Important for UPSC Prelims: Art & Culture
Context
- The Ministry of Culture is implementing the Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM), announced in the Union Budget 2025–26, as a pan-India initiative to preserve India’s manuscript heritage through survey, digitisation, conservation and the creation of a National Digital Repository (NDR).
What is Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM)?
- The Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM) is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture aimed at the survey, documentation, digitisation, conservation and promotion of Indian manuscripts.
- The Mission seeks to preserve India’s manuscript heritage irrespective of language, script, region, knowledge tradition or custodial community, while making manuscripts accessible for education and scholarly research.
Objectives of Gyan Bharatam Mission
- Leverage advanced technology for large-scale digitisation and documentation of manuscripts.
- Conduct a National Manuscript Survey and register manuscript collections.
- Document and catalogue manuscripts and maintain updated records of their conservation status.
- Promote access to manuscripts through printed publications and machine-readable digital formats.
- Support conservation and preservation through training, awareness and financial assistance.
- Promote research in Indian languages and manuscriptology.
- Establish a National Digital Repository (NDR) of Indian manuscripts.
National Digital Repository (NDR)
- The National Digital Repository (NDR) is the digital platform established under the Mission to preserve and provide access to Indian manuscripts.
- Access to digitised manuscripts is provided in accordance with the rights of custodians and rights holders. Wherever permitted, manuscripts and their metadata are made available for public and scholarly research, while sensitive or rights-protected materials remain subject to appropriate access restrictions.
National Manuscript Survey
- The National Manuscript Survey, launched in March 2026, covers all States and Union Territories to identify and document manuscript holdings, repositories, individual custodians, and manuscripts in diverse languages and scripts.
Progress:
- More than 1.19 crore manuscripts have been reported across the country.
- Over 8 lakh manuscripts have been digitised, of which 4.40 lakh+ are available for public access on the Gyan Bharatam Portal, accessible state-wise.
Conclusion
The Gyan Bharatam Mission marks a significant step towards preserving and digitally safeguarding India’s vast manuscript heritage while promoting wider access for education, research and cultural preservation.
| Important Current To Concept (CTC) from this article for UPSC Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM) National Digital Repository (NDR) |