The State Support Mission (SSM), Haryana, under the aegis of the Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute of Fiscal Management (SJHIFM), in collaboration with the Archives Department, Haryana, organized a consultation meeting to deliberate upon the formulation of a comprehensive Archives Policy for the State of Haryana.
The initiative is being undertaken in line with the guiding principles of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) and the National Education Policy (NEP), ensuring that the State’s archival management framework is both progressive and rooted in India’s cultural ethos.
The meeting was conducted under the vision of Dr. Raj Nehru, Director General, SJHIFM and was guided by Dr. Neeru, Joint Director, SJHIFM & Nodal Officer, State Support Mission, along with Ms. Manju Yadav, Deputy Director, Archives Department, Haryana.
Mr. Rahul Singla, Team Lead, State Support Mission, Haryana initiated the meeting by outlining the role and vision of SSM, emphasizing the need and importance of drafting a policy for institutional strengthening of the Indian Knowledge System.
Officers from the Archives Departments of various States and Union Territories also joined the proceedings through video conferencing, thereby ensuring broad-based National representation and collaborative engagement. The consultation provided a platform for in-depth discussions on the functioning of Archives departments across India.
Participants shared insights, highlighted challenges, and exchanged best practices. The deliberations covered a wide spectrum of issues, including digitization of archival records to ensure their long-term preservation, development of internship and capacity-building policies to engage youth and researchers, identification of funding mechanisms for sustainable archival development, review of prevailing legal frameworks, and the adoption of outreach strategies to strengthen citizen engagement with heritage preservation.
This initiative aims to facilitate researchers in India and strengthen the Indian knowledge system. A special focus was placed on developing a robust policy framework for digitization, which would address the recovery, procurement, and technological preservation of archival records.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Neeru emphasized that the initiative being undertaken by the State Support Mission would provide Haryana with a strong and future-ready Archives Policy. She stated that the proposed policy would serve as an instrument for preserving heritage, promoting access to knowledge for researchers and citizens, and contributing to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strengthening institutions. She further underlined that the policy framework has the potential to become a benchmark of good governance in archival management, which can be replicated across other States and Union Territories.