Gyan Bharatam Mission to ink pact with institutes, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The Gyan Bharatam Mission, under the Union Culture Ministry, will sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with approximately 20 institutes for manuscript conservation, upkeep, and digitization.
• An additional 30 institutes are expected to sign MoUs in the coming days.
• Gyan Bharatam is a flagship initiative to identify, document, conserve, digitize, preserve, and promote India’s manuscript heritage.
• The mission aims to establish a National Digital Repository (NDR) to share India’s manuscript heritage globally.

Detailed Insights:

• The Gyan Bharatam Mission was announced during the Union Budget this year to preserve India's manuscript heritage.
• Institutions signing MoUs are categorized into cluster centers, responsible for their activities and those of up to 20 partner centers, and independent centers, responsible solely for their collections.
• Gyan Bharatam will provide guidance, monitoring, support, funding, equipment, and budgetary allocations to designated centers, contingent on approved work plans and quality verification.
• Activities supported by Gyan Bharatam include surveying, cataloging, conservation, capacity building, technology, digitization, linguistics, translation, research, publication, and outreach.
• Centers are required to establish a dedicated Gyan Bharatam Cell with experienced personnel to represent the center, facilitate collaboration, and ensure smooth coordination.
• Funding will be disbursed in phased installments based on the implementation schedule, with the initial installment being 70% of the annual budget.
• The remaining 30% will be released upon submission of progress reports, detailed financial reports, and utilization certificates.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Manuscript: A document written by hand, or typed, as opposed to being mechanically printed or reproduced.
• Digitization: The process of converting information into a digital format.
• Conservation: The preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural or built environment.
• National Digital Repository (NDR): A dedicated digital platform to share India’s manuscript heritage worldwide.