Records Management (RM)
Introduction :
National Archives of India is the nodal agency of Government of India for the implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993 and the Public Records Rules, 1997 made under the Act. Apart from Central Government Ministries, Departments Offices etc., the Public Sector Undertakings, Statutory Bodies, Corporations, Commissions, Committees set up by the Government of India are covered under this Act.
The National Archives of India is responsible for not only keeping in safe custody the records of the various Ministries / Departments of the Government of India, but is also engaged in devising suitable mechanism to streamline the management of their records in a systematic manner so that they can be used by administrators and scholars at ease. It also advises the State Governments, Custodial Institutions etc., in proper upkeep conservations and management of their records. Records Management encompasses the entire gamut of activities in the lifecycle of records from their creation to final disposition. The major areas of functional records management cover the following aspects:
- Training in Records Management activities:
- Delineating the role of the Director General of Archives:
- Constitution of the Archival Advisory Board :
- Note on Minimum Requirements for a Records Room: (Size 44 KB)
Orientation Courses in Records Management are conducted regularly for designated Records Officers of various Ministries/ Departments/PSUs etc with a view to enable them to familiarize with various duties as stipulated under section 6 (1) of the Public Records Act, 1993 . The Calendar of Orientation Courses is uploaded for information of all the stake holders. In addition, on request, special customised training workshops in Records Management are also conducted for various Ministries/ Departments/PSUs etc.
- Annual inspection of Departmental Records Rooms based on the Questionnaire prescribed in the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure Appendix 57 (Size 299 KB) is conducted regularly by the National Archives of India.
- Reporting on implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993.
Under the provisions of the Public Records Rules, 1997 each records creating agency is required to submit periodical reports on various activities related to records management, such as:
- Appraisal of non-current records Form 1, (Size 24 KB) Public Records Rules, 1997
- Downgrading of classified records Form 4, (Size 8 KB) Public Records Rules, 1997
- Annual Report reflecting these activities along with information on the setting up of Department Records Rooms, Nomination of Departmental Records Officers, Organisational History, records of defunct organisations, etc. under them. Form 5, (Size 39 KB) Public Records Rules, 1997
- Report of the Director General of Archives on the implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993.
- Recording , Reviewing, indexing and weeding of public records Form 7, (Size 19 KB) Public Records Rules, 1997
Annual Report of the Director General of Archives on the implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993 in various records creating agencies, based on the reports submitted in Form 5, Public Records Rules, 1997 is submitted by the Director General of Archives of India to the Parliament.