Context:
The Indian government is working towards making the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) an autonomous body, with a significant funding boost of nearly ₹500 crore over the next six years. The initiative aims to enhance the preservation and digitization of India’s manuscript heritage.
Autonomy & Funding
- NMM, which was set up in 2003, is an institution being upgraded to be fully autonomous.
- A Special Finance Committee has sanctioned ₹491.66 crore for the Centre till 2031.
- The NMM, which was a constituent unit of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), is now a part of a Central sector scheme and hence gets full central government funding.
Background on the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM)
- The Ministry of Culture established the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) in 2003 during the 10th Five Year Plan.
- Presently subsuming into Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
- National Manuscripts Authority is to be constituted as a new body under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
- The NMM will document, conserve, and disseminate into knowledge treasure saved in Indian manuscripts.
- The mission will mine and save under its umbrella an estimated 10 million treasures of manuscript books in India.
- The manuscripts can be broadly described as different texts, weaves, art forms, scripts, languages, calligraphies, and illustrations.
The Aims of NMS
- Manuscript Search
- National level survey and grounded post-survey
- Manuscript Documentation
- Developing the world’s largest manuscript database-the National Electronic Database.
- Manuscript Conservation
- By modern and indigenous conservation techniques and training of new generation manuscript conservators.
- Manuscript Studies Promotion
- Scholars are trained in languages and scripts, critical editing, and cataloguing.
- Digitization and Access
- Digitization of rare and endangered manuscripts for far wider public access.
- Public Engagement
- Lecture series, seminars, publications and outreach programs.
- Establishing Manuscript Resource Centres
- More than 100 Manuscript Resource Centres and Manuscript Conservation Centres towards the length and breadth of India.
Uncertainty Over ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’
- ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ was initiated in Union Budget 2024-25 to encapsulate more than one crore of manuscripts.
- This endeavor is for surveying, documenting, and preserving the manuscripts at several institutions, museums, libraries, and private collections.
- Yet it is not clear whether this would turn out to be a component of NMM or an independent outfit.
