Gyan Bharatam Mission and Digitisation Challenges

#GS-1 #Culture #Heritage #Literature #Ministry of Culture #Gyan Bharatam Mission

Key takeaways

The Ministry of Culture's Gyan Bharatam Mission is a Central Sector Scheme (2024-31) with an outlay of ₹482.85 crore aimed at digitising 1 crore manuscripts by 2030.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee expressed concern as only about 7.5 lakh manuscripts have been digitised so far against an interim target of 20 lakh by 31st March 2027.
Building on the 2003 National Mission for Manuscripts, which documented 44.07 lakh manuscripts in Kriti Sampada, the initiative will establish a National Digital Repository (NDR).
The mission aligns with Virasat aur Vikas and Viksit Bharat @2047 by integrating traditional heritage with modern education and global research.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture expressed concern about the slow progress in digitising manuscripts under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.
This initiative is the Ministry of Culture's flagship program for preserving historic texts.
Committee data shows that officials have digitised only around 7.5 lakh manuscripts to date.
To boost progress, the government set an intermediate goal to reach 20 lakh manuscripts by 31st March 2027.

The government introduced the Gyan Bharatam Mission in the Union Budget 2025-26.
It aims to protect, digitise, and share India's rich manuscript heritage by mixing traditional knowledge with modern technology.
Authorities approved this program as a Central Sector Scheme spanning from 2024 to 2031.
The initiative has a total financial budget of ₹482.85 crore.

This new effort expands upon the earlier National Mission for Manuscripts, which started in 2003.
That earlier project successfully cataloged more than 44.07 lakh manuscripts within the Kriti Sampada repository.

The program plans to build a National Digital Repository (NDR) so that researchers worldwide can easily access Indian manuscripts.
It aims to digitise 1 crore manuscripts by the year 2030.

The Gyan Bharatam Mission connects historical texts directly with modern schooling, academic research, and international scholarship.
This alignment strongly supports the national goals of Virasat aur Vikas and Viksit Bharat @2047.