Gyan Bharatam Mission: A New National Initiative for Manuscript Conservation
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Art and Culture (Manuscripts, Literature, Historical sources); Governance (Government Schemes and Missions); Key Institutions (Ministry of Culture, Asiatic Society).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Indian Heritage and Culture): "Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times." (Manuscripts are a key part of India's literary and historical heritage).
General Studies Paper 2 (Governance): "Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation."
Key Highlights from the News
The Union Culture Ministry launched a new mission named Gyan Bharatam Mission to preserve India's manuscript heritage.
As part of this mission, MoUs are being signed with 20 leading institutions in the country for the conservation, upkeep, and digitisation of manuscripts.
Institutions such as Asiatic Society Kolkata and Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Chennai are included.
The main objectives of this mission are to identify, document, preserve, digitize, and promote India's manuscript heritage.
A special digital platform - National Digital Repository (NDR) - will be established to share these manuscripts globally.
The project is implemented by dividing institutions into two categories: "cluster centres" and "independent centres."
The Gyan Bharatam Mission will provide funding, necessary equipment, and guidelines for implementing the project. Funds will be allocated in phases.
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