Preparation of national and regional atlases in India

Summary

This paper reports on the institutional framework and progress of national and regional atlas production in India. Two government bodies bear primary responsibility: the National Atlas Organization under the Ministry of Scientific Research & Cultural Affairs prepares the National Atlas of India, while the Office of the Registrar General under the Ministry of Home Affairs oversees regional census atlases. Additionally, the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the Indian Statistical Institute have contributed regional economic atlases, including an atlas of the resources of Mysore (1960) and an Economic Atlas of Madras State (1962). Since the Hindi preliminary edition of the National Atlas in 1957, the National Atlas Organization, with a staff of approximately 175, has been compiling the main English edition. Following the recommendations of the IGU Commission on National Atlases, the 300-map series covers population, physical, administrative, and transport themes. As of the review period, 16 maps had been printed, 55 were in press, and 75 were under compilation. Detailed village-level data are first plotted on one-inch maps and subsequently reduced for publication. Concurrently, regional census atlases are being developed by the Superintendents of Census Operations of various states, directed by the Registrar General. Compilation for Orissa, Bihar, and Rajasthan has reached an advanced stage, while maps for other states—except Mysore and West Bengal—are in various phases of compilation. Close cooperation between the National Atlas Organization and state census offices underpins the entire endeavor, ensuring methodological consistency and comprehensive spatial coverage of India’s demographic and physical landscape.