India Shares Digital Land Governance Experience with Sri Lankan Civil Servants

India has shared its experience in digitising and modernising land administration with a visiting delegation of Sri Lankan civil servants, highlighting the growing role of digital records, geospatial technologies and integrated property databases in improving land governance.

The Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development hosted the Sri Lankan delegation in New Delhi on September 23, 2026, as part of an exposure programme coordinated by the National Centre for Good Governance. The interaction was chaired by P. Narahari, Joint Secretary in the Department of Land Resources.

India Showcases Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme

A major part of the interaction focused on the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, or DILRMP, which has gradually transformed large parts of India’s land administration system from paper-based records into digital and interconnected databases.

Officials explained how the programme combines computerised Records of Rights, digitised cadastral maps, property-registration systems and geospatial information. The objective is to create a land information ecosystem in which ownership records, parcel boundaries, registration details and location data can be viewed and updated in a coordinated manner.

According to figures shared with the delegation, 99.90 per cent of textual Records of Rights have been computerised, while 97.43 per cent of cadastral maps have been digitised. Around 76.16 per cent of land parcels have been fully georeferenced, and spatial-textual integration between cadastral maps and Records of Rights has reached 85.24 per cent.

India has also assigned the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number, popularly known as Bhu-Aadhaar, to more than 40.58 crore land parcels.

Bhu-Aadhaar Gives Land Parcels a Unique Digital Identity

The Sri Lankan officials were briefed on the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number system, under which land parcels receive a 14-digit alphanumeric identification number based on their geospatial coordinates.

The system is intended to provide every mapped parcel with a consistent digital identity that can be connected with other land-related databases. Linkages can also be maintained when a parcel is subdivided, providing greater continuity in land records.

Such identification is particularly important in a country where land administration is handled by different states and Union Territories using varying legal and administrative systems.

Property Registration Becoming More Integrated

India also presented the progress made in computerising property registration. Nearly 98.96 per cent of Sub-Registrar Offices have now been computerised.

Seventeen States and Union Territories have adopted the centrally developed National Generic Document Registration System, while another 17 States operate their own digital registration platforms.

The broader reform effort is increasingly focused on linking property registration directly with mutation and land records. Registration information can therefore be transmitted electronically to revenue authorities, helping reduce delays in updating ownership records after property transactions.

India is also moving towards paperless registration and greater automation of mutation procedures, reducing the number of separate visits citizens must make to government offices.

Revenue Courts Linked with Property Records

The modernisation programme is extending beyond land registration into land-related litigation.

About 94.11 per cent of Revenue Courts have been computerised under the Revenue Court Case Management System. The digital system allows litigation concerning a property to be reflected against the relevant land record.

This creates an important connection between ownership information and pending legal disputes, potentially making it easier for citizens and authorities to identify encumbrances and litigation affecting a parcel.

Bharat Land Stack Brings Multiple Datasets Together

The Sri Lankan delegation was also introduced to the Bharat Land Stack, an emerging GIS-based federated architecture designed to bring multiple categories of land information onto an integrated digital framework.

The architecture can combine satellite and drone imagery, georeferenced cadastral boundaries, Records of Rights, property-registration information, master plans, zoning regulations, building approvals, restrictions, litigation records, circle rates and tenancy-related information.

The objective is to build a more comprehensive digital view of each land parcel instead of maintaining critical information in separate departmental databases.

Such integration could have applications in property transactions, urban planning, infrastructure development, taxation, financial services and dispute prevention.

NAKSHA Programme Targets Modern Urban Land Records

Another major area presented to the delegation was NAKSHA, or the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations programme.

NAKSHA is intended to modernise urban land records through high-resolution aerial surveying, geospatial mapping and ground-level validation.

The programme uses drones equipped with 2D nadir cameras, five-camera oblique imaging systems and LiDAR sensors to generate highly accurate spatial information. The resulting datasets include ortho-rectified imagery, Digital Elevation Models and three-dimensional reality models of complex urban environments.

RTK GNSS rover systems are subsequently used for ground verification, while participatory validation allows property holders and local authorities to verify boundaries and ownership information.

A structured claims-and-objections mechanism forms part of the process before legally recognised urban property records are issued.

Aerial Survey Completed Across Most Pilot Urban Bodies

Under the pilot phase of NAKSHA, aerial flying has already been completed across 145 of the 150 Urban Local Bodies selected for the programme.

The process is expected eventually to support the issuance of legally authenticated Urban Property Cards, or UrPro Cards.

These records could strengthen urban property administration by creating more precise information on parcel boundaries, built structures and ownership, while also supporting municipal planning and infrastructure development.

Sri Lankan Delegation Studies India’s Administrative Reforms

The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Pathirage Laxman Pathmakumari and included senior officials associated with land administration, surveying and public administration.

Representatives of the National Centre for Good Governance, including Course Coordinator Dr Mukesh K. Bhandari and Course Director Dr A.P. Singh, also participated in the programme.

During the interaction, Indian officials emphasised that land-record modernisation involves far more than scanning historical documents. The larger transformation lies in connecting textual ownership records with maps, registrations, geospatial information, litigation data and public-service systems.

The exchange also reflected the wider administrative cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, with both countries using institutional engagement to study reforms that could improve public-service delivery.

From Paper Records to Integrated Land Governance

India’s experience demonstrates how land administration is gradually shifting from isolated paper registers towards integrated digital infrastructure.

The scale of the transformation is particularly significant because land administration directly affects agriculture, housing, credit access, infrastructure development, inheritance, taxation, public benefits and dispute resolution.

By combining digital Records of Rights, cadastral mapping, automated registration, Bhu-Aadhaar, Revenue Court systems and advanced geospatial surveys, India is building a system in which increasingly large portions of land-related information can be connected at the parcel level.

The interaction with the Sri Lankan delegation therefore went beyond a conventional administrative exchange. It demonstrated how digital public infrastructure and modern surveying technologies are being applied to one of the oldest and most complex areas of governance — the identification, ownership, transfer and management of land.

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References

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Rural Development — “India Shares Experience in Digitisation and Modernisation of Land Records with Sri Lankan Delegation,” 23 September 2026.

Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development — Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme.

Department of Land Resources — Unique Land Parcel Identification Number / Bhu-Aadhaar.

Department of Land Resources — NAKSHA: National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations.

National Centre for Good Governance — International capacity-building and exposure programmes for civil servants.

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