Ministry of Culture to Launch Gyan Bharatam Mission

The Ministry of Culture will launch the ‘Gyan Bharatam’, a landmark national initiative dedicated to preserving, digitising, and disseminating India’s manuscript heritage. To mark this occasion, the Ministry of Culture is organising the first-ever Gyan Bharatam International Conference on ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage’ from 11th – 13th September 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference will bring together over 1,100 participants, including scholars, experts, institutions, and cultural practitioners from across the country and abroad. It will create a collaborative platform for discussion, deliberation, and shaping the way forward in preserving, digitising, and sharing India’s manuscript heritage with the world.

The ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will be launched as a visionary national movement dedicated to safeguarding and disseminating India’s vast manuscript wealth. It will serve both as a tribute to the nation’s civilisational roots and as a forward-looking step towards the Prime Minister’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, where India emerges as a true Vishwa Guru, combining the wisdom of its past with the innovation of its future. Designed as a comprehensive framework, ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will revive India’s manuscript legacy by combining preservation, digitisation, scholarship, and global accessibility. Its objectives include identification and documentation through a nationwide register, conservation and restoration of fragile texts, large-scale digitisation using AI-driven tools, and creation of a National Digital Repository. It will also focus on research, translation, and publication of rare manuscripts, capacity building for scholars and conservators, development of digital platforms, and public participation through collaborative programmes. 

Further, global partnerships and the integration of manuscript wisdom into education will strengthen India’s role in global knowledge exchange. ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will be implemented through a broad alliance of stakeholders, including libraries, religious institutions, and private custodians, ensuring manuscripts are preserved and made accessible for generations to come. 

What are the objectives of the mission?

• Massive documentation: The mission aims to survey, document, and catalog over one crore (10 million) manuscripts held in academic institutions, libraries, museums, and private collections across India.
• Technological integration: It will use advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR), to digitize and create a National Digital Repository of manuscripts for global access.
• Conservation and preservation: The mission will focus on the conservation and restoration of rare and fragile manuscripts using modern techniques. It includes setting up new conservation labs for various materials like palm leaf and birch bark.
• Capacity building: The program will train a network of grassroots volunteers, called “Pandulipi Mitras,” across different districts to assist in manuscript preservation.
• Scholarly development: It will support research, translation, and publication related to the manuscript heritage to foster a new generation of scholars.
• Public engagement: To increase awareness and interest, the mission plans to develop educational modules for schools and universities and offer immersive AR/VR experiences.