3Power of the Central Government to coordinate, regulate and supervise operations connected with administration, management, etc., of public records

(1) The Central Government shall have the power to coordinate, regulate and supervise the operations connected with the administration, management, preservation, selection, disposal and retirement of public records under this Act.

(2) The Central Government in relation to the public records of the records creating agencies specified in sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (f) of section 2 and the Union territory Administration in relation to the public records of the records creating agencies specified in sub-clauses (iii) and (iv) of the said clause, may, by order, authorise the Director General or the head of the Archives, as the case may be, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, to carry out all or any of the following functions, namely:--

(a) supervision, management and control of the Archives.

(b) acceptance for deposit of public records of permanent nature after such period as may be prescribed;

(c) custody, use and withdrawal of public records;

(d) arrangement, preservation and exhibition of public records;

(e) preparation of inventories, indices, catalogues and other reference media of public records;

(f) analysing, developing, promoting and coordinating the standards, procedures and the techniques for improvement of the records management system;

(g) ensuring the maintenance, arrangement and security of public records in the Archives and in the offices of the records creating agency;

(h) promoting utilisation of available space and maintenance of equipments for preserving public records;

(i) tendering advice to records creating agencies on the compilation, classification and disposal of records and application of standards, procedures and techniques of records management;

(j) survey and inspection of public records;

(k) organising training programmes in various disciplines of Archives administration and records management;

(l) accepting records from any private source;

(m) regulating access to public records;

(n) receiving records from defunct bodies and making arrangement for securing public records in the event of national emergency;

(o) receiving reports on records management and disposal practices from the records officer;

(p) providing authenticated copies of, or extracts from, public records;

(q) destroying or disposal of public records;

(r) obtaining on lease or purchasing or accepting as gift any document of historical or national importance.