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India's ancient manuscripts to be digitized in 3-month survey
16 Mar 2026

The Ministry of Culture has launched a three-month nationwide survey to document India's extensive manuscript heritage.

The project aims to identify and catalog manuscripts across the country, creating a consolidated database.

This data will be stored in a national digital repository on the Gyan Bharatam Mission's central portal.

The survey will cover both institutional collections and privately held manuscripts, with plans to geotag them for conservation and digitization purposes.

Use of Gyan Bharatam app
Digital integration

Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal has announced that survey teams will use the Gyan Bharatam mobile application to upload details of discovered manuscripts.

The initiative will use technology to ensure standardized digitization, making these manuscripts accessible to researchers and the public.

This effort is in line with the New Delhi Declaration adopted at last year's Gyan Bharatam conference, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a "proclamation of India's culture, literature and consciousness."

One crore manuscripts
Manuscript heritage

India is believed to have the largest collection of manuscripts in the world, with around one crore such records.

PM Modi had earlier said that digitizing these manuscripts under the Gyan Bharatam Mission would help curb "intellectual piracy."

To carry out this survey, committees have been formed at the state and district levels under the chief secretaries and district magistrates.

Integration of existing digital records
Digital integration

Officials have said that the ministry is also working on integrating manuscripts already digitized by institutions and state governments.

These existing digital records are estimated to be over one million.

This massive project is expected to not only preserve India's rich cultural heritage but also make it accessible for future generations.