The Public Records Act, 1993

(1) This Act may be called the Public Records Act, 1993. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Board" means the Archival Advisory Board constituted under sub-section (1) of section 13; (b) "Director General" means the Director General of Archives appointed by the CentralGovernment and includes any officer authorised by that Government to perform the duties of theDirector General; (c) "head of the Archives" means a person holding the charge of the Archives of the Unionterritory Administration; (d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (e) "public records" includes (i) any document, manuscript and file; (ii) any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document; (iii) any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged ornot); and (iv) any other material produced by a computer or by any other device,of any records creating agency; (f) records creating agency includes,-- (i) in relation to the Central Government, any ministry, department or office of thatGovernment; (ii) in relation to any statutory body or corporation wholly or substantially controlled orfinanced by the Central Government or commission or any committee constituted by thatGovernment, the offices of the said body, corporation, commission or committee; (iii) in relation to a Union territory Administration, any department or office of thatAdministration; (iv) in relation to any statutory body or corporation wholly or substantially controlled orfinanced by Union territory Administration or commission or any committee constituted by thatAdministration, the offices of the said body, corporation, commission or committee; (g) "records officer" means the officer nominated by the records creating agency undersub-section (1) of section 5.

(1) The Central Government shall havethe power to coordinate, regulate and supervise the operations connected with the administration,management, preservation, selection, disposal and retirement of public records under this Act. (2) The Central Government in relation to the public records of the records creating agenciesspecified in sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (f) of section 2 and the Union territory Administration inrelation to the public records of the records creating agencies specified in sub-clauses (iii) and (iv) of thesaid clause, may, by order, authorise the Director General or the head of the Archives, as the case may be,subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, to carry out all or any of the followingfunctions, namely:-- (a) supervision, management and control of the Archives. (b) acceptance for deposit of public records of permanent nature after such period as may beprescribed; (c) custody, use and withdrawal of public records; (d) arrangement, preservation and exhibition of public records; (e) preparation of inventories, indices, catalogues and other reference media of public records; (f) analysing, developing, promoting and coordinating the standards, procedures and thetechniques for improvement of the records management system; (g) ensuring the maintenance, arrangement and security of public records in the Archives and inthe offices of the records creating agency; (h) promoting utilisation of available space and maintenance of equipments for preserving publicrecords; (i) tendering advice to records creating agencies on the compilation, classification and disposal ofrecords and application of standards, procedures and techniques of records management; (j) survey and inspection of public records; (k) organising training programmes in various disciplines of Archives administration and recordsmanagement; (l) accepting records from any private source; (m) regulating access to public records; (n) receiving records from defunct bodies and making arrangement for securing public records inthe event of national emergency; (o) receiving reports on records management and disposal practices from the records officer; (p) providing authenticated copies of, or extracts from, public records; (q) destroying or disposal of public records; (r) obtaining on lease or purchasing or accepting as gift any document of historical or nationalimportance.

No person shall take or cause to betaken out of India any public records without the prior approval of the Central Government: Provided that no such prior approval shall be required if any public records are taken or sent out ofIndia for any official purpose.

(1) Every records creating agency shall nominate one of its officers as recordsofficer to discharge the functions under this Act. (2) Every records creating agency may set up such number of record rooms in such places as it deemsfit and shall place each record room under the charge of a records officer.