THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, JULY 31, 2026

The National Digitization Drive has received a major boost with over 1.2 crore manuscripts reported from across the country, as the Centre on Thursday called for sustaining the momentum to preserve India's vast manuscript heritage through a coordinated, technology-driven national framework.

The announcement came at the National Digitization Drive Workshop organised by the Ministry of Culture under the Gyan Bharatam Mission at The Ashok here, where more than 200 representatives from States and Union Territories, manuscript custodians, scholars, experts, Gyan Bharatam Centres and technology partners deliberated on strengthening India's manuscript preservation ecosystem.

Addressing the workshop, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat described the reporting of over 1.2 crore manuscripts as a remarkable national milestone achieved through the proactive support of States, Union Territories, ministry officials, centres and custodians.

He said the workshop reflected a collective national resolve to safeguard centuries-old knowledge and uphold India's civilisational legacy. Stressing that manuscripts created by sages and scholars encompass philosophy, Ayurveda, literature, mathematics, yoga and several other disciplines, the minister said it was the nation's responsibility to categorise, codify and publish them for future generations.

Shekhawat called for maintaining the current pace of work, saying digitisation demands precision, discipline and collaboration. Preserving India's knowledge systems with accuracy and integrity, he said, is a national responsibility.

Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal emphasised the need for a time-bound, systematic and coordinated approach involving all stakeholders to ensure uniform standards, quality assurance and seamless integration across the country. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Samar Nanda welcomed the participants and reiterated the mission's national objectives, highlighting the collective responsibility to advance manuscript preservation efforts.

Director of Gyan Bharatam Inderjeet Singh presented an overview of the mission, outlining its national objectives, digital infrastructure and implementation strategy. Project Director Prof. Anirban Dash explained the mission's two-phase framework covering technical digitisation and scholarly validation to ensure high-quality imaging and rigorous knowledge authentication.

Structured around five thematic sessions, the workshop reviewed national digitisation targets, standardised imaging and metadata practices, implementation strategies and operational challenges while formulating a coordinated roadmap for a unified, standards-driven digitisation framework.

Representatives from Rajasthan, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI), Pune, Jammu and Kashmir, the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, and Gyan Bharatam Centres including KOBA, Gujarat, Vrindavan Research Institute, Sevadhi in Kerala and Jamia Hamdard, Delhi shared field experiences, innovations and scalable models. Technology partners also showcased solutions aimed at strengthening the national manuscript digitisation programme.

The Ministry also unveiled India's emerging National Digital Manuscript Ecosystem, supported by artificial intelligence platforms and a structured access policy framework. Recognising the fragile condition of many manuscripts, officials said conservation and digitisation would progress simultaneously, with financial support being extended to States and centres to strengthen infrastructure, equipment and trained manpower.

The workshop concluded with a collective commitment to accelerate the National Digitization Drive, which the Ministry described as a significant step towards building a unified, AI-enabled manuscript ecosystem to preserve, digitise and make India's civilisational knowledge accessible for future generations.