National Mission on Cultural Mapping

• 04 Feb 2025

Source: PIB 

Why in News? 

The Ministry of Culture has established the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) to preserve and promote India’s rich cultural heritage. 

What is NMCM? 

• About: Launched in 2017 by  the Ministry of Culture, it aims to create a cultural map of India, highlighting its diversity and supporting the artist community. 
  • Cultural mapping records a region's unique cultural elements, including stories, rituals, arts, languages, heritage, and cuisines, documenting both tangible and intangible assets. 
• Objectives:  
  • Documenting India's cultural assets. 
  • Using cultural potential to promote self-reliance in villages. 
  • Highlighting the link between heritage, development, and identity. 
• Coverage: The mission seeks to map the geographical, demographic, and creative capitals of 6.5 lakh villages in India, with 4.5 lakh villages already included. 
• Mission Components: 
  • Cultural Awareness Programme: Like Hamari Sanskriti Hamari Pahchan (Our Culture, Our Identity). 
  • Grading of Artists: Introduction of Unique Cultural-ID (UCID) for artists. 
  • Cultural Infrastructure: Development of cultural hubs (Kala Grams) and integrating knowledge centers. 
  • Artist Welfare: Implements welfare schemes and grants for artists, especially veterans. 
• Implementation: NMCM is managed by the Ministry of Culture and implemented under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). 
• Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD): MGMD was launched to document the cultural heritage of 6.5 lakh villages in India.  
  • Under the MGMD, information is collected in seven broad categories like Arts and Crafts Village, Ecologically Oriented Village etc. 

Other Initiatives for Cultural Preservation 

• Guru-Shishya Parampara Scheme: The Ministry of Culture runs the ‘Financial Assistance for Promotion of Guru-Shishya Parampara (Repertory Grant)’ scheme, providing financial aid to cultural organizations for training artists in music, dance, theatre, folk art, etc., following the Guru–Shishya tradition. 
•  Cultural Property Agreement (CPA): A CPA was signed with the US in July 2024 that will make easy retrieval of stolen antiquities. 
• Adopt a Heritage 2.0: Launched by the Ministry of Culture in September 2023, this initiative facilitates collaboration with private and public entities to develop amenities in Protected Monuments using CSR funds. 
  • The amenities are categorized into four broad categories:  
    • Hygiene (toilets, drinking water, etc.) 
    • Accessibility (battery operated vehicles, signage, etc.)  
    • Safety (CCTV, lighting etc) 
    • Knowledge (Cultural/light and sound shows, AR/VR tools, etc).