India's oldest scientific department traces its origin to the appointment of a Surveyor General of Bengal in 1767

Background

The Survey of India is the principal mapping agency of the country and the oldest scientific department in India, and is among the oldest survey establishments in the world.
Its origin is traced to the year 1767, when Major James Rennell was appointed Surveyor General of Bengal.
The foundation for the scientific survey and mapping of the country was laid in the nineteenth century by surveyors including Col. Lambton and Sir George Everest.
Those maps underpinned almost all the major developmental activity of modern India and the department's work has been tied to the country's growth and defence priorities.
The department marked its 250th anniversary with a year-long series of events, presented by the Government as an occasion to recognise the institution's history and to set out a new era of geospatial work for India.