The National Archives of India (NAI), under the Ministry of Culture, has undertaken a phased programme for the digitisation of archival records with the objective of preserving historically valuable documents and improving access to archival resources for researchers and the public.

The Abhilekh Patal portal is presently hosting approximately the following:

1. 74,03,109 reference media records
2. 40,09,504 digitised files
3. 18,98,20,637 digitised pages

The archival collections available through the Abhilekh Patal portal cover a wide range of historical records preserved by the National Archives of India. These include:

1. Public records transferred from various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India
2. Private papers of eminent personalities
3. Archival reference media such as photographs, maps, microfilms and rare documents
4. Digitised historical government files and archival collections maintained by NAI

During the last three years, sustained efforts have been undertaken to strengthen and expand the digital archival repository. These efforts include:

1. Large-scale digitisation of archival files and historical records
2. Integration of newly accessioned archival material into the digital repository
3. Creation and improvement of archival metadata and catalogue descriptions
4. Expansion of digitised reference media collections available through the portal

Several initiatives have been undertaken by the National Archives of India to enhance user accessibility and improve the management and standardisation of archival metadata. These initiatives include:

1. Development of a comprehensive Online Archival Information Management System through the Abhilekh Patal platform
2. Implementation of standardised archival metadata frameworks and cataloguing practices
3. Provision of advanced search and retrieval facilities to enable efficient discovery of archival records
4. Online user registration and remote access facilities allowing researchers and scholars to access archival information digitally
5. Introduction of services such as Digitize-on-Demand (DoD) and Page-on-Demand (PoD) to facilitate access to archival material not yet digitized

This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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M Annadurai

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