Gyan Bharatam Mission and NMM | 04 Feb 2025

Source: TH 

The Union Budget 2025-26 has introduced the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’, aimed at surveying, documenting, and conserving India’s vast manuscript heritage.  

  • Objective: The initiative seeks to conserve over one crore manuscripts housed in academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collections. 
  • Budget Allocation:  To accommodate this new initiative, the budget allocation for the National Manuscripts Mission (NMM), has been increased from Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 60 crore.  

National Manuscripts Mission (NMM): 

  • NMM was launched by the Ministry of Culture in 2003 under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). 
  • It aims to preserve and make accessible India's vast manuscript heritage.  
    • IGNCA was established in 1987 as an autonomous institution for research, academic pursuit, and dissemination in the arts. 

Manuscript: 

  • A manuscript is a handwritten composition created on materials such as paper, bark, cloth, metal, or palm leaf, and it must be at least 75 years old.  
  • India holds an estimated 5 million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. 

Read More: Revival of National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), National Mission for Manuscripts and National Culture Fund