"We lost people to malaria, typhoid, cholera, wild animals, sun stroke, frostbite, forest, rivers, avalanches and even bandits. However, Sikdar's calculations prevailed.Today, the bulk of the work done by the SGI revolves around defence -- it prepares a different set of maps for the armed forces. It first did aerial photography in 1927 and has now moved to geo-spatial maps. The use of UAV technology in mapping is also in the offing. "If the institution exists even after 250 years, it speaks a lot about its importance and relevance in today's age," said Swarna Subba Roa, the Surveryor General of India, said.

Source: Economic Times April 09, 2017 14:26 UTC