Nationwide survey of manuscripts under Gyan Bharatam initiative begins

The government on Monday kicked off a three-month nationwide survey for documentation, conservation and digitisation of the country’s manuscript heritage under the Gyan Bharatam initiative, officials said.
The exercise will be taken up to the district level across the country, they said.
Gyan Bharatam, announced in Union Budget 2025-26, is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture, aimed at unearthing, safeguarding and preserving India’s vast manuscript heritage.
“The all-India survey began today. The exercise will lead to further conservation, digitisation of manuscripts housed at various places across the country, and their onboarding on the digital repository,” a senior official said.
The ministry last September had hosted a three-day international conference – ‘Gyan Bharatam’ – on India’s manuscript heritage.
During the conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ portal, a dedicated digital repository platform that seeks to accelerate digitisation and preservation of ancient Indian manuscripts and enhance the dissemination of traditional knowledge embedded in them. The senior official said an advertisement regarding the survey and the Gyan Bharatam app was published in many national media outlets on Monday.
In February, the government had informed Lok Sabha that over 7.5 lakh manuscripts had been digitised under the Gyan Bharatam initiative, with 1.29 lakh out of these available on its dedicated portal.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in a written response to a query, had also said that 20 states and UTs have been onboarded to act as the “nodal coordinating authority” for Gyan Bharatam implementation within the states and UTs concerned.
A detailed manual on preservation and conservation has been framed and shared with conservation experts for feedback.
A survey app has been developed and also shared with stakeholders for feedback, the Union minister had said.
Shekhawat had also said that 45 centres — 28 cluster centres and 17 independent centres in various states and UTs — have been onboarded so far to carry out the activities outlined under Gyan Bharatam initiative.
“Aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the initiative seeks to harmonise cultural preservation with human capital development, ensuring that India’s ancient wisdom continues to inspire generations to come. To support the initiative, the Standing Finance Committee has sanctioned Rs 491.66 crore for the period 2025-2031,” he had told Lok Sabha.