New Delhi: National Archives of India has acquired the valuable collection of late Dr. Ram Bux Singh, an internationally acclaimed scientist, who revolutionized the field of biogas technology with his groundbreaking contributions on 26 September 2023. Born in Sitapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, Dr. Singh pursued his education in engineering and dedicated his life to the promotion, development, and dissemination of renewable energy, specifically focusing on bio-gas technology. His entire life was devoted to the establishment of an indigenous, home-grown mechanism for generating and providing low cost fuel which could be easily produced in a sustainable manner and provide clean energy.
These papers were rescued from neglect and obscurity by his family, and the material is rich in variety and archival value. It consists of his credentials, as well as a substantial collection of extracts from journals, newspapers attesting his unique contributions, all meticulously documenting his work. The collection contains files, framed pictures, original identification cards and a collection of books in Hindi and English. This collection offers an unique corpus of material to the researcher interested in writing about post-independence scientific history and as such, is an invaluable addition to the rich Private Archives collection of National Archives of India.
The National Archives of India is the custodian of the non-current records of the Government of India and holds them in trust for the use of administrators and scholars and functions under the provisions laid down under The Public Records Act,1993. Archives are the priceless documentary heritage of any nation and as the premier archival institution in the country, the National Archives of India plays a key role in guiding and shaping the development of archival consciousness both at the national as well as state level.
It is an Attached Office under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Culture. Established in March 1891 at Calcutta as the Imperial Record Department, it was shifted to New Delhi following the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911.National Archives of India has at present in its repositories a collection of Public Records, which includes files, volumes, maps, Bills assented to by the President of India, treaties, rare manuscripts oriental records, private papers, cartographic records, important collection of Gazettes and Gazetteers, Census records, assembly and parliament debates, proscribed literature, travel accounts etc. Besides non-current public records, NAI has a rich and ever growing collection of private papers of eminent Indians from all walks of life, who have all made significant contributions to our national life and identity.
