GS Prelims- Culture/ GS Mains – Paper I (Indian Culture, Heritage)
Context
- NMCM(National Mission on Cultural Mapping )via MGMD(Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar) maps village-level culture across India — Ministry of Culture.
- Shared by Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Lok Sabha, 20 July 2026.
Key Highlights
- MGMD records artists/artisans in village cultural profiles.
- No registration of artists → so no financial aid, insurance, or social security given.
- Data is village-wise only, not State-wise or category-wise.
- No separate data on cultural clusters.
- Not linked to tourism, education, or skill development schemes.
Key Provisions of MGMD Documentation
- Primary objective: documentation of village-level cultural heritage.
- Covers artists, artisans, cultural practitioners, cultural institutions, and folk-art groups (illustrative examples annexed in the reply, spanning States/UTs such as Goa, Rajasthan, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra).
- Documentation is descriptive/informational, not a registration or welfare-linked database.
About the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM)
- An initiative of the Ministry of Culture aimed at creating a comprehensive cultural database of India through village-wise mapping of cultural resources, practitioners, and institutions.
- Implemented through the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) portal, which serves as the digital repository for documented cultural profiles.
About the Ministry of Culture
- The nodal ministry responsible for preservation, promotion, and dissemination of art and culture in India.
- Administers programmes relating to archaeology, museums, archives, libraries, and cultural heritage promotion, including through bodies like the ASI and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Conclusion:
The Ministry’s response underscores that MGMD functions purely as a documentation and cultural-mapping exercise under NMCM, with no registration, welfare, or cross-sectoral integration mandate — a distinction relevant for UPSC questions testing the scope versus perceived function of government cultural schemes.