Featured Collections: Arcadia Project
The Archives at NCBS (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/) is a public centre for the history of science in contemporary India. Over 400,000 processed objects across 100+ collections are in various forms, ranging from paper-based manuscripts to negatives to photographs, books, fine art, audio recordings, scientific equipment, letters, and field and lab notes. The 2000-square-feet state-of-the-art physical centre at NCBS includes space for research, processing, exhibitions, recording, and a leading-edge storage facility with monitors for temperature, light, humidity, air quality, water, fire, pests, and noise. The Archives has one underlying philosophy—of enabling diverse stories—and operates on four broad verticals. One is to strengthen research collections and access in the history of science in contemporary India. The second is to push the frontiers of research in archival sciences in India, forging intersections with scholarship in law, ethics, information theory and the semantic web, for instance. The third is to build capacity and public awareness through education, training and programming, from high school to professional practice. And the fourth: to reimagine the archives as part of the commons through vibrant public engagement.
In early 2026, the Archives at NCBS completed three years of its grant from Arcadia toward "Documenting the Contemporary History of Science in India". The intent of the grant is to collect, preserve and make available online endangered cultural artefacts related to the contemporary (~200 years) history of science in India. We have processed more than 280,000 digital objects and 150 interview sessions from across over 60 collections, with a specific emphasis (or attempt!) starting in 2024 on under-represented communities in science. These archives cover 140 years of science history from various corners of India, and bring together stories from individual lives, environmental movements, socio-cultural and global geopolitical events.
In 2025-2026, the project shifted focus to other branches in the sciences, developing digital prototype tools for sustained and diverse interpretation and access through linked open data and public annotation of archival material, and a re-granting programme to allow the development of smaller archives across India (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/past). Arcadia is a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge. Since 2002 Arcadia has awarded more than $1 billion to organizations around the world.
The collections featured below have been collected, processed, and made available through generous support from Arcadia. For a complete list of all our processed material, please visit the central collections page.
New! February 2026
MS024 KS Krishnan (Physicist) - New additions!
MS027 Shripad and Nandini’s Papers of Narmada Struggle - New additions!
MS035 Panduranga Hegde - New additions!
MS036 Salim Ali - New additions!
MS037 Kalpavriksh - New additions!
MS038 TNA Perumal - New additions!
MS041 YS Rajan - New additions!
MS042 BC Choudhury - New additions!
MS048 Mathew Pothen Thekaekara
MS049 Anil Sadgopal - New additions!
MS053 Krishna Bahadur and S Ranganayaki
MS055 Chandita Mukherjee - New additions!
SD002 Small Donations - Ecology - New additions!
SD003 Small Donations - Agriculture - New additions!
BB013 Vijnan-Karmee, Journal of the Association of Scientific Workers of India
BB014 Journal of the Association of Medical Women in India (AMWI)
OH002 Oral Histories - History of Science (assorted) - New additions!
OH-002-1 Rohini Balakrishnan
OH-002-30 V Balasubramanian
OH-002-35 Idris Khan
OH-002-36 Naseem Khan
OH003 Oral Histories - Ecology and Conservation - New additions!
OH-003-25 Amita Baviskar
OH-003-45 Shomona Khanna
OH-003-48 Zai Whitaker
OH-003-49 Shomita Mukherjee
OH004 Oral Histories - The Life of Science Collaboration - New additions!
OH-004-6 Maitreyee Saha Sarkar
OH008 Oral Histories - Puroik
OH-008-1 TBD
OH009 Oral Histories - Provenance Interviews
OH-009-1 DCV Mallik
OH-009-2 Saheli Papers
AR PAST 2025-26 - Programme for the Archiving of Science and Technology
AR-001 Partners for Law in Development (PLD)
AR-003 University of Jammu
AR-004 University of Jammu
AR-005 Nature Conservation Foundation
AR-006 Partners for Law in Development (PLD)
AR-007 Maharashtra Prabohdan Seva Mandal
AR-008 Maharashtra Prabohdan Seva Mandal
AR-009 Conservation indica
AR-010 Conservation indica
AR-011 Conservation indica
AR-012 Labhopping Science Media Forum
AR-013 Labhopping Science Media Forum
AR-014 Labhopping Science Media Forum
AR-015 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-016 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-017 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-018 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-019 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-020 Advance Media Production (AMP)
AR-022 Maharashtra Prabohdan Seva Mandal
AR-027 Saythu
AR-028 Saythu
AR-029 Maharashtra Prabohdan Seva Mandal
AR-030 Labhopping Science Media Forum
Released in February 2025
MS024 KS Krishnan (Physicist) - New additions!
MS050 Environment Support Group
IN-APUA-PMB-DOC-12-1 Vijnan-Karmee digital (APU Collaboration)
LB002 Swasth Hind Magazine (St John's Collaboration)
SD001 Small Donations - Space Sciences
SD002 Small Donations - Ecology - New additions!
SD003 Small Donations - Agriculture - New additions!
OH002 Oral Histories - History of Science (assorted) - New additions!
OH003 Oral Histories - Ecology and Conservation - New additions!
Released in February 2024
MS014 Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS)
MS027 Shripad and Nandini’s Papers of Narmada Struggle
OH002 Oral Histories - History of Science (assorted)
OH003 Oral Histories - Ecology and Conservation
OH004 Oral Histories - The Life of Science collaboration
LB001 Science Reporter Magazine
SD002 Small Donations - Ecology
SD003 Small Donations - Agriculture
For a complete list of all our processed material, please visit the central collections page:
Archives at NCBS: All Collections
https://archives.ncbs.res.in/collections
