About DigiPIN
Precision Addressing for Every Meter of India
What is DigiPIN?
DigiPIN (Digital Postal Index Number) is a revolutionary geo-coded digital addressing system developed by India Post in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
Unlike traditional 6-digit PIN codes that cover broad geographical areas, DigiPIN assigns a unique 10-character alphanumeric code to every 4×4 meter grid cell across India — covering urban centers, rural villages, remote areas, and even maritime zones.
How It Works
Hierarchical Grid System
India's geographical area (Latitude 2.5°N to 38.5°N, Longitude 63.5°E to 99.5°E) is divided into a hierarchical 4×4 grid structure. This 36° × 36° bounding box is recursively subdivided 10 times, creating increasingly smaller cells.
Smart Symbol Set
Each of the 16 cells at every level is labeled with one of 16 unique symbols:
These characters were carefully chosen to avoid visual confusion (no O/0, I/1, S/5) and phonetic ambiguity.
Anticlockwise Spiral Pattern
Symbols are arranged in an anticlockwise spiral pattern within each 4×4 grid, providing directional properties. This means adjacent DigiPINs often share similar starting characters, making them intuitive for navigation.
Final Code Generation
After 10 levels of subdivision, the resulting cell is approximately 3.8m × 3.8m. The 10 characters from each level are combined to form the DigiPIN, formatted as:
Key Features
Offline Capable
DigiPIN can be generated and decoded without internet connectivity — it's pure mathematics.
Privacy First
No personal data is stored. DigiPIN only encodes geographical coordinates.
Permanent
DigiPINs are based on coordinates, not addresses. They never change, even if buildings do.
Open Source
The algorithm is publicly available. Anyone can implement it in their systems.
Use Cases
- Emergency Services: Ambulances, fire brigades, and police can locate victims with pinpoint accuracy.
- E-Commerce & Logistics: Last-mile delivery becomes precise, reducing failed deliveries and improving customer experience.
- Rural Addressing: Millions of homes without formal addresses can now be located.
- Drone Deliveries: Autonomous vehicles and drones can navigate to exact landing spots.
- Government Services: Census, welfare schemes, and infrastructure planning benefit from precise location data.
Open Standard by India Post
DigiPIN is an open standard released by the Government of India through India Post. The algorithm and reference implementations are freely available for developers, businesses, and government agencies to integrate into their systems.