Executive Summary:
This document provides details on funds allocated and utilized for the preservation of ASI-protected monuments, responses to questions regarding cultural funds in sensitive regions, and the status of the JATAN museum collection digitization project as of August 11, 2025. It outlines funds allocated and spent by state/UT for monument preservation over the past three fiscal years. It also details the progress of digitizing artifacts under the JATAN initiative and their online accessibility.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Funds for Monument Preservation:**
* Annexure I details state/UT-wise allocation and expenditure for the conservation and preservation of ASI-protected monuments for fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.
* Funds are provided by ASI based on requirement and resource availability for centrally protected monuments.
* **JATAN Digitization Initiative:**
* All antiquities of Archaeological Site Museum Goa and Nagarjunkonda under the ASI have been fully digitized.
* 726 artifacts from the Archaeological Site Museum, Velha Goa, Goa, and 7,941 artifacts from the Archaeological Site Museum, Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh, have been digitized.
* The metadata standard used in JATAN is Dublin Core.
* Digitized collections are publicly accessible through the Museums of India portal (www.museumsofindia.gov.in).
* Annexure II details the number of artifacts digitized and available online for several museums, including the National Museum, Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial Hall, Salar Jung Museum, NGMA New Delhi, NGMA Mumbai and NGMA Bengaluru.
* As of August 11 2025, 70.23% of the total 478,971 artefacts have been digitised and are available online, with 336,359 records transferred to C-DAC, Pune by the Museums.
Impact Analysis:
* **Archaeological Survey of India (ASI):**
* *Impact:* Accountable for allocating and managing funds for monument preservation. Responsible for the JATAN digitization initiative.
* *Action Required:* Continue allocating funds based on need and resource availability. Maintain and update the Museums of India portal.
* **Ministry of Culture and Tourism:**
* *Impact:* Oversees the ASI and the JATAN project. Responsible for answering parliamentary questions related to cultural preservation and digitization efforts.
* *Action Required:* Monitor the progress of monument preservation and digitization. Ensure transparency and accessibility of digitized collections.
* **Museums (e.g., National Museum, Indian Museum):**
* *Impact:* Involved in the JATAN project for digitizing collections.
* *Action Required:* Digitize remaining collections to achieve full online public access. Maintain data and ensure accuracy on the Museums of India portal.
* **Public:**
* *Impact:* Benefits from increased accessibility to digitized museum collections.
* *Action Required:* Utilize the Museums of India portal to access digitized artifacts and information.
Key Entities Referenced
JATAN Scheme: A digitization initiative for museum collections under the Ministry of Culture.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): An Indian government agency responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.
Ministry of Culture: The Indian government ministry responsible for the preservation and promotion of art and culture.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: The Minister of Culture and Tourism at the time of the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
Archaeological Site Museum Goa, Goa: A museum in Velha Goa, Goa, under the ASI, whose artifacts have been fully digitized under the JATAN initiative.
Archaeological Site Museum, Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh: A museum in Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh, under the ASI, whose artifacts have been fully digitized under the JATAN initiative.
Dubling Core: The metadata standard used in the JATAN initiative for digitizing museum collections.
Museums of India: An online portal (www.museumsofindia.gov.in) providing public access to digitized museum collections and their metadata.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3518
TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025
JATAN SCHEME
3518. SHRI JOYANTA BASUMATARY:
SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:
SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE:
Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the total funds allocated and utilised for the preservation of
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments State/UT-wise during
the last three years;
(b) whether the Government has conducted any review on the use of cultural funds
in sensitive or heritage-disputed regions;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the criteria used for prioritising projects; and
(d) the status of JATAN digitisation of museum collections such as museums
onboarded, objects digitised vs total percent publicly accessible online, metadata
standards and timelines for full online public access?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM
(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)
(a) The details of the total funds allocated and utilised for the conservation and
preservation of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments State/UT-
wise during the last three years are given at Annexure-I.
(b) Funds are provided by ASI for conservation and protection of centrally protected
& monuments as per the requirement and availability of resources.
(c)
(d) Under the JATAN initiative, all the antiquities of Archaeological Site Museum Goa
and Nagarjunkonda under the ASI have been fully digitized, as follows:
1. 726 artefacts from the Archaeological
Site Museum, Velha Goa, Goa
2. 7,941 artefacts from the Archaeological
Site Museum, Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh.
The detail of objects digitised vs total percent accessible online by Ministry of Culture
is attached in Annexure-II. The metadata standard used in JATAN is known as
Dubling Core.
The digitized collections along with their metadata, are publicly accessible through
the Museums of India portal at www.museumsofindia.gov.in.Annexure-I
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED
QUESTION NO. 3518 FOR 11.08.2025
The details of the total funds allocated and utilised for the conservation and preservation of
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments State/UT-wise during the last three years.
(Amount Rs. in Crore)
Sl. Name of State/UT Circle / Branch 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
No.
Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure
1. Uttar Pradesh Agra 21.27 21.15 23.52 23.52 9.50 9.48
Jhansi 7.00 7.00 5.82 5.82 4.30 4.30
Lucknow 19.03 19.03 16.93 16.93 5.51 5.51
Sarnath 10.15 10.15 11.32 11.32 4.32 4.32
Meerut 6.20 6.20 7.95 7.95 5.20 4.72
2. Maharashtra Aurangabad 18.70 18.70 26.80 26.80 5.20 5.16
Mumbai 15.35 15.35 15.56 15.56 12.58 12.56
Nagpur 5.00 4.99 10.18 10.18 6.80 6.80
3. Karnataka Bangalore 19.85 19.85 17.34 17.34 5.05 5.05
Hampi 10.00 10.00 12.25 12.25 3.80 3.71
Dharwad 10.08 10.08 9.57 9.57 5.42 5.42
4. Madhya Pradesh Bhopal 14.90 14.90 17.22 17.22 7.40 7.40
Jabalpur 8.00 8.00 9.27 9.27 4.50 4.49
5. Odisha Bhubaneswar 13.18 13.17 12.29 12.29 8.50 7.74
/Puri
6. West Bengal Kolkata 10.16 10.16 9.10 9.10 3.95 3.92
7. West Bengal, Raiganj 7.00 7.00 8.00 8.00 3.80 3.80
Sikkim
8. Tamil Nadu, Chennai 11.45 11.45 12.95 12.95 9.25 9.24
Puducherry Trichy 8.50 8.50 9.55 9.55 3.40 3.40
9. Punjab Chandigarh 6.53 6.53 11.00 11.00 5.65 5.65
Haryana
10 Himachal Shimla 8.90 8.90 5.00 5.00 2.00 2.00
Pradesh
11. Delhi (NCT) Delhi 30.50 30.35 36.14 36.14 17.85 16.53
12. Goa Goa 10.45 10.45 9.90 9.90 6.00 6.00
13. Assam Guwahati 7.44 7.44 8.78 8.78 3.20 3.19
Meghalaya
Nagaland
Arunachal
Pradesh
14. Manipur Aizawl 2.00 2.00 1.29 1.29 1.00 0.99
Mizoram
Tripura
15. Rajasthan Jaipur 10.28 10.28 12.75 12.75 7.20 7.15
Jodhpur 7.65 7.65 10.65 10.65 6.75 6.75
16. Telangana Hyderabad 15.50 15.50 14.38 14.38 4.80 4.77
17. Andhra Pradesh Amravati 11.60 11.60 14.70 14.70 6.50 6.50
18. Bihar Patna 9.00 9.00 16.00 16.00 5.33 5.33
19. Jammu & Srinagar 6.11 6.03 7.17 7.17 3.65 3.64
Kashmir (U.T)
20. Ladakh (UT) Mini Circle Leh 1.92 1.92 3.50 3.50 1.50 1.50
21. Kerala Thrissure 7.50 7.50 7.09 7.09 4.22 4.22
22. Gujarat Vadodara 11.00 11.00 12.00 12.00 4.50 4.50
Daman & Diu (UT)
Gujarat Rajkot 3.09 3.09 2.50 2.50 2.00 2.00
23. Uttarakhand Dehradun 4.85 4.85 5.42 5.42 3.60 3.60
24. Chhattisgarh Raipur 7.50 7.50 5.94 5.94 5.13 5.13
25. Jharkhand Ranchi 2.00 2.00 2.15 2.15 1.25 1.25Annexure-II
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED
QUESTION NO. 3518 FOR 11.08.2025
Status of digitization of museum collections available on the website through JATAN
Software
No. of Records transferred to C DAC, Pune by Museums
Sl. No. Name of the Museums Total Number of Available on % Available on
onboarded artefacts website the website
1 National Museum 2,06,169 1,05,452 51.15
2 Indian Museum 1,08,000 77,943 72.17
3 Victoria Memorial 28,394 27,922 98.34
Hall
4 Salar Jung Museum 48,367 47,504 98.22
5 Allahabad Museum 70,121 62,988 89.83
6 NGMA, New Delhi 15,929 12,555 78.82
7 NGMA, Mumbai 1,457 1,461 100.00
8 NGMA, Bengaluru 534 534 100.00
Total 4,78,971 3,36,359 70.23
Collections can be viewed at the link below
https://museumsofindia.gov.in/repository
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