Revitalising India's Cultural Heritage

Key Highlights:

• The Adopt a Heritage 2.0 scheme, launched in September 2023, has signed 30 MoUs for visitor amenities at Protected Monuments of National Importance.
• The PRASHAD scheme has sanctioned 54 projects across 28 States/UTs, with 32 completed, involving a total cost of ₹1,726.74 crore.
• Swadesh Darshan has sanctioned 76 projects worth ₹5,290.33 crore, completing 75, while Swadesh Darshan 2.0 has 53 sanctioned projects.
• India has successfully repatriated 615 antiquities in the last five years and achieved 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• The Gyan Bharatam Mission and National Manuscript Survey have reported over 1.19 crore manuscripts, with 4.40 lakh digitized and available online.
• BHASHINI, launched in 2022, supports 22 languages (voice) and 36 languages (text) with over 350 AI models.

Detailed Insights:

• Government initiatives aim to preserve, promote, and revitalize India's cultural assets, strengthening tourism and local economic development.
• Adopt a Heritage 2.0 focuses on developing and maintaining visitor-friendly amenities at national monuments.
• The PRASHAD scheme improves infrastructure, sanitation, and visitor facilities at pilgrimage and heritage destinations.
• Swadesh Darshan develops integrated tourism infrastructure across 15 thematic circuits, with Swadesh Darshan 2.0 adopting a destination-centric approach.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) safeguards 3,686 centrally protected monuments through conservation and scientific restoration.
• The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) creates a comprehensive national database of monuments and antiquities for conservation planning.
• The HRIDAY scheme, concluded in 2019, integrated urban development with heritage conservation in 12 heritage cities.
• Efforts to repatriate sacred relics and antiquities taken abroad have seen significant achievements, including the Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha.
• The Museum Grant Scheme provides financial assistance for establishing new museums and strengthening existing ones, including modernization and digitization.
• India's First Archaeological Experiential Museum in Vadnagar, Gujarat, showcases over 5,000 artefacts and an open excavation site.
• The Gyan Bharatam Mission focuses on preserving, digitizing, and promoting access to India's manuscript heritage using modern technologies.
• Digitization of museum collections is done through JATAN software and the Museums of India portal, making artefacts digitally accessible.
• Modern technologies like LiDAR, GIS, drone surveys, and AI are being leveraged for heritage documentation and conservation.
• AI platforms like BHASHINI, BharatGen, and Adi-Vaani are preserving languages, supporting multilingual education, and digitizing folklore.
• The Vedic Heritage Portal, launched in 2023 by IGNCA, preserves and provides digital access to India's Vedic knowledge traditions.
• The National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) preserves, digitizes, and restores India's cinematic heritage, with 1,469 titles digitized.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Adopt a Heritage 2.0: A scheme to develop and maintain visitor amenities at Protected Monuments of National Importance through private sector participation.
• PRASHAD Scheme: Focuses on holistic development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations to provide a complete religious tourism experience.
• Swadesh Darshan Scheme: Aims to develop integrated tourism circuits around specific themes in the country.
• Gyan Bharatam Mission: An initiative focused on preserving, digitizing, and promoting access to India's vast manuscript heritage.
• BHASHINI: An AI-powered language translation platform supporting multiple Indian languages for real-time communication and digital inclusion.