POSTAL SERVICES IN INDIA
Overview- India Post is the brand name of the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
- With over 150,000 post offices, the Indian postal system is the largest postal services system in the world
- In terms of postal volume, India ranks sixth, behind the UK, Germany, Japan, France and Russia
- Postal services in India were introduced in 1837 in principal towns in each Presidency
History of postal services
- Postal services were introduced in 1837
- The Indian Postal Act 1854 established a separate postal department
- The first postage stamp, called Scinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 in Sind
- The first Postal Circle was the North West Province Circle in 1839
- The post card was introduced in 1879, money order system was introduced in 1880, Post Office Savings Bank in 1882, Railway Mail Service in 1907, Airmail Service in 1911
- Postal services today are governed by the Indian Post Office Act 1898
Organization of postal services
- Postal services in India are implemented by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
- India has been divided into 22 Postal Circles. Each Circle is headed by a Chief Postmaster General
- Each circle is further divided into Postal Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General
- In addition to the 22 Postal Circles, there is a special Circle called the Base Circle to cater to the armed forces. It falls under the purview of the Army Postal Service and is headed by an Additional Director General holding the rank of Major General
Postal Index Number (PIN)
- The PIN is the post office identification system used in India
- It was introduced in 1972
- There are 9 PIN zones in India and one functional zone
- The first digit of the PIN indicates the region, second digit indicates sub-region and third digit indicates sorting district
- The nine PIN zones covering India are
- 1 – Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J & K, Chandigarh
- 2 – UP, Uttarakhand
- 3 – Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli
- 4 – Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh
- 5 – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
- 6 – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry
- 7 – Orissa, West Bengal, all N.E. states, Andaman & Nicobar
- 8 – Bihar, Jharkhand
- 9 – Army Post Office
IMPORTANT SERVICES OF THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN INDIA
- Speed Post
- Introduced in 1986
- Provides express service for letters and documents
- Offers a money-back guarantee under which the postal fee will be refunded in case of delay in delivery
- Logistics Post
- Introduced in 2008
- Applicable for sending parcels and large consignments
- No weight limit
- Postal Life Insurance
- Launched in 1884
- Initially conceived as a welfare measure for the employees of the Post & Telegraph Department
- Currently open to Central, state and local government employees, banks, PSUs and government-aided educational institutions
- Savings Bank
- Launched in 1882
- Interest is completely tax free
TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA
Overview- The Indian telecommunication industry is the third largest in the world
- It is the second largest in terms of wireless connections
- India is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world
- Tele-density in India is around 45%
- In Sep 2009, Government announced the availability of Mobile Number Portability from Dec 2009. MNP would allow users to retain their phone number even if they changed service providers
History of telecommunications in India
- Telegraph facilities in India were first introduced between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850
- In 1953, work was started on telegraph lines connecting Calcutta, Agra, Peshawar, Bombay and Madras
- The first Telegraph Act was enacted in 1854
- Telegraph facilities were opened to the public in 1855
- The first telephone exchange in India was opened in Calcutta in Jan 1882. Exchanges were also established in Bombay and Madras in the same year
- The pioneer of telegraph and telephones in India was Dr. William O’Shaugnessy from the Calcutta Medical College
- Telecommunications in India today is governed by the Indian Telegraph Act 1885
Further development of telecommunications
- 1902: first wireless telegraph between Saugor Islands and Sandheads (West Bengal)
- 1913-1914: first automatic telephone exchange established in Simla
- 1927: first radio telegraph system between India and UK with beam stations at Khadki and Daund (Maharashtra)
- 1960: first subscriber trunk dialing (STD) introduced between Kanpur and Lucknow
- 1979: first optical fibre system commissioned at Pune
- 1980: first satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
- 1985: first mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis in Delhi
GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
- TRAI is an independent regulator established in 1997 to regulate the communications sector in India
- It consists of a Chairperson and two members
- Objectives of TRAI include
- To provide policies on communications in India
- Manage licenses for telecommunications
- Efficiently manage available spectrum
- Ensure compliance with provisions
- Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
- It is government-owned service provider operating in New Delhi, Bombay, Thane
- It was established in 1986
- Headquarters in New Delhi
- MTNL launched India’s first 3G mobile services in 2008
- In 2004, MTNL established a fully owned subsidiary Mahanagar Telephones Mauritius Limited (MTML) for providing basic, mobile and long-distance operations in Mauritius
- MTNL functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
- Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)
- Established in 1986
- It is India’s largest telecommunications company in long-distance, enterprise data and internet services
- Headquarters in Bombay
- It has the world’s largest network of submarine cables, by means of its subsidiary Tyco Global Network
- VSNL was renamed as Tata Communications in 2008
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
- Established in 2000 by corporatization of the commercial services of the Department of Telecom
- Headquarters in New Delhi
- It is India’s oldest and largest communications service provider
- It operates in every major city except Bombay and New Delhi, which are run by the MTNL
- Functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
IMPORTANT PLAYERS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA
| Company | Headquarters | Key people | Notes |
| Bharti Airtel | New Delhi | Sunil Mittal | Largest mobile phone company in India |
| Reliance communications | Bombay | Anil Ambani | Largest optical fibre network in India |
| Vodafone Essar | Bombay (Global HQ: London) | Marten Pieters | Vodafone is the largest mobile phone company in the world |
| BSNL | New Delhi | Kuldeep Goyal | India’s largest telecommunications company |
| Idea Cellular | Bombay | Kumar Mangalam Birla | |
| Tata Teleservices | Bombay | Ratan Tata | Tata Indicom, Tata Docomo (with NTT Docomo of Japan) and Virgin Mobile (Virgin Group, UK) |
| Aircel | Madras | Gurdeep Singh | Venture between Maxis Communications (Malaysia) and Apollo Hospitals |
| MTNL | New Delhi | RSP Sinha | |
| Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile) | Bombay | Sandip Basu | |
| Sistema Shyam | New Delhi | Vsevolod Rosanov Vitaly Savelyev | Venture between Sistema (Russia) and Shyam Telelink |
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