The Indian Postal Service has around 155,333 post offices that makes it the most widely distributed post office system in the world. The postal services in India comes under the Department of Posts which is a part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology under the Government of India.

The Postal Service Board is the apex body of the department. The board consists of a chairman and three members. The three members hold the portfolios of Operations & Marketing, Infrastructure & Financial Services, and Personnel. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Board is also a permanent invitee to the Board.

There are 22 postal circles in India. Each circle is headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service may exist in the Circles and Regions.

Apart from this, there is a special arrangement for a different 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.

Exam Pattern: The exam is conducted in two stages-

• Preliminary Examination: It is of objective type, which is a qualifying examination.
• Main Examination: It consists of written examination and interview.

The Preliminary Examination is held in May/June and the Main Examination in October/November.