Parliamentary Panel Cites Slow Progress on Manuscript Digitisation Mission
A parliamentary panel has expressed concern over the slow pace of manuscript digitisation under the Gyan Bharatam Mission. The committee highlighted that current progress falls significantly short of targets, recommending the utilization of citizen participation and machine assistance to accelerate
Key takeaways
- A parliamentary committee has raised concerns about the slow progress of manuscript digitisation under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.
- The mission has digitised 7.5 lakh manuscripts against a target of one crore by 2030.
- The committee recommends utilising citizen participation and machine assistance to accelerate digitisation.
- The cost of the digitisation process has seen a significant increase.
- The committee advised spending allocated funds before seeking additional funding.
A parliamentary panel has identified a slow rate of manuscript digitisation within India's Gyan Bharatam Mission, a government initiative aimed at preserving the nation's cultural heritage. The committee's report, tabled in the Rajya Sabha, suggests that the mission's ambitious targets can only be met through enhanced citizen involvement and technological support.
What Happened
The Gyan Bharatam Mission, launched by the Ministry of Culture, seeks to identify, document, conserve, digitise, preserve, and promote India's manuscript heritage. The mission's goal is to establish a digital platform, the National Digital Repository (NDR), to share this heritage globally. Launched formally on September 11, 2025, the mission had initially set a target of digitising one crore manuscripts by 2030. However, as of the committee's review, only 7.5 lakh texts have been digitised. The panel noted that while the government had previously set a target of 20 lakh manuscripts by March 31, 2027, the current monthly digitisation rate averages approximately 33,000, far below the required pace.
Why It Matters
The parliamentary committee emphasised that achieving the digitisation targets necessitates the use of "force multipliers," including nationwide citizen participation and machine assistance to overcome bottlenecks. The report, titled "From Manuscript to Mission: Preserving, Mapping and Sustaining India’s Cultural Heritage in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” also pointed to a significant increase in the cost of the digitisation process. The financial commitment for the Mission has escalated from ₹3.50 crore in 2024-25 to ₹15 crore in 2025-26 and ₹60 crore in 2026-27, against a total outlay of ₹491.66 crore for the period 2025-2031.
Background
The Gyan Bharatam Mission was announced during the Union Budget for 2025-26 and formally initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mission's mandate is to safeguard and provide global access to India's extensive manuscript collection. The committee has recommended that the mission utilise the funds already allocated rather than pursuing additional financial resources.
Key Facts
- The Gyan Bharatam Mission aims to digitise one crore manuscripts by 2030.
- As of the report, 7.5 lakh manuscripts have been digitised.
- The mission's financial commitment has increased significantly, with an outlay of ₹491.66 crore for 2025-2031.
- The current monthly digitisation rate is approximately 33,000 manuscripts.
- A previous target was to digitise 20 lakh manuscripts by March 31, 2027.
Sources reviewed
Project Chintan independently synthesized and analyzed information cross-checked across the sources listed above.
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