Rare government documents, records to be digitised

CHENNAI: The State government has decided to digitise copies of all rare documents available in various departments to preserve old records and facilitate e-office implementation by converting physical records into digital format.

The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) has been entrusted the work to digitise the documents, besides developing a comprehensive document management system software to access these records. Till now, only documents and records of the Tamil Nadu Archives Department were digitised.

“The objective is to convert historical and critical documents dating back to 1950 into digital format, facilitating efficient record management for various departments,” a senior official from the IT Department told DT Next.

“Records and documents to be digitised include government gazettes, orders, rare photographs, agreements, etc.,” he added.

Pointing out that about 20 lakh old and rare documents and records are available in the more than 30 departments, the official said Elcot will tie-up with private firms to carry out the digitisation process.

“As the rare and physical documents available in various departments are considered confidential, the whole process will be carried out in the premises of the respective department under tight monitoring,” he said.

The scanned records will be stored in microfilms based on the specific requirements of the user department. “The private firm hired to undertake the process will ensure that the microfilms maintain the quality and readability of the original documents, and that the digital images are clear, readable and possess archival durability,” said the official.

All scanned records will have a resolution of 300 dpi to 600 dpi, allowing for flexibility in black and white or colour scale scanning. He said the new data management software will support multiple permissions, including search, read-only, write, delete, print and download, to ensure restricted sharing and maintain confidentiality.

The digitisation work is expected to start from February or March, he said adding the project will be completed within 24 months.