Important for GS Prelims: Art and Culture
About Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) initiative
- A digital archiving project documenting the intangible cultural profile of all rural settlements across India.
- Launched in June 2023 by the Ministry of Culture, implemented through IGNCA, as a core component of NMCM.
- Creates structured, geo-tagged village heritage portfolios to encourage cultural tourism and support localized policy planning.
MGMD is structurally distinct from the similarly named Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav, an agricultural extension program run by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Key Features
- Maps and catalogs rural cultural assets across all 6.5 lakh villages via a centralized digital platform.
- Segments villages into cultural categories based on ecological, developmental, scholastic, historical, or mythological attributes.
- Utilizes Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) under the Common Services Centre network for on-ground data recording.
- Documents traditional attire, culinary styles, oral folklore, landmarks, and festivals.
- Provides an interactive portal for citizens to upload verified localized heritage data through a moderated interface.
- Launched as a milestone of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations marking 75 years of independence.
| Particular | Details |
| Launched | June 2023 |
| Nodal Ministry | Ministry of Culture |
| Implementing Agency | Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) |
| Villages documented (July 2025) | ~4.7 lakh |
| Villages documented (March 2026) | 6.23 lakh |
| West Bengal progress | 5,917 of 41,116 targeted villages completed |
Conclusion
Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar, launched in June 2023 by the Ministry of Culture through the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, documents intangible heritage across all 6.5 lakh Indian villages as a component of the National Mission on Cultural Mapping, using Village Level Entrepreneurs for on-ground data collection. By July 2025, 4.7 lakh villages were documented, rising to 6.23 lakh by March 2026; in West Bengal, 5,917 of 41,116 targeted villages have been completed, with the remainder in progress.