The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is a governmental organization and an Indian government agency under the Ministry of Culture, responsible for archaeological research and the conservation of India's cultural heritage. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, who became its first Director-General, to systematically study, preserve, and protect the subcontinent's archaeological heritage, a need first recognized by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784. The ASI's mandate was later strengthened by the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904.
The ASI's functioning is primarily governed by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, which provides for the preservation of monuments and regulates archaeological excavations. It administers over 3,650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites, and remains of national importance, dividing the country into 37 Circles for maintenance. The ASI also regulates the trade of historical artifacts under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.
A related institution is the National Monuments Authority (NMA), established in 2010, which regulates construction in the prohibited and regulated zones of centrally protected monuments. Recently, the ASI has been working on an amendment to the AMASR Act, 1958, to make the rule concerning the 100-meter prohibited area around protected monuments more flexible by moving towards site-specific limits. Furthermore, a significant shift is the move towards a regulated Public-Private Participation (PPP) model, allowing private conservation agencies to undertake core conservation work, thereby changing the ASI's role from an exclusive executor to a regulator and supervisor.