National Archives of India (NAI)

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    • The National Archives of India (NAI) does not have records of 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars, or even of the Green Revolution.

    National Archives of India (NAI) 

    • About:
      • Originally established as the Imperial Record Department in 1891 in Calcutta, the capital of British India.
      • The NAI is the repository of all non-current government records, holding them for the use of administrators and scholars. 
      • The NAI is now located in Delhi. 
    • Functions under: the Ministry of Culture.
    • Its Role & Significance:
      • It keeps and conserves records of the government and its organisations only.
      • It does not receive classified documents.
      • As per the Public Records Act, 1993, various central ministries and departments are supposed to transfer records more than 25 years old to the NAI, unless they pertain to classified information. 
      • However, it is up to the respective ministries and departments to ascertain what is classified information.
    • Abhilekh Patal portal:
      • NAI has also made efforts to make available all the records digitally — on the newly created portal. 
      • However, five years later, it’s a work in progress and the entire holdings haven’t been digitised so far, with 1,27,136 records available for online access.
    • Concerns:
      • There are in all 151 ministries and departments, and the NAI has only records of 64 agencies, including 36 ministries and departments. 
      • Several Union ministries and departments have not shared their records with NAI. The country is losing its history.
      • Various ministries and administrations come up with their own definitions of what is classified and what is non-current. 
      • Opacity and lack of accessibility are just a few of the issues regularly faced by researchers at the archives. 

    Source: IE

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