The Ministry of Culture will launch the ‘Gyan Bharatam’, a landmark national initiative dedicated to preserving, digitising, and disseminating India’s manuscript heritage. To mark this occasion, the Ministry of Culture is organising the first-ever Gyan Bharatam International Conference on ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage’ from 11th – 13th September 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference will bring together over 1,100 participants, including scholars, experts, institutions, and cultural practitioners from across the country and abroad. It will create a collaborative platform for discussion, deliberation, and shaping the way forward in preserving, digitising, and sharing India’s manuscript heritage with the world. The press briefing on the Mission was addressed by Shri Vivek Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI. Ms. Amita Prasad Sarbhai, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI and Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, was also present during the press conference held at Indira Gandhi national Centre for the Arts.

The ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will be launched as a visionary national movement dedicated to safeguarding and disseminating India’s vast manuscript wealth. It will serve both as a tribute to the nation’s civilisational roots and as a forward-looking step towards the Prime Minister’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, where India emerges as a true Vishwa Guru, combining the wisdom of its past with the innovation of its future. Designed as a comprehensive framework, ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will revive India’s manuscript legacy by combining preservation, digitisation, scholarship, and global accessibility. Its objectives include identification and documentation through a nationwide register, conservation and restoration of fragile texts, large-scale digitisation using AI-driven tools, and creation of a National Digital Repository. It will also focus on research, translation, and publication of rare manuscripts, capacity building for scholars and conservators, development of digital platforms, and public participation through collaborative programmes. Further, global partnerships and the integration of manuscript wisdom into education will strengthen India’s role in global knowledge exchange.

Shri Vivek Agarwal, Secretary Culture, in his briefing on the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ stated that the initiative, announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, is a major scheme for preserving India’s manuscript heritage. The Mission will undertake a nationwide survey and cataloguing of manuscripts, creation of a digital repository, and develop mechanisms to extract and disseminate the vast knowledge preserved in them, covering subjects ranging from science and medicine to literature, religion, and spirituality.

He highlighted that ‘Gyan Bharatam’ will be implemented through a broad alliance of stakeholders, including libraries, religious institutions, and private custodians, ensuring manuscripts are preserved and made accessible for generations to come. Speaking on the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ International Conference, he noted that the three-day gathering will see the participation of more than 1,100 delegates, with deliberations across eight working groups on areas such as script decipherment, documentation, digitisation, conservation, and legal frameworks.

Emphasising the role of technology, Shri Agarwal informed that the Gyan-Setu AI innovation challenge has already received over 40 entries, with shortlisted innovations to be presented during the conference. He added that the Hon’ble Prime Minister will attend the conference on 12th September, listen to the presentations of the working groups, and address the gathering thereafter. The valedictory session on 13th September will be chaired by the Hon’ble Home Minister of India.

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Sunil Kumar Tiwari

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