Terms & Conditions

• 1.1 Admission/Registration Rules
• 1.2 Access Rules for Archival Collections
• 1.3 Reprographic Services Rules
• 1.4 General Instructions for Scholars

• 2.1 Membership/Registration/Admission
• 2.2 Requisition for documents and files
• 2.3 Requisition for Reprography Services
• 2.4 Copyright Clearance Declaration

1.1 Admission/Registration Rules

Admission to the Reading Room of the HDFC Archives is granted to only bona fide research scholars:-

• a) Faculty members, research scholars and students of Ashoka University.
• b) Faculty members and research scholars of recognized universities of India.
• c) Research scholars/assistants of recognized universities or institutions who produce introduction letter from their supervisor or Professor or Head of the Department of Universities or Principals of their Colleges or Heads of Institutions or any other evidence that may prove they are bona fide scholars acceptable to the Chair, Archives of Contemporary India.
• d) Other scholars, authors, journalists etc. engaged in writing work related to the collections in the Archives.

Note: Documentary film makers, curators of exhibitions, scholars, etc. wishing to consult and use the sources of the archives will have to take special permission from the Chair of the Archives and will have to give a written undertaking to abide by all the copyright issues pertaining to the material selected from the collections. And they should duly acknowledge the Archives for the archival material consulted by them. Shooting/using professional camera will be allowed only after making advance payment as per the Archives rules.

1.1.1 Foreign Scholars

• a) Foreign scholars including OCI/PIO card holders wishing to consult the primary sources in the Archives should bring a letter of introduction from their respective Universities/Institution with their topic of research. They should also submit another letter of introduction from their respective Missions in India addressed to the Chair of the Archives of Contemporary India.
• b) Foreign scholars submitting their projects through Indian Missions abroad or through foreign institutions based in India, or such cases where the research projects would involve field work, would require necessary clearance from the concerned Ministry. To avoid any loss of time after their arrival in the country, it is advisable that the scholars should send their applications well in advance directly to the concerned Ministry for the necessary clearances. Scholars under this category will be admitted to the Reading Room only after they submit such clearance on their visit to the Archives.
• c) All scholars should email their application on the prescribed form enclosing all documents as mentioned above to the Director, HDFC Archives and submit the original documents to the supervisor in the Reading Room on their arrival.

1.1.2 Proposed Fee structure for membership of Archives

1.2 Access Rules for Collections of the Archival

• a) The maximum period of membership is one year. After the expiry of this period one will need to renew the membership.
• b) Papers/files will be issued to the new scholar only after the approval of the admission form by the competent authority.
• c) All private/institutional papers in the archives are open for consultation except where the donor/donors have placed restrictions or closed the papers for a specific period of time.
• d) Catalogues of collections can be consulted on the Archives website as well as in the Reading Room.
• e) Scholars should give their requisition for papers/files on the prescribed form in duplicate in the Reading Room. Requisitions can be sent by email also to Director/Supervisor of the Reading Room to save time. Requisition forms will be available on the website.
• f) Scholars can access digital files on the PCs in the Reading Room and also on the Archives website as and when they are uploaded.
• g) Brittle and delicate papers will not be allowed for consultation.
• h) No access to the original files and documents that have been digitized.
• i) Scholars can reserve files for a week. Files not consulted for a week will be restored.
• j) Scholars should seek, in writing, permission from the Director of Archives in case they need to engage an assistant for research.
• k) Scholars are advised to handle the papers with utmost care. Membership is likely to be terminated in case a scholar is found damaging or disfiguring the document.

1.3 Reprographic Services Rules

• a) Reprographic services are available for scholars.
• b) Duplication of a document or a file is permitted only after the approval of the competent authority.
• c) Duplication of documents is undertaken only after receiving the requisition on the prescribed form and advance payment as per the archives rules.
• d) Duplication of a file is permitted in a collection but not the entire collection. Only ¼ duplication of the entire collection is permitted.
• e) Separate rates may be charged for different reprography services such as photocopying, scanning, microfilming, etc.
• f) Scholars are advised to handle the papers with utmost care. Membership is likely to be terminated in case a scholar is found damaging or disfiguring the document.
• g) Copyright rules would apply to duplication of images, photos, audios, videos, etc.
• h) Photography/scanning by any means is strictly prohibited in the Reading Room.
• i) Photographs of materials using cameras or cameras in mobile phones may be taken only with permission from the Director, Archives.
• j) Reprographic Charges for archival documents and photographs:

1.3.1 Proposed Reprographic Charges

Indian Scholars

• i) Photocopy per page A1-A4: First page of file Rs.100, and Subsequent pages: Rs.30 per page
• ii) Scanning: First page of file Rs.200, and Subsequent pages Rs.30 + pen drive (as per GB)
• iii) Digital/microfilm archival material on pen drive: pen drive (as per GB)
• iv) Photograph/images 300 dpi: Rs.500 per photo + pen drive 600 dpi: Rs.1000 per photo + pen drive
• v) Photo copyright charges for Indian publishers: Rs.2000 per photo
• vi) Shooting from photos in Archives premises: Rs. 10,000 per day

Foreign Scholars

• i) i) Photocopy per page A1-A4: First page of file Rs.200, and Subsequent pages: Rs.50 per page
• ii) ii) Scanning per page: First page of file Rs.500, and Subsequent pages Rs.60 + pen drive (as per GB)
• iii) Digital/microfilm archival material on pen drive: pen drive (as per GB)
• iv) Photograph/images 300 dpi: Rs.1000 per photo + pen drive 600 dpi: Rs.5000 per photo + pen drive
• v) Photo copyright charges for foreign publishers: Rs.10,000 per photo
• vi) Shooting from photos in Archives premises: Rs.25,000 per day

1.4 General Instructions for Research Scholars

• a) Archives Reading Room shall remain open from Monday to Friday, 10 am – 5 pm except on holidays notified by the university.
• b) Only scholars who obtain membership of the Archives will be allowed admission in the Reading Room.
• c) Request to register for membership along with the required documents may be emailed in advance to Director, Archives
• d) Every scholar must carry their Archives Card/Pass and should be able to show it to the supervisor of the Reading Room when requested.
• e) No open shelf access of archival material.
• f) No papers/files to leave the Reading Room of the Archives.
• g) No bags, mobiles, cameras, paper cutters/knives, staplers/pins /cigarette lighter are allowed inside the Reading Room.
• h) Food, drink, chewing gums and cigarettes not permitted in the Archives.
• i) Pens are not allowed inside the Reading Room. Only pencils, laptops, writing notebooks or papers may be taken inside.
• j) Documents to be handled with utmost care, no marking on the files, no folding or pinning the papers in the file.