**Summary:**
This Ministry of Culture legislation, posted on July 28, 2025, outlines the management of the public library system in India. As libraries fall under the State List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, administration is managed by individual State/Union Territory governments. The Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, reports that 19 States/Union Territories currently have library legislation enacted: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Manipur, Haryana, Kerala, Mizoram, Goa, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Telangana. The Ministry of Culture, via RRRLF, provides financial assistance for public library development through Matching and Non-Matching Schemes. Furthermore, the National Mission on Libraries (NML) Scheme offers financial support for establishing NML Model Libraries, including aid to one State Central Library and one District Library per State/Union Territory (as recommended by State Authorities), in addition to six libraries designated by the Ministry. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat provided this information in a written reply in Lok Sabha. Contact for further information: Sunil Kumar Tiwari, pibcultureatgmaildotcom.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Culture: The Indian government ministry responsible for culture.
Constitution of India: The supreme law of India, which includes the Seventh Schedule that places Libraries under the State List.
Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), Kolkata: An autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture that provides financial assistance for the development of public libraries.
Tamil Nadu: One of the states in India that has enacted library legislation.
National Mission on Libraries (NML) Scheme: A scheme that provides financial assistance for setting up NML Model Libraries.
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: Union Minister for Culture and Tourism who provided information regarding the library system.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the information was given in a written reply.
West Bengal: One of the states in India that has enacted library legislation.
Ministry of Culture
Legislation for Management of Public Library System
Posted On: 28 JUL 2025 3:29PM by PIB Delhi
As per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, the subject of ‘Libraries’ falls under the State List,
and public libraries function under the administrative control of the respective State/Union Territory
Governments.
As per records available with the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), Kolkata—an
autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture—library legislation has so far been enacted
in the following 19 States/Union Territories: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Manipur, Haryana, Kerala, Mizoram, Goa, Gujarat, Odisha,
Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Telangana.
The Ministry of Culture, through the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), Kolkata—an
autonomous organization under the Ministry—provides financial assistance for the development of public
libraries across the country under its approved Matching and Non-Matching Schemes.
Further, under the National Mission on Libraries (NML) Scheme, financial assistance is provided
for the component ‘Setting up of NML Model Libraries’, which includes support to one State
Central Library and one District Library in each State/Union Territory, as recommended by the
respective State Authorities, in addition to six libraries identified by the Ministry.
This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
****
Sunil Kumar Tiwari
pibculture[at]gmail[dot]com
(Release ID: 2149250)