Source: TH
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the revamped Gyan Bharatam Mission (formerly National Manuscripts Mission) on June 9, 2025.
About Gyan Bharatam Mission:
- What it is: A revamped national initiative for identifying, conserving, digitising, and sharing India’s vast manuscript wealth.
- Announced in: Union Budget 2025–26, under the Ministry of Culture.
- Ministry Involved: Ministry of Culture; anchored by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
- Objective: To survey, catalogue, preserve, and provide access to over one crore manuscripts from academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collectors.
- Key Features:
- Budget allocation increased from ₹3.5 crore to ₹60 crore.
- Encourages private manuscript holders to collaborate through access policies.
- Focuses on digitisation and metadata creation for rare texts.
- Aims to promote Sanskrit and Indian classical knowledge systems.
- Linked with institutions like CIIL, IIT Bombay, Samskriti Foundation.
About National Manuscripts Mission (NMM):
- What it is: A national initiative launched to document, conserve and digitise India’s ancient manuscript heritage.
- Launched in: February 2003.
- Parent Organisation: Operates under IGNCA, Ministry of Culture.
- Aim: To preserve India’s intellectual legacy and make manuscripts accessible to researchers and the public.
- Key Features:
- India’s manuscript wealth estimated at 1 crore+, across 80+ scripts and 60+ languages.
- Till 2025, digitised metadata for 52 lakh manuscripts, but only ~1.3 lakh uploaded.
- 80% of manuscripts lie with private collectors and NMM promotes incentives for sharing.
- Conservation of over 9 crore folios achieved in 21 years.
- Emphasis on universal access, awareness, and collaboration with global digital platforms like Google Arts & Culture.
