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Archaeological Survey of India, an attached office of Ministry of Culture, Government of India vide Notification dated 28^th August 2020 established Six new Circles by bifurcation of its existing Circles.

New circles

• Rajkot Circle, Gujarat – by bifurcation of Vadodara Circle.
• Jabalpur Circle, Madhya Pradesh – by bifurcation of Bhopal Circle.
• Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) Circle, Tamil Nadu – by bifurcation of Chennai & Thrissur Circle.
• Meerut Circle, Uttar Pradesh – by bifurcation of Agra circle
• Jhansi Circle, Uttar Pradesh – by bifurcation of Lucknow Circle.
• Raiganj Circle, West Bengal – by bifurcation of Kolkata Circle.

In additionHampi Mini-Circle has been upgraded as full-fledged Circle and Delhi Mini-Circle merged with Delhi Circle.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

• ASI, under the Ministry of Culture, is the premier organization for the archaeological research and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation.
• It administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
• Its activities include carrying out surveys of antiquarian remains, exploration and excavation of archaeological sites, conservation and maintenance of protected monuments etc.
• It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham- the first Director-General of ASI. Alexander Cunningham is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.

Source: PIB