UPSC Prelims 2024 Q98: DILRMP (Land Records Modernisation) Explained

With reference to the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, consider the following statements:

1. To implement the scheme, the Central Government provides 100% funding.

2. Under the Scheme, Cadastral Maps are digitised.

3. An initiative has been undertaken to transliterate the Records of Rights from local language to any of the languages recognized by the Constitution of India.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: correct — DILRMP was earlier the National Land Records Modernisation Programme, launched in 2008. In April 2016 it was restructured as a Central Sector Scheme, which means the Centre pays all of the cost. PIB states it is run 'with full funding from the central government'. A Central Sector scheme is different from a Centrally Sponsored scheme, where the Centre and the States share the cost.
  • 2: correct — Digitising cadastral maps is one of the programme's core components. The other two are computerising the Records of Rights (RoR) and linking the RoR with the maps. PIB put cadastral map digitisation at 68.02% nationally in October 2024. The Department of Land Resources' Year-End Review 2025 reports it at 97.14%.
  • 3: correct — Each State and UT keeps its Records of Rights in its own local language, which makes them hard to read for people who do not know it. With technical support from C-DAC Pune, the government started an initiative to transliterate these records into any of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. By October 2024 the tool was in use in 17 States/UTs.

How to eliminate

Statement 2 is safe from basic knowledge. A programme that modernises land records has to digitise the maps showing plot boundaries, so you can mark it correct. That rules out the option with 1 and 3 only. Statement 3 is unusually specific: 'transliterate', 'Records of Rights', 'languages recognized by the Constitution'. UPSC often copies such wording from official releases, and that hints it is true. Still, guessing on wording alone is risky. Statement 1 cannot be eliminated by reasoning. You have to know that DILRMP became a Central Sector Scheme in 2016 with 100% central funding. Many aspirants wrongly assume land, a State subject, means cost-sharing. Facts to remember: Central Sector scheme, 100% Centre-funded since 2016; transliteration into the 22 Eighth Schedule languages. There are no absolute words here like 'only' or 'all' to exploit.

Know more

Land records in India have three linked parts: the Record of Rights (RoR), which says who owns or holds the land; the cadastral map, which shows plot boundaries; and the registration record, which tracks transfers. Land is a State subject (Entry 18, List II), so States keep these records. They are often out of date and do not match each other. This produces disputes and lets fraud happen.

DILRMP aims to build an Integrated Land Information Management System that links all three.

Feature Detail
Origin NLRMP, 2008
Restructured April 2016, as a Central Sector Scheme (100% central funding)
Ministry Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development
Tenure Extended to 2025-26
Core work RoR computerisation, cadastral map digitisation, linking RoR and maps, connecting Sub-Registrar Offices (SROs) to land records

Key add-ons

  • ULPIN ('Bhu-Aadhaar'): a 14-digit alphanumeric ID for each land parcel, based on its geo-coordinates.
  • NGDRS: a single national software for registering deeds and documents.
  • e-Courts linkage: courts get authentic land records, which helps settle land cases faster.
  • Transliteration: RoRs made readable in any of the 22 Eighth Schedule languages.
  • Bhoomi Samman: 'Platinum' grading for districts that complete over 99% of the core components.

Do not confuse it with SVAMITVA. SVAMITVA (Ministry of Panchayati Raj) uses drones to map inhabited village areas (abadi) and issue property cards. DILRMP covers the land records system as a whole. NAKSHA is a related pilot that surveys urban land.

One limit remains. Digitising records does not establish conclusive title. India still runs a presumptive system, in which registration records a transaction but does not guarantee ownership.

In the news

The Department of Land Resources' Year End Review 2023 (December 2023) gave DILRMP progress figures and described the transliteration initiative. Separately, the 'Bhu-Aadhaar' (ULPIN) push kept land records digitisation in the news in the run-up to the 2024 exam.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Land records digitisation: The whole question is about the scheme that computerises and links India's three sets of land records.
  • Cadastral map: Statement 2 depends on knowing what a cadastral map shows and why digitising it matters.
  • Scheduled languages: Statement 3 refers to 'languages recognized by the Constitution', which means the Eighth Schedule list.

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