp of Independent India was issued on the 21st of November, 1947. It depicts the Indian Flag with the patriots' slogan, Jai Hind (Long Live India), on the top right hand corner. It was valued at three and one-half annas. A memorial to Mahatma Gandhi was issued 15 August 1948 on the first anniversary of Independence. Exactly one year later a definitive series appeared, depicting India's broad cultural heritage, mostly Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim,Sikh and Jain temples, sculptures, monuments and fortresses.[24] A subsequent issue commemorated the inauguration of the Republic of India on January 26, 1950. Definitives included a technology and development theme in 1955, a series all showing the map of India in 1957, denominated in naye paisa (decimal currency), and a series with a broad variety of images in 1965. The old inscription of "INDIA POSTAGE" was replaced in 1962 with " INDIA", though

three stamps issued between December 1962/January 1963 carried the earlier inscription.[25] India has printed stamps and postal stationery for other countries, mostly neighbours. Countries which have had stamps printed in India include Burma (before independence), Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Portugal, and Ethiopia.[23]
[edit]The

Indian Postal Service today

Main article: Indian Postal Service

Today the Indian Postal Service serves the public from 155,000 post offices.[26] India is believed to have the most widely distributed system in the world (China has 57,000, Russia 41,000 and the United States 38,000 offices).[27] This proliferation of offices results from India's long tradition of having many disparate postal systems, eventually unified in the Indian Union after Independence. With its far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service provides many services such as small savings banking and financial services.

Gandhi, Nehru and other historic personalities continued on the postal issues coming from the country since Independence, with almost half a century seeing the Gandhi definitives of denominations most frequently used in the era concerned, becoming synonymous with a postage stamp to the Indian people of that respective time period[citation needed]. New themes are now finding their place on Indian postage stamps, featuring some stamps issued jointly with postal agencies of other countries, renewable energy sources, the local flora and fauna and even the special annual issues wishing season's greetings. On March 9, 2011 India Post launched an online e-post office.[28] The portal will provide for electronic money order, instant money order, sale of philatelic stamps, postal information, tracking of express and international shipments, PIN code search and registration of feedback and complaints online.[29]
This section requires expansion.

[edit]National Philatelic Museum

But I hit upon a much simpler plan. I gathered together all the children in my locality and asked them to volunteer two or three hours' labour of a morning when they had no [Link] they willingly agreed to do. I promised to bless them and give them, as a reward, used postage stamps which I had collected. Mahatma Gandhi, Rajkot 1896.[30]

The National Philatelic Museum of India was inaugurated on 6 July 1968 in New Delhi. It had its beginning at a meeting of the Philatelic Advisory Committee on 18 September 1962. Besides the large collection of India Postage stamps designed, printed and issued, it has a large collection of Indian states, both confederate and feudatory, early essays, proofs and colour trials, a collection of Indian stamps "used abroad" and as well as early Indian postcards, postal stationery and thematic collections.[31] The museum was extensively renovated in 2009. It now includes more exhibits, a philatelic bureau and other postal objects such as beautiful Victorian post boxes.[32] An international philatelic exhibition was held from 1218 February 2011, on the centenary of India's first official air mail. For the occasion of INDIPEX 2011 India Post brought out a special stamp on Gandhi Ji to commemorate the event. It is printed on khadi, the handspun cotton material that Gandhi Ji held out as the symbol of self determination and self reliance. The Presentation Pack was released by Pratibha Patil, the President of India on Saturday 12th February 2011 at INDIPEX 2011, the World Philatelic Exhibition held in New Delhi, the capital of India.[33]
[edit]

India possesses the largest postal network in the world with 155,000 post offices spread all over the country as on March 31, 2001, of which 89 per cent are in the rural sector. Post offices in India play a vital role in the rural areas. They connect these rural areas with the rest of the country and also provide banking facilities in the absence of banks in the rural areas. The modern postal service in India is more than 150 years old. In 1854, the Post Office in the Province of Sindh, (then in British India ), made postal history, when India became the first country to issue postage stamps. In October 1854, all the post offices of Indian sub continent came under centralized control. In the same year Railway Mail Service was established and India had a network of 701 post offices across the continent. In 1911, India achieved another "first" when a biplane from Allahabad to Naini flew with 6500 pieces of mail. The flight was the first official Air Mail in the world. After independence, the Indian government broadened the vision of the postal system to reach the entire population of the country. Today Indian postal system has a reach that ranges from arid deserts of Rajasthan and Kutch to the icy heights of Laddakh. India has the highest post office in the world in Sikkim at a height of 15,500 feet (postal code 172114). Indian postal service provide many facilities like - general or registered mail, parcel post, speed post, express post, e post and special courier service known as EMS-speed post. They also offer a number of post office savings schemes like National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra, Recurring Deposits and Term Deposits.

India Post, India's Department of Post, is a government operated postal system in India; it is generally referred to within India as "the post office". The Indian Postal Service, with 155,333 post offices, is the most widely distributed post office system in the world (China is next, with 57,000). The large numbers are a result of a long tradition of many disparate postal systems which were unified in the Indian Union post-Independence. Owing to this far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service is also involved in other services such as small savings banking and financial services. India Post unveiled a new logo in September 2008 to signify that it is all set to attune to the world class postal systems. The new logo has a rectangle in the shape of an envelope in deep red with the image of birds wings in bright yellow. Red symbolises the traditional association with post office, along with passion, power and commitment, while yellow communicates hope, joy and happiness. It sends the message of India Post as a dynamic organisation with modern and professional approach in its service to the common man, business and corporate clients. India Post will very soon acquire a number of aircrafts to carry letters, parcels and logistic consignments for making overnight delivery in major towns of the country. India Post will also offer a host of new customer services to be launched very soon. These will include express parcel post retail service, gift parcel post service, logistics post air service, sale of gold coins through retail post, express money order service, speed post call centres and a range of new international services. The unveiling of the logo marks a new beginning in the journey of India Post. The new logo was built with the help of Ogilvy and Mather.

The original logo shown alongside is relatively plain but similar to the new logo. The existing logo of India Post was designed in 1995 with the help of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. The department says that the need for a change was felt because of the rapid transformation in the Indian economy and the need to create a newer and more energetic feel for India Post. A corporate logo was launched on World Post Day in 1993 (October 9, 1993), representing dynamism and action

HISTORY OF TAMIL NADU POSTAL CIRCLE Postal system in Tamilnadu originated during the days of the East India Company. What started as a scheme to convey the mails of the East India Company and its servants in the erstwhile Madras, has now grown into a mammoth system handling over 80 lakhs of mail per day. John Philip Burlton of the East India Company suggested to the Governor of Madras, in 1785, to establish a post office in Fort Saint George so that the letters of the staff of the Company which were carried free at the expense of the Government, could be charged for. His suggestion was accepted and a post office was established at Fort Saint George on 1st June, 1786. This post office later grew into Madras GPO, which is now called as Chennai GPO. At that time, the Post was divided into three divisions, Madras North to Ganjam, Madras South to Anjengo and Madras West to Vellore. The head of the Organisation was a Postmaster General, with his office established at Madras. He was assisted by one Deputy, one writer or native assistant, five sorters, one head-peon and ten peons. In 1789, arrangements were made for despatch of letters to Bombay through Masulipatnam and through Nizam's dominion. The letters were despatched once in a week to Masulipatnam and from there to Bombay. It took about 17 days for a letter to reach Bombay and 19 to reach Calcutta. Transportation of mails was done by mail carts and horses, initially. Later with the advent of railways and motorways, mail transportation was much faster which resulted in an increase in the number of post offices and in the volume of mails handled. The Post-War Plan formulated in 1945 facilitated the expansion of postal services under two broad categories - urban areas and rural areas. Places with a population of 10,000 or more and Municipalities were classified as urban areas. The expansion into rural areas envisaged the establishment of one post office for every village with a population of 2000 or more. In case of villages with a population of 500 or less, delivery of mails were arranged at

intervals of not more than a week. After Independence, the Five Year Plans laid emphasis on expansion of communication facilities as an integral part of the socio-economic development. During the first Five Year Plan period, the number of post office increased three-fold. Rural delivery system was strengthened and Tamilnadu circle was the first to extend daily delivery service to all the villages, from March 1976. Reorganisation of the States resulted in carving Andhra, Karnataka and Kerala Postal Circles out of the composite Madras Circle. The present day Tamilnadu Postal Circle came into being in the year 1961.