New Delhi : The Union Ministry of Culture has taken a major step toward the preservation and global promotion of India’s manuscript heritage through its flagship initiative — the Gyan Bharatam Mission. On October 25, the Ministry signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 20 prominent institutions across the country to begin the large-scale digitisation and conservation of ancient Indian manuscripts.
A senior official confirmed that while the first batch of 20 institutions has formally joined the Mission, 30 more institutions are expected to sign partnerships in the coming weeks. The participating organisations include the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayagraj, and the Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Chennai.
A National Effort to Safeguard India’s Knowledge Legacy
- Launched as part of the Union Budget 2025, the Gyan Bharatam Mission is designed to identify, document, conserve, and digitally preserve India’s vast collection of manuscripts through a unified digital archive known as the National Digital Repository (NDR).
- Officials said the Mission will ensure systematic conservation and accessibility of India’s ancient knowledge systems, bringing traditional wisdom into the digital age for scholars, students, and researchers worldwide.
Structure and Implementation
- Under the project framework, the participating institutions are being classified as either Cluster Centres or Independent Centres:
- Cluster Centres will coordinate manuscript-related activities for themselves and their affiliated institutions — up to 20 in each cluster.
- Independent Centres will focus solely on their own archival collections and digitisation projects.
Each partner institution will set up a dedicated Gyan Bharatam Cell to manage key operations including survey, cataloguing, conservation, translation, and digital documentation. These cells will also act as liaison points between the Ministry and the participating centres to ensure smooth coordination and timely progress.
Funding and Monitoring Mechanism
- Funding under the Gyan Bharatam Mission will be released in two instalments:
- The first instalment (70%) will be sanctioned after approval of the annual work plan.
- The remaining 30% will be disbursed only after submission of detailed progress reports, utilisation certificates, and third-party quality verification.
- The Culture Ministry will monitor implementation through regular reviews, ensuring that digitisation follows international preservation standards and that metadata from all partner institutions integrates seamlessly into the National Digital Repository.
Extending Global Reach of Indian Manuscripts
The Gyan Bharatam Mission builds upon the Ministry’s broader initiative to reclaim India’s knowledge legacy, following the success of its recent international conference titled “Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage.”
Through this Mission, the government seeks to protect fragile manuscripts, encourage translation and accessibility, and create a global knowledge network connecting India’s ancient wisdom with modern research.
Officials emphasised that the effort will help future generations access India’s intellectual traditions in science, philosophy, literature, and art — ensuring they remain a living part of global academic discourse.
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