Page 128 - CTB-1 10 May

128 PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE
Survey of India
Above: Lieutenant-Colonel William Lambton, who began the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India
Pt. Nain Singh, one of the first Indian explorers, worked for the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India
Sir George Everest, Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843
Top-Right: Commemorative stamp of Survey of India
The Survey of India (SoI) is the national surveying and mapping organization of the country under Department of Science & Technology, and is the oldest scientific
department of Government of India which was set up in 1767.
After the victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when considerable portion of land came under
the control of East India Company, to collect the revenue they required details of the acquired area, for which they needed maps. For this purpose, an organization named the Survey of Bengal,
come into existence and Major James
Rennell was appointed Surveyor General
of Bengal on 1 January 1767 at Calcutta.
Similarly, Surveyor General of Bombay
was appointed in 1796 to survey the
Bombay Presidency and Surveyor General
of Madras in 1810, to Survey Madras
Presidency areas. As the survey work
expanded beyond these presidencies the
three were amalgamated into one in 1815, forming Surveyor General of India
with headquarters at
Calcutta, under
Colonel Collin Mackenzie. After Independence, many developmental activities had to be taken up which again required accurate maps. Survey of India has provided maps for developmental activities as well as for defence needs.
In the year 2005, the Union Cabinet approved the National Map Policy 2005 (NMP-2005), which mandates Survey of India to produce, maintain and disseminate the topographic map database of the whole country, which is the foundation of all spatial data.
MANDATE
National Spatial Reference Frame
includes defining the framework of precise coordinates and heights for entire country, Continuously Operating Reference Stations, tidal observations and prediction of
tides, gravity surveys and geo-magnetic observations across the country.
National Digital Elevation Model is a 3-dimensional digital model of earth’s surface on different resolutions.
National Topographic Template includes topographic maps on various scales, aeronautical charts, special purpose maps for airports or
airfields of AAI, Navy, and Coast Guards. Also, the special surveys and maps
Surveyor’s General Office in Dehradun