India Reports 1.2 Crore Manuscripts Under Gyan Bharatam Mission

Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal called for a structured and time-bound approach to ensure consistent quality standards across the country.

India has identified more than 1.2 crore manuscripts as part of a nationwide effort to preserve its vast knowledge heritage, marking a major milestone under the Gyan Bharatam Mission. The achievement was highlighted during the National Digitization Drive Workshop organised by the Ministry of Culture in New Delhi, where government officials, scholars, technology experts and manuscript custodians came together to strengthen the country's preservation programme.

The workshop, held at The Ashok hotel, brought together over 200 representatives from States, Union Territories, research institutions and partner organisations to discuss ways of creating a unified digital ecosystem for India's priceless manuscript collection.

Nationwide effort to preserve knowledge

Union Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat praised the coordinated efforts of States, Union Territories, ministry officials, research centres and custodians that led to the reporting of over 1.2 crore manuscripts. He described the initiative as a national commitment to protecting centuries of accumulated knowledge while ensuring it remains available for future generations.

The Minister said India's ancient scholars and sages created manuscripts covering philosophy, Ayurveda, literature, mathematics, yoga and several other disciplines. He stressed that these works should be systematically classified, documented and published with accuracy, adding that digitisation requires precision, discipline and close collaboration among all stakeholders.

Focus on quality and coordinated implementation

Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal called for a structured and time-bound approach to ensure consistent quality standards across the country. He emphasised the importance of coordination among participating institutions so that digitisation, metadata creation and knowledge verification follow a common national framework.

Joint Secretary Samar Nanda reaffirmed the mission's national objectives, while Inderjeet Singh, Director of Gyan Bharatam, presented the programme's goals, digital infrastructure and implementation strategy. Prof. Anirban Dash, Project Director of the mission, explained its two-phase approach, combining technical digitisation with scholarly validation to ensure reliable preservation of India's manuscript heritage.

AI to support manuscript preservation

The workshop reviewed national digitisation targets, standardised imaging methods, metadata practices and implementation strategies while highlighting successful models developed by States, research institutions and Gyan Bharatam Centres. Presentations from Rajasthan, BORI Pune, Jammu and Kashmir, the Asiatic Society Kolkata, Vrindavan Research Institute, Sevadhi Kerala, Jamia Hamdard and other partners showcased practical innovations and field experiences.

The Ministry also introduced India's emerging National Digital Manuscript Ecosystem, which will use artificial intelligence alongside a structured access policy to improve preservation and accessibility. Since many manuscripts are fragile, conservation work will continue alongside digitisation, with financial support being provided to States and institutions to strengthen infrastructure, equipment and trained manpower.

The workshop concluded with participants reaffirming their commitment to building a unified, AI-enabled platform that will preserve India's civilisational knowledge and make it accessible to researchers and future generations.