‘Abhilekh Patal’ Portal

News:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently highlighted a digital archive by the National Archives of India and encouraged people to explore the ‘Abhilekh Patal’ portal to better understand India’s history.

About ‘Abhilekh Patal’ Portal

• It is an online portal that provides access to the digitised collections and reference materials of the National Archives of India. 
• “Abhilekh” is a Sanskrit term meaning records, while “Patal” refers to a board or surface. Together, they form the acronym for Portal for Access to Archives and Learning.
• Curated by: It is curated by the National Archives of India (NAI).
• Nodal Ministry: It functions under the Ministry of Culture.
• It is still being developed, and more data is regularly added.
• Mission: It is to provide easy access to India’s historical archives, which include around 7 million records. As part of this effort, these records are being digitised to make them accessible in the modern era.
• Purpose: Its main purpose is to make historical records easily accessible to people across the world. 
  • Researchers, students, and curious learners can use it to study original sources that provide insights into events, people, and social changes.
• How it works: 
  • It provides access to an index of about 7 million records through its “Reference Tools” collection. 
  • To make access easier, users can request copies through the Page on Demand (POD) service for records that are already digitised. 
  • For records listed but not yet digitised, users can use the Digitise on Demand (DOD) service. 
  • If records are only in the reference tools and not yet in the database, users can contact the research room for assistance.
• Coverage: The archival collections available through this portal cover a wide range of historical records preserved by the NAI. These include:
  • Public records transferred from various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India
  • Private papers of eminent personalities
  • Archival reference media such as photographs, maps, microfilms and rare documents
  • Digitised historical government files and archival collections maintained by NAI

About National Archives of India It is the custodian of the records of enduring value of the Government of India.  It is the biggest archival repository in South Asia.  Establishment year: It was established on 11 March 1891 at Calcutta (Kolkata) as the Imperial Records Department. Nodal ministry: Ministry of Culture Head office: It is at New Delhi.  Regional office: It is at Bhopal. Record centre: It has three record centers:  Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Puducherry It has a vast corpus of records such as public records, private papers, oriental records, cartographic records and microfilms, which constitute an invaluable source of information for scholars/administrators and other users of archives. The Director General of Archives, heading the Department, is responsible for the implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993 and the rules made thereunder, Public Records Rules, 1997 for the management, administration and preservation of public records in the Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings etc. of the Central Government.