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| Survey and mapping agency overview | |
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| 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 | |
| Survey and mapping agency executive |
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| Parent department | Department of Science and Technology |
| Website | surveyofindia |
TheSurvey of India isIndia's central engineering agency in charge ofmapping andsurveying.[4] Set up in 1767[5] to help consolidate the territories of theBritish East India Company, it is one of the oldest Engineering Departments of theGovernment of India. Its members are fromSurvey of India Service cadre ofCivil Services of India. It is headed by theSurveyor General of India. At present, the Surveyor General is Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana.
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 presentDharmapuri district,Krishnagiri district andNorth Arcot in westernTamil Nadu were then called Baramahal.[7]
TheGreat Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1852) was started by British surveyor Col.William Lambton on 10 April 1802, heading fromSt. Thomas Mount inChennai to thefoothills of the Himalayas.[citation needed] 36 inch huge half ton weightTheodolite was used, which took 57 days to measure the 12-km base line. This 5-decade project was completed under Survey GeneralLt. George Everest in the year 1852. Pioneering mathematician and SurveyorRadhanath Sikdar measuredMount 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.
The Survey of India, headquartered atDehradun,Uttarakhand, has 18 geospatial divisions ranging from the prediction oftides toaerial survey. It has 23 Geo-spatial Directorate spread across India, each catering to the respective administrative area. Surveyors are the backbone of Survey of India.Appointments to Group 'A' posts in the Junior Time Scale (Dy Supdtg Surveyor) in Survey of India are made on the basis of competitiveIndian Engineering Services examination conducted by theUnion 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.
The Survey of India publishes maps and the unrestricted category maps can be obtained from its several Geo-spatial directorate. 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 purchasetopographic 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]
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