3 weeks ago
ASI fails to find senior underwater archaeology consultant
The Archaeological Survey of India is a government group that looks after old and important places in India.
It has a special team that studies things found under the water, like old ports and ruins.
This team, called the Underwater Archaeology Wing, had stopped working for more than ten years.
It started working again in 2025.
The team needed two helpers: one senior and one junior.
After five months of looking, they could only find helpers for the junior job.
They could not find anyone for the senior job.
A committee of experts talked to the people who applied, but nobody was picked for the senior job.
The team wants to explore underwater places like Dwarka and Mahabalipuram.
The government has given money for this work, but the team still needs the right expert to lead it.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been unable to find a suitable candidate for the senior consultant position in its Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) nearly five months after applications were invited.
Only two candidates were selected for the junior consultant post out of four posts advertised in March, with selected candidates to assist the UAW for one year.
Applications were scrutinised and shortlisted candidates interviewed by the Consultant Evaluation Committee (CEC) constituted by the ASI director general.
The UAW was defunct for more than a decade before its revival in 2025 and is initiating projects to explore India's underwater cultural heritage.
Underwater archaeology research is underway at Dwarka and Bet Dwarka in Gujarat, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal in Puducherry, with Rs 1.41 crore allocated by the Modi government over two years.
- Who
- The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), its Consultant Evaluation Committee (CEC), and applicants for consultant posts in the Underwater Archaeology Wing.
- What
- ASI failed to select a senior consultant for its Underwater Archaeology Wing, selecting only two junior consultants for the four advertised posts.
- Where
- India, including underwater archaeology sites at Dwarka and Bet Dwarka in Gujarat, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal in Puducherry.
- When
- Applications were invited on 24 March, and an update came via a circular on 10 August, nearly five months later.
- Why
- To strengthen the operational and research capacity of the UAW for planning, execution, documentation, research, and dissemination of underwater archaeology projects across India.
Key facts
- Organisation
- Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
- Unfilled post
- Senior Consultant, Underwater Archaeology Wing
- Junior consultants selected
- 2 candidates
- Posts advertised
- 4 (in March)
- Evaluation body
- Consultant Evaluation Committee (CEC)
- Funding allocation
- Rs 1.41 crore over the last two years
- Active sites
- Dwarka, Bet Dwarka, Mahabalipuram, Karaikal
- Consultant tenure
- One year
Sources
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