SRINAGAR: The Government of India (GoI) has directed all educational institutions across the country not to tamper with the map of India and to publish it in conformity with the Survey of India.
The government has stated that tampering with the map is a punishable offence. Anyone found doing so will be subject to imprisonment of up to six months, a fine, or both.
An order issued by the Ministry of Education, GoI, reads “Whosoever publishes a map of India, which is not in conformity with the maps of India as published by the Survey of India (SoI), shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.”
“The higher educational institutions are requested to ensure compliance with the aforementioned law,” the order reads.
The Survey of India publishes the map of India as per the guidelines issued by the GoI. All up-to-date information on SoI maps shall be available at various offices, map sales counters, and Geospatial Data Centres (GDC) under the SoI.
The information provided by the SoI includes all relevant details of maps such as scale, information content, date of data capture, price, mode of data dissemination, and whether Ministry of Defence clearance is available for issue as Open Series Map (OSM), among other things.
At present, India has 28 states and eight union territories, each with its own identity, history, and administrative setup.
As per the recent order, higher education institutions have been asked to ensure compliance with this law. (KNO)
