Communications have played a vital role in warfare. Communications constitute the nervous system of Armies all over the world. From smoke signals, human runners and pigeons, to telegraphy and on to wireless communications, the transformation to the information age of today has been dramatic & revolutionary. The Corps of Signals of the Indian Army with its dedicated band of officers and men, over the years has assimilated the emerging technologies to build a well oiled networking force to match the best in the world.

Lt. Col S.H. Powell, Royal Engineers was the founder and first head of the Indian Signal Service which was subsequently re-designated as the Indian Signal Corps. The motto of the Corps is "Teevra Chaukas" i.e. "Swift and Secure", and its emblem depicts the figure of the Roman deity "Mercury" or "Hermes", the messenger of Gods in Greek mythology, which incidentally has the unique distinction of being the common emblem of most armies of the Commonwealth group of nations.

The role of the Corps of Signals is to provide secure, reliable and responsive strategic, operational and tactical communications and spearheads the information technology revolution in the Indian Army. The Corps has charted a progressive path full of vision, determination and the will to excel from lines and carrier system to state-of-the art networks using multifarious communication media, systems and equipments like fiber optics, high capacity switchers, Satellite and Cellular Communications and radio equipments graduating now to Software Defined Radios (SDR).

The Corps of Signals, whose men are proudly referred to as 'Information Warriors' has initiated and completed a number of prestigious communication projects like Army Static Switched Communication Network (ASCON) in 1995 and Army Wide Area Network (AWAN) in 2006.

The signallers are also serving the Nation by meeting the difficult communication needs for "Out of Area Contingencies", Disaster and Flood Relief operations etc as aid to civil authorities and in UN Peace Keeping Missions abroad.

In the field of sports, the Corps has an excellent record. It has produced many world class/Olympian sportsmen who have represented the country at various National and International meets in hockey, boxing, athletics.

On 15 February 2011, the Corps of Signals will complete 100 years of its service to the Armed Forces.

India Post is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp on the Corps of Signals.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India