**Executive Summary**
This report details the Ministry of Culture's written response to the Lok Sabha on March 30, 2026, regarding archaeological activities in Nalanda and the operational status of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It highlights the provision of resources for heritage conservation, the management of 3,686 protected monuments, and the current staffing and financial status across ASI circles. No specific deadlines for action are mentioned, but the document provides comprehensive data on visitor footfall and conservation expenditures through early 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Nalanda Development and Conservation**
* The government provides adequate funds and resources to the ASI for excavation and conservation work in Nalanda.
* Nalanda was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016 due to its Outstanding Universal Values.
* Development efforts focus on landscaping, environmental development, and the provision of visitor facilities to improve the presentation of ancient structures.
**ASI Monument Management**
* The ASI currently oversees 3,686 protected monuments and areas across India, divided into 38 administrative circles.
* Entry fees are charged at 143 of these protected monuments.
* Detailed records are maintained regarding visitor footfall and circle-wise expenditures for conservation and maintenance.
**Staffing and Human Resources**
* Staffing levels are tracked by sanctioned strength, in-position personnel, and vacancies across categories including UR, OBC, EWS, SC, and ST.
* Significant vacancies exist across multiple circles; for example, the Agra Circle has 132 vacancies while the Bhopal Circle has 201.
* Contractual staff, including Data Entry Operators, security personnel, and skilled/semi-skilled laborers, are engaged by circles based on specific needs and resource availability.
**Impact Analysis**
**Local Communities (Nalanda)**
**Impact**
Increased employment opportunities arising from archaeological excavation and conservation work.
**Action Required**
Participate in heritage preservation efforts and engage with local excavation projects.
**Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Circles**
**Impact**
Responsible for managing 3,686 sites and addressing significant personnel vacancies while executing conservation budgets.
**Action Required**
Fill vacancies according to sanctioned strengths and manage the engagement of contractual staff as per resource availability.
**Tourists and Visitors**
**Impact**
Improved presentation of monuments and better visitor facilities at popular destinations.
**Action Required**
Compliance with entry fee requirements at 143 designated ticketed monuments across the country.
Key Entities Referenced
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): The primary government organization responsible for archaeological research, conservation, and protection of over 3,600 cultural monuments in India.
Ministry of Culture: The administrative ministry of the Government of India that oversees the Archaeological Survey of India and the preservation of national heritage.
Nalanda: A prominent archaeological site and tourist destination in India, central to the document's reporting on excavation and conservation funding.
UNESCO World Heritage List: An international registry of sites with outstanding universal value; Nalanda was inscribed on this list in 2016, influencing its conservation requirements.
Ministry of Culture
EXCAVATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES
IN NALANDA
AVAILABILITY OF STAFF UNDER ASI
Posted On: 30 MAR 2026 1:13PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply to a question in
the Lok Sabha today said that, Government is providing adequate funds and resources to the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for archaeological excavations and conservation work in Nalanda.
Local communities are involved in excavations and conservation work, which provide employment to
local people along with enabling them to participate in the preservation of heritage.
Nalanda has come up as a popular tourist destination, achieved through archaeological excavation,
conservation of ancient structures, landscaping and environmental development for better presentation of
monuments to visitors, providing various visitors facilities etc. Further, considering its Outstanding
Universal Values, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed
Nalanda on the World Heritage List in the year 2016.
Replying to a separate question in the Lok Sabha today Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that:
There are 3686 protected monuments and protected areas (Archaeological sites) across the
country, which are looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Circle-wise details
are given at Annexure-I.
Details of total number of sanctioned staff at each of the ASI circles, in-position and vacancies,
circle and category-wise are given at Annexure-II.
Contractual staff like Data Entry Operators Skilled/Semi-skilled labour, security staff are engaged
by the circles as per need and availability of resource.
There are 143 protected monuments across the country under Archeological Survey of India
where entry fee is charged. The Circle-wise details of footfall are given at Annexure-III.The Circle-wise allocation and expenditure on conservation and maintenance is given at
Annexure-IV.
ANNEXURE-I
CIRCLE-WISE DETAILS OF PROTECTED MONUMENTS AND PROTECTED AREAS (SITES)
UNDER THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
Sl.No. Name of Circle Number of Protected Monuments
and Protected Areas (Sites)
1. Agra Circle 154
2. Aizawl Circle 11
3. Amaravati Circle 135
4. Aurangabad Circle 75
5. Bangalore Circle 129
6. Bhopal Circle 183
7. Bhubaneswar Circle 42
8. Chandigarh Circle 124
9. Chennai Circle 257
10. Dehradun Circle 43
11. Delhi Circle 170
12. Dharwad Circle 282
13. Goa Circle 21
14. Guwahati Circle 70
15. Hampi Circle 95
16. Hyderabad Circle 0817. Jabalpur Circle 108
18. Jaipur Circle 88
19. Jhansi Circle 170
20. Jodhpur Circle 73
21. Kolkata Circle 86
22. Leh Mini-circle 15
23. Lucknow Circle 196
24. Meerut Circle 82
25. Mumbai Circle 117
26. Nagpur Circle 94
27. Patna Circle 70
28. Puri Circle 40
29. Raipur Circle 46
30. Raiganj Circle 52
31. Rajkot Circle 51
32. Ranchi Circle 14
33. Sarnath Circle 132
34. Shimla Circle 40
35. Srinagar Circle 56
36. Tiruchirapalli Circle 162
37. Thrissur Circle 30
38. Vadodara Circle 165Total 3686
ANNEXURE-II
TOTAL NUMBER OF SANCTIONED STAFF AT EACH OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF
INDIA CIRCLES, IN-POSITION AND VACANCIES, CIRCLE AND CATEGORY-WISE
Sl. Name of Circle/ Sanctioned In- Vacancies Category-wise Staff position
No. Offices/ Branches Strength Position
UR OBC EWS SC ST
Agra Circle 552 420 132 142 167 12 88 11
Aizawl Circle 29 17 12 4 4 1 4 4
Amaravati Circle 358 249 109 60 115 8 50 16
Aurangabad Circle 229 78 151 34 23 0 16 5
Bangalore Circle 290 204 86 64 68 16 42 14
Bhopal Circle 393 192 201 71 69 4 25 23
Bhubaneswar Circle 151 75 76 41 20 3 7 4
Chandigarh Circle 161 118 43 59 22 1 33 3
Chennai Circle 239 170 69 61 62 4 35 8
Dehradun Circle 92 66 26 48 9 0 1 8
Delhi Circle 622 464 158 240 91 7 108 18
Dharwad Circle 355 252 103 78 89 23 44 18
Goa Circle 97 63 34 12 18 5 8 20
Guwahati Circle 130 84 46 27 24 3 19 11
Hampi Circle 139 63 76 21 28 1 8 5
Hyderabad Circle 132 98 34 16 50 5 19 8Jabalpur Circle 274 112 162 43 53 1 14 1
Jaipur Circle 296 228 68 72 66 8 26 56
Jhansi Circle 147 105 42 19 45 8 30 3
Jodhpur Circle 192 153 39 46 56 11 22 18
Kolkata Circle 130 104 26 43 30 1 23 7
Leh Mini Circle 47 12 35 2 0 0 0 10
Lucknow Circle 182 143 39 54 62 0 23 4
Meerut Circle 87 66 21 24 16 3 16 7
Mumbai Circle 262 142 120 35 54 21 23 9
Nagpur Circle 147 106 41 23 52 8 20 3
Patna Circle 212 185 27 69 73 0 40 3
Puri Circle 213 91 122 39 36 0 15 1
Raiganj Circle 139 93 46 40 21 0 26 6
Raipur Circle 68 38 30 10 14 1 7 6
Rajkot Circle 81 50 31 10 19 4 10 7
Ranchi Circle 44 32 12 11 16 1 1 3
Sarnath Circle 252 192 60 52 90 12 32 6
Shimla Circle 152 55 97 25 8 0 8 14
Srinagar circle 190 83 107 64 2 6 10 1
Thrissur Circle 100 67 33 20 28 2 15 2
Trichy Circle 158 117 41 24 74 1 16 2
Vadodara Circle 242 151 91 28 61 12 30 20ANNEXURE-III
CIRCLE-WISE FOOTFALL AT TICKETED MONUMENTS, DURING LAST THREE YEARS AND
CURRENT YEAR ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
Sl.No. Name of Circle Number of Details of visitors footfall
ticketed
monument 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
(up to
Jan..2026)
1. Agra Circle 08 9295001 10235684 10450517 8403250
2. Amaravati Circle 05 336060 330930 34885 304324
3. Aurangabad Circle 06 3856418 4368304 4280488 4080259
4. Bangalore Circle 04 1259606 1458969 1339209 1196014
5. Bhopal Circle 11 1455682 1654386 1598345 1479127
6. Bhubaneswar Circle 02 507846 1086445 1356626 1332331
7. Chandigarh Circle 02 83517 86167 92567 83011
8. Chennai Circle 04 1797519 1509168 1235189 1259940
9. Delhi Circle 11 6750531 8138214 8850048 6965429
10. Dharwad Circle 06 1971867 2294826 2051973 1904698
11. Goa Circle 01 1023289 1202240 1371815 1151965
12. Guwahati Circle 05 635672 543449 577616 479987
13. Hampi Circle 02 840046 1050440 1046175 1085995
14. Hyderabad Circle 03 2610495 3030547 3039275 2823545
15. Jabalpur Circle 03 496768 534243 632365 426389
16. Jaipur Circle 03 339497 505122 493471 41253217. Jhansi Circle 04 522677 879214 679255 589531
18. Jodhpur Circle 03 1914103 1798841 1828503 2869160
19. Kolkata Circle 02 204041 220304 216168 195870
20. Leh Mini-circle 01 62662 95021 93937 90135
21. Lucknow Circle 03 334856 417931 397111 322258
22. Mumbai Circle 13 3856835 4003835 3795420 3423195
23. Nagpur Circle 02 26511 33898 25259 28008
24. Patna Circle 05 993900 1163980 1230202 1214694
25. Puri Circle 03 2478266 3284937 3777631 2907970
26. Raipur Circle 01 62990 85489 81119 68423
27. Raiganj Circle 02 1520358 1669845 1591603 1288698
28. Rajkot Circle 03 32105 47845 74107 67150
29. Sarnath Circle 06 1113821 1244849 1154537 1018971
30. Shimla Circle 02 178511 195246 173850 138282
31. Srinagar Circle 03 58253 67330 61781 34726
32. Tiruchirapalli Circle 07 316701 318326 293033 238712
33. Thrissur Circle 03 918575 904140 884775 899828
34. Vadodara Circle 04 1325007 1350691 1187156 989488
Total 143
ANNEXURE-IV
CIRCLE-WISE DETAILS OF ALLOCATION AND EXPENDITURE INCURED FOR
CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PROTECTED MONUMENTS AND SITES DURING
LAST TWO YEARS AND CURRENT YEAR IN THE COUNTRY.Sl.No. Name of Details of allocation and expenditure for conservation and maintenance
Circle
(Amount in
2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
(up to 27.01.202
Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expend
1. Agra Circle 23.52 23.52 15.90 15.90 17.00 13.
2. Aizawl 1.29 1.29 1.26 1.25 1.20 0.9
Circle
3. Amaravati 14.70 14.70 12.90 12.90 14.00 11.6
Circle
4. Aurangabad 26.80 26.80 8.60 8.60 11.00 9.1
Circle
5. Bangalore 17.34 17.34 8.55 8.55 12.00 8.9
Circle
6. Bhopal 17.22 17.22 12.30 12.30 13.50 11.
Circle
7. Bhubaneswar 12.29 12.29 11.50 11.37 11.00 6.7
Circle
8. Chandigarh 11.00 11.00 8.40 8.40 11.00 10.
Circle
9. Chennai 12.95 12.95 13.15 13.14 13.00 9.5
Circle
10. Dehradun 5.42 5.42 5.10 5.10 6.50 4.7
Circle
11. Delhi Circle 36.14 36.14 24.95 24.94 39.92 33.
12. Dharwad 9.57 9.57 7.46 7.46 6.25 5.1
Circle
13. Goa Circle 9.90 9.90 9.00 9.00 5.06 5.014. Guwahati 8.78 8.78 5.72 5.71 4.66 3.3
Circle
15. Hampi Circle 12.25 12.25 6.52 6.52 8.75 7.1
16. Hyderabad 14.38 14.38 6.80 6.77 12.00 9.5
Circle
17. Jabalpur 9.27 9.27 7.00 6.99 6.00 4.8
Circle
18. Jaipur Circle 12.75 12.75 10.91 10.91 8.00 6.6
19. Jhansi Circle 5.82 5.82 6.10 6.10 9.50 7.6
20. Jodhpur 10.65 10.65 9.25 9.24 9.00 6.8
Circle
21. Kolkata 9.10 9.10 6.01 6.01 4.75 3.9
Circle
22. Leh Mini- 3.50 3.50 2.20 2.20 4.50 3.7
circle
23. Lucknow 16.93 16.93 8.91 8.91 7.95 7.4
Circle
24. Meerut 7.95 7.95 6.70 6.64 6.50 4.6
Circle
25. Mumbai 15.56 15.56 18.19 18.19 17.50 13.
Circle
26. Nagpur 10.18 10.18 10.60 10.60 15.00 12.2
Circle
27. Patna Circle 16.00 16.00 8.73 8.73 14.50 11.7
28. Puri Circle (included in Bhubaneshwar Circle)
29. Raipur Circle 5.94 5.94 8.19 8.19 12.25 9.2
30. Raiganj 8.00 8.00 6.10 6.10 8.00 7.1
Circle31. Rajkot Circle 2.50 2.50 3.00 3.00 4.00 2.6
32. Ranchi 2.15 2.15 2.25 2.25 2.37 2.5
Circle
33. Sarnath 11.32 1132 7.62 7.62 9.75 6.8
Circle
34. Shimla 5.00 5.00 2.80 2.79 2.00 1.8
Circle
35. Srinagar 7.17 7.17 4.90 4.89 5.75 4.9
Circle
36. Tiruchirapalli 9.55 9.55 5.80 5.80 6.50 4.7
Circle
37. Thrissur 7.09 7.09 6.30 6.30 4.25 3.5
Circle
38. Vadodara 12.00 12.00 7.70 7.69 10.50 7.5
Circle
***
M Annadurai
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