At the request of Mr. Akram it was decided to take up item no. 15 of the Agenda (election of office-bearers) first for consideration. Mr. Akram proposed, and Dr. Amatya seconded the proposal that the following persons should hold the office for the two-year term, 1979-80:
1.Mr. A. Dewaraja - Chairman
2.Dr. K. M. Karim - Vice-Chairman
3.Dr. N. H. Kulkarnee - Secretary-General
4.Mr. Ranbir Kishore - Treasurer

The proposal was unanimously accepted. The new office-bearers thanked the Board for the honor bestowed on them and expressed their intention to work hard for the growth of the Branch. Mr. Akram expressed his gratitude for the excellent work done by the previous office bearers. He was joined by Dr. Karim and Dr. Amatya in paying glowing tributes to Sri Lanka Government, its President His Excellency J. R. Jayawardene, Honourable E. L. B. Hurulle, the Minister for Cultural Affairs, and the Director of Archives, Mr. Dewaraja for hosting the meetings in such a splendid manner and for the warmth of their hospitality.
Dr. Kulkarnee pointed out that a Regional Repporteur for 1979-80 had also to be elected. The Board unanimously decided that Dr. Kulkarnee should continue to hold this office. Dr. Kulkarnee thanked the Board..

After clause by clause discussion the Board adopted the rules of business as framed by the Secretary-General, with certain minor changes. The Secretary-General then read out his report for the period 10 December 1976 to 31 December 1 978 end it was approved by the Board for presentation to the General Conference (Report enclosed).

The Chairman, Mr. Dewaraja and Dr. Amatya decided upon steps to be taken for securing the active cooperation from the National Member from Pakistan Mr. Sheikh, towards SWARBICA work. The Board agreed with these steps and regretted that Mr. Sheikh had been unable to attend the Board meetings so far. It was decided to take similar steps for the enrolment of the Royal Government of Bhutan as a National Member.

The Board members reiterated their resolve to enroll institutional and individual members from their respective countries. Dr. Karim pointed out the necessity of enrolling records managers, librarians, documentalists, public administrators, political scientists and similar professionals from sister disciplines rather than historians, and users of archives alone.

The Board agreed that a flexible approach should be maintained for the time being in respect of issues like double membership, individual member wanting to represent institutions, one institute being represented by two persons and the like. Dr. Franz pointed out the desirability of associating ladies with the SWARBICA meetings. The Secretary-General informed him that a few ladies had become individual members, who could always be co-opted as and when necessary.
The Board decided that the Secretary-General should convey its gratitude to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan for the prompt payment of fees and close co-operation with SWARBICA..

The Board decided to maintain for the term 1979-80 the present annual rates of National Membership fees (India Rs. 3,000/-).
For the proposed category of Associate Members the rates suggested were Indian Rs. 50/- for Individuals and Indian Rs. 500/- for institutions.

The Board agreed to the following amendments to the constitution after some discussion and decided to seek the approval of the General Conference for the same.

Existing Clause (Article 3):
-3. The membership of SWARBICA shall normally be confined to the countries in South and West Asia, and shall be of the following categories.
(I) National Members: Such national archive; directorates or principal archival authorities in the countries in the region, as are members of the International Council on Archives; shall be eligible to become National Members of SWARBICA.
(II) Institutional Members: Such institutions in the region including libraries and universities, as are concerned with the custody, organisation and administration of archives and archival material shall be eligible to become members of SWARBICA.
* The first Amendment was approved by the General Conference. The second Amendment was postponed.
(III) Individual Members: -Any professional archivist or other individuals interested in archives, are eligible to become individual Members and; to attend the meetings of SWARBICA as observers. Such members shall not have the right to vote.
(IV) Honorary Member: -Nationals of South and West Asia, who have made outstanding contributions in the archival field, or who have rendered significant service to the archive profession, may be elected as Honorary Members of SWARBICA by the General Conference. The number of such members shall be determined by the General Conference from time to time. Honorary Members shall not have the right to vote.
ADD
(V) Associate Members: -Any institution or individual not belonging to any country in South and West Asia, but having genuine interest in the aims and objects of SWARBICA, shall be eligible to become an Associate Member of SWARBICA. The number of such members shall be determined by the General Conference from time to time. The Associate Members shall have neither the right to vote nor a position in the Executive Board.

Existing Clause (Article 17) Amendment
 

It was decided to draw the attention of the General Conference to the rule of business which permits the Board to co-opt anyone at its meetings for the transaction of its business.

The Board decided that the Secretary-General should continue to edit the Journal with such assistance from other members as was available. They agreed to furnish materials for the Journal, They also agreed to the sale price being fixed in accordance with the cost per issue. The Board did not approve free supply of copies to all ICA Member countries. Dr. Franz and Dr. Evans made suggestions for enrolling subscribers to the Journal from all over the world and agreed to convey these suggestions in writing to the Secretary-General later on. The Board members agreed to furnish photographs of the repositories in their countries for publication in the Journal.
The Secretary-General pointed out that Dr. Rieger had taken great trouble to attend the meetings. The Board thanked Dr. Rieger and after a vote of thanks to the new Chairman, it was decided to adjourn the meeting till 26th January, 1979.