**Executive Summary**
The Gyan Bharatam Mission, a flagship initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, aims to survey, document, digitize, and preserve India's manuscripts through a robust technological infrastructure. Key milestones include the launch of the National Manuscript Survey on March 16, 2026, and the establishment of a nationwide network of 28 Cluster Centers and 18 Independent Centers. As of March 15, 2026, the mission has utilized Rs. 13.29 crore to create a comprehensive national database and provide public access to manuscripts via the National Digital Repository.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Mission Objectives and Scope**
* Flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture for manuscript registration, conservation, and digitization.
* Focuses on building technology infrastructure, partnerships, and capacity building/research.
* Mandated to establish a nationwide network of Cluster Centers (CCs) and Independent Centers (ICs).
**Digitization and Accessibility**
* More than 8 lakh manuscripts are digitized in various formats, including DVD, HDD, and microfilms.
* Digitized materials are being reformatted according to Gyan Bharatam Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
* 1.29 lakh manuscripts are currently accessible to the public via the National Digital Repository (NDR).
**National Manuscript Survey**
* Launched on March 16, 2026, for the identification and documentation of manuscripts.
* Aims to create a comprehensive database of manuscripts held by institutions, private individuals, scholars, temples, and libraries.
* Data for more than 12.97 lakh manuscripts has been reported to the database so far.
**Financial and Network Status**
* Total expenditure of Rs. 13.29 crore utilized during the 2025-26 financial year as of March 15, 2026.
* Onboarded 28 Cluster Centers across various states including Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, and others.
* Identified 18 Independent Centers across states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal to support mission activities.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Culture (MoC)**
**Impact**
The Ministry is responsible for the funding and oversight of the mission, having utilized Rs. 13.29 crore to date to modernize manuscript preservation.
**Action Required**
Must continue to manage the nationwide network of centers and ensure the reformatting of the remaining 8 lakh digitized manuscripts follows established SOPs.
**Institutions and Repositories (Universities, Museums, and Libraries)**
**Impact**
Designated Cluster and Independent Centers are now integral parts of the national infrastructure for manuscript research and documentation.
**Action Required**
Onboarded organizations must execute the mission's mandate by conducting surveys and registering manuscripts within their jurisdiction.
**Private Holders (Scholars, Temples, Mutts, and Individuals)**
**Impact**
Their private collections are being integrated into a comprehensive national database for the first time.
**Action Required**
Participate in the National Manuscript Survey to allow for the identification and documentation of their manuscript holdings.
**The General Public**
**Impact**
Gains unprecedented digital access to cultural heritage through the National Digital Repository.
**Action Required**
No specific action required other than utilizing the NDR to access the 1.29 lakh manuscripts currently available online.
Key Entities Referenced
Gyan Bharatam Mission: A flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture for the survey, documentation, conservation, and digitization of manuscripts across India.
Ministry of Culture (MoC): The primary central government ministry responsible for implementing and overseeing the mission's activities and funding.
National Digital Repository (NDR): The central digital platform where reformatted manuscripts are stored and made accessible to the public.
National Manuscript Survey: A nation-wide initiative launched in 2026 to identify and create a comprehensive database of manuscripts from institutions and private collections.
Gyan Bharatam Standard Operating Procedures (SOP): The technical guidelines mandated for reformatting and standardizing digitized manuscripts for integration into the national repository.
Ministry of Culture
DIGITISATION OF MANUSCRIPTS (GYAN
BHARATAM MISSION)
Posted On: 19 MAR 2026 1:12PM by PIB Delhi
Gyan Bharatam Mission, announced during Union Budget 2025-26, is a flagship initiative of the
Ministry of Culture (MoC), Government of India to undertake manuscripts related activities under various
components including survey and registration of manuscripts, building robust technology infrastructure
and partnership, documentation, conservation, digitization, publication of manuscripts and capacity
building & research. More than 8 lakh digitized manuscripts in different formats such as DVD, HDD,
microfilms are available across the country. These digitized manuscripts are being reformatted as per
Gyan Bharatam Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), out of these 1.29 lakh manuscripts are
accessible to the public on the National Digital Repository (NDR).
In addition, National Manuscript Survey has been launched on 16th March, 2026 for identification,
documenting and creating a comprehensive national database of manuscripts available with institutions,
private individuals, scholars, mutts, temples, libraries and other repositories and data of more than 12.97
lakh manuscripts has been already reported so far. During financial year 2025-26, a total of Rs.13.29 crore
has been utilized as on 15th March, 2026. This Mission has been mandated to establish a nation-wide
network of Cluster Centers (CCs) and Independent Centers (ICs) across the country. A list of CCs/ICs
onboarded so far is as follows:
Cluster Centres
S. State Organization Name
No.
1 Assam Dept. of Sanskrit, Assam University, Silchar
2 Bihar Nava Nalanda Mahavihar, Nalanda
3 Delhi University Library Jamia Hamdard
4 Central Sanskrit University
5 Gujarat Shruta Ratnakara, Ahmedabad
6 Oriental Institute, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara7 Himachal Pradesh Himachal State Museum, Shimla
8 J & K Dept. of Persian, University of Kashmir, Srinagar
9 Shasvat Art Gallery, Jammu
10 Karnataka Samskriti Foundation, Mysuru
11 Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru
12 Karnataka Sanskrit University, Bengaluru
13 Kerala Oriental Research Institute & Manuscript Library, University of
Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram
14 Ladakh Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh
15 Manipur Manipur State Archives
16 Madhya Pradesh Department of Sanskrit, Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar
17 Maharashtra Kavi Kulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Nagpur
18 Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune
19 Odisha SARASVATI Bhadrak
20 Department of Sanskrit, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar
21 Rajasthan Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy, Jaipur
22 Vishwa Gurudeep Ashram Shodh Sansthan, Jaipur
23 Sikkim Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok
24 Telangana Telangana State Archives & Research Institute, Hyderabad
25 Uttar Pradesh Vrindavan Research Institute, Vrindavan
26 Uttarakhand Shri Laxmidhar Acharya Chakradhar Joshi Vidyamandir Shodh
Sansthan, Nakshatra Vedhshala, Devprayag
27 University of Patanjali28 West Bengal The Asiatic Society, Kolkata
Independent Centres
1 Andhra Pradesh Sanatan Jeevan Trust, Tirupati
2 Bihar Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, Patna
3 Bodh Gaya Math, Gaya
4 Gujarat Adhyatma Parivar Trust, Surat
5 Haryana Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
6 Karnataka Tara Prakashan Vedic Library & Research Centre, Bengaluru
7 Kerala Sevadhi Museum & Ideological Research Institute, Kottayam
8 Chinmaya International Foundation, Ernakulam
9 Maharashtra Anandashram Samsthan, Pune
10 Bharat ItihasSanshodhak Mandal Sadashiv Peth, Pune
11 Madhya Pradesh Anekant Gyan Mandir, Bina
12 Scindia Oriental Research Institute, Ujjain
13 Abhay Jain Granthalaya, Bikaner
Rajasthan
14 Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur
15 Padmashri Narayan Das Pandulipi Shodh Sansthan, Jaipur
16 Uttar Pradesh Nagari Pracharini Sabha, Varanasi
17 Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayagraj
18 West Bengal University of Kolkata
This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in
a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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