Survey of India

Indian agency for mapping and surveying

Survey of India

Survey and mapping agency overview
Formed| 1767; 258 years ago (1767)[1]
Jurisdiction| Government of India
Headquarters| Hathibarkala Estate, New Cantt Road, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India[2]
Employees| 5,500 (2016)[3]
Minister responsible|

* Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology

Survey and mapping agency executive|

* Hitesh Kumar S Makwana, Surveyor General of India

Parent department| Department of Science and Technology
Website| surveyofindia.gov.in
A map showing the triangles and transects used in the Great Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1852), produced in 1870. Surveyor-General of India George Everest (b.1790-d.1866) under whom GTS was completed and Mount Everest was named in his honour.

The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying.[4] Set up in 1767[5] to help consolidate the territories of the British East India Company, it is one of the oldest Engineering Departments of the Government of India. Its members are from Survey of India Service cadre of Civil Services of India. It is headed by the Surveyor General of India. At present, the Surveyor General is Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana.

## History

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The history of the Survey of India dates back to the 18th century.[6] "First modern scientific survey of India" was undertaken by John Mather in 1793–96 on instructions of Superintendent of Salem and Baramahal, Col. Alexander Read. The present Dharmapuri district, Krishnagiri district and North Arcot in western Tamil Nadu were then called Baramahal.[7]

The Great Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1852) was started by British surveyor Col. William Lambton on 10 April 1802, heading from St. Thomas Mount in Chennai to the foothills of the Himalayas.[citation needed] 36 inch huge half ton weight Theodolite was used, which took 57 days to measure the 12-km base line. This 5-decade project was completed under Survey General Lt. George Everest in the year 1852. Pioneering mathematician and Surveyor Radhanath Sikdar measured Mount Everest in 1852, with a height of 29,002 feet. Modern measurements indicate the height is 29,037 feet. This is regarded as the beginning of a new age of systematic topographical mapping in India succeeding the classical age, and the founding of one of the oldest survey and mapping agencies in the world.

## Organisation

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The Survey of India, headquartered at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, has 18 geospatial divisions ranging from the prediction of tides to aerial survey. It has 23 Geo-spatial Data Centers spread across India, each catering to the respective administrative area. Surveyors are the backbone of Survey of India. Appointments to Group 'A' Civil Stream posts in the Junior Time Scale (Dy Supdtg Surveyor) in Survey of India are made on the basis of competitive Indian Engineering Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission . The important posts/ grades in Survey of India are in the following order of seniority: Draftsman, Plane Tabler, Survey Assistant, Surveyor, Officer Surveyor, Deputy Superintending Surveyor, Superintending Surveyor, Superintending Surveyor (Non-Functional Second Grade)/Deputy Director, Director/Deputy Surveyor General, Additional Surveyor General, Surveyor General.

## Responsibilities

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* Advisor to the Indian Government: The Survey of India acts as an adviser to the Government of India on all cartography-related matters, such as geodesy, photogrammetry, mapping and map reproduction.
* Geo names: Survey of India is responsible for the naming convention and spellings of names of geographical features of India.
* Certification and publication: Scrutiny and certification of external boundaries of India and Coastline on maps published by the other agencies including private publishers. Publication of tide tables (one year in advance) and maps of India.
* Surveys: geodetic datum, geodetic control network, topographical control, geophysical surveys, cadastral surveying, geological maps, aeronautical charts within India, such as for forests, army cantonments, large scale cities, guide maps, developmental or conservation projects, etc.
* National borders: Demarcation of the borders and external boundaries of India as well as advice on the demarcation of inter-state boundaries.
* Oceanic tidal prediction: Undertake prediction of tides at 44 ports including 14 foreign ports.
* Research and development: In the area of photogrammetry, cartography, geodesy, topographical surveys and indigenisation of technology.
* Training: Training for the central and state government departments as well as from foreign countries.

## Maps

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The Survey of India publishes maps and the unrestricted category maps can be obtained from its several Geo-spatial data centers. Restricted category maps require due approval from government authorities. Many other rules govern the sale and use of Survey of India maps. Only an Indian citizen may purchase topographic maps and these may not be exported from India for any reason.[8] On 15 February 2021, the Government of India announced changes to the country's mapping policy which frees up lot of earlier restrictions related to mapping.[9] A list of restrictions proposed is published by DST for comments by 30 July 2021.[10]

## Gallery

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* Old logo of the Survey of India

* Radhanath Sikdar, a mathematician who first calculated the height of Mount Everest in 1852.

* William Lambton (1753 – 19 January 1823) started Great Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1852).

## See also

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* Indian Institute of Surveying & Mapping (IIS&M)
* Survey of India Service
* Cartography of India
* Linguistic Survey of India

## References

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1. ^ "About Us". Survey of India. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
2. ^ "Contact us". Survey of India. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
3. ^ "Annual Report 2015-2016" (PDF). Survey of India. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
4. ^ On 250th birthday, Survey of India wants to shed its cloak of secrecy Archived 29 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Indian Express.
5. ^ St. Peter Church Allahabad Archived 17 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
6. ^ Dean, Riaz (2019). Mapping The Great Game: Explorers, Spies & Maps in Nineteenth-century Asia. Oxford: Casemate (UK). pp. 72–83\. ISBN 978-1-61200-814-1.
7. ^ Baramahal records Vol.I P.220, In Letter Dated 04.10.1797 The British Government appreciated Col. Alexander Read.
8. ^ "Restriction on maps in India". 3 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
9. ^ Chaudhary, Swapnil (17 February 2021). "New mapping policy". Policy Code. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
10. ^ "Tentative List of Features/Installations and their sensitive attributes with reference to para 8(iii)(a) of the "Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps" issued on 15.02.2021" (PDF). Policy Code. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

## Further reading

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* Stacey's Adventure, Stacey V. (2009). Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-18486-9.
* John Keay. 2000. The Great Arc, London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-257062-9.
* Dean, Riaz (2019). Mapping The Great Game: Explorers, Spies & Maps in Nineteenth-century Asia. Oxford: Casemate (UK). pp. 67–123\. ISBN 978-1-61200-814-1.
* Deb Roy, Rama (1986), "The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in a Historical Perspective" (PDF), Indian Journal of History of Science, 21 (1): 22–32, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2014
* Heaney, G. F. (September 1952), "The Survey of India Since the Second World War", The Geographical Journal, 118 (3): 280–293, doi:10.2307/1790313, JSTOR 1790313
* Reginald Henry Phillimore, Historical Records of the Survey of India, 5 vols. Dehra Dun, Survey of India (1945–1968)
* Volume 1: 18th Century; Volume 2: 1800 to 1815; Volume 3: 1815 to 1830; Volume 4: 1830 to 1843; Volume 5: 1844 to 1861

## External links

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* Official website
* "Online maps portal of Survey of India". Retrieved 6 January 2022.
* India Grid System: the coordinate system used by Survey of India.
* Open Series Map (OSM): new map numbering system introduced as per the National Map Policy of 2005 by Survey of India.
* India and Adjacent Countries (IAC): old map numbering system used previously by Survey of India

* v
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Department of Science and Technology (India)

DST Autonomous
science and technology
institutions

* Agharkar Research Institute
* Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences
* Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences
* Bose Institute
* Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, Bangalore
* Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
* International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad
* Institute of Nano Science and Technology
* Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
* Indian Institute of Astrophysics
* National Innovation Foundation – India
* Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
* Raman Research Institute
* Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum
* S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
* The Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology, Guwahati
* Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
* Technology Development Board
* North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach
* Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
* Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi

Attached Institutions|

* National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation, Kolkata
* Survey of India, Dehradun

* Scientific Programmes :
* Scientific & Engineering Research
* Technology Development
* International S&T Cooperation
* S&T for Socio Economic Programme
* Technology Missions Division
* Women Scientists Programs

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef

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