Page 120 - CTB-1 10 May

120 PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE
National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation
Above: The statue of Prof. SP Chatterjee, Founder Director of NATMO, being garlanded
Rashtriya Atlas Bhavan, Salt Lake
National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation, or NATMO, a subordinate office under Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, started its journey with compilation of the National Atlas in Hindi by Prof. SP Chatterjee in the year 1956. Today, it is a pioneering organization engaged in
Thematic Cartography, Atlas Cartography, Geographical Research and Training.
Padma Bhushan Professor SP
Chatterjee, the doyen of Indian Geography,
and the Founder Director of the National
Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), initiated the plan to compile
a national atlas of India in Hindi. A
discussion on this subject with the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1953, resulted in his instant approval of the project. On 18 August 1956, this small idea became a full-fledged organization, known as National Atlas Organisation (NAO). NAO was renamed as the National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation on 9 August 1978.
Prof. Chatterjee’s dream turned into a reality with the successful compilation of National Atlas
of India in Hindi in 1957. Another important achievement was when the first landuse map of India (Scale 1:5,000,000), one of the maps of Bharat Rashtriya Atlas (in Hindi), served as the base
information on natural resources and their spatial disposition, which are basic inputs for planning. More projects flowed in and more professionals joined in the first-ever venture, pushing NATMO to the status of a national organization. In 1986, the NATMO Offset Printing Unit was set up. And, on
24 August 1994, NATMO established its
Digital Mapping and GIS Division. NATMO provides services not only in the
field of thematic cartography and geo-spatial technology but also to technocrats, professionals, research scholars, planners and students. NATMO library is famous for its rare books/CDs, journals, topographical sheets, and maps. Thematic maps and atlases compiled by NATMO are popular across