Government Cultural Heritage Investment and Achievements
The Indian government has implemented multiple schemes with significant financial outlays for cultural heritage preservation and tourism infrastructure development. The Swadesh Darshan scheme received ₹5,290.33 crore covering 15 thematic tourist circuits, with 75 out of 76 projects completed by March 2026. The PRASHAD scheme allocated ₹1,726.74 crore for 54 pilgrimage projects across 28 States and Union Territories, with 32 projects completed by December 2025. The Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) scheme sanctioned 38 projects with ₹697.94 crore investment.
Monument Conservation and Visitor Statistics
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) safeguards 3,686 centrally protected monuments through 38 Circles across the country, with ₹374 crore allocated for conservation and maintenance in FY 2024-25. The Adopt a Heritage 2.0 program signed 30 Memorandums of Understanding and recorded 13.59 million visitors at adopted monuments during FY 2024-25. The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities documented 1.84 lakh monuments and 17.20 lakh antiquities as of March 2026.
Repatriation and Cultural Asset Recovery
India successfully repatriated 615 antiquities over the past five years up to 30 June 2026, including significant achievements such as the Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha returned after 127 years in 2025 and the Goddess Annapurna idol repatriated from Canada in 2021 after 108 years. Global expositions of sacred Buddha relics attracted over 15 million devotees in Vietnam (2025) and 90,000 visitors in Kalmykia, Russia (2025).
Digitization and Museum Development
The Museum Grant Scheme allocated ₹184.39 crore over five financial years, with ₹101.19 crore utilized for modernizing and digitizing museum collections. The Gyan Bharatam Mission was launched in 2025 with an outlay of ₹482.85 crore (2024-31) for manuscript preservation, having already digitized over 8 lakh manuscripts with 4.40 lakh available on the portal. Museum digitization efforts captured 3,75,707 out of 4,88,983 artefacts through JATAN software. India's first Archaeological Experiential Museum in Vadnagar was built at ₹298 crore cost, displaying 5,000 artefacts across 12,500 square meters.
Specialized Heritage Initiatives
The HRIDAY scheme covered 12 heritage cities with mission period concluding on 31 March 2019, focusing on urban development integrated with heritage conservation. The National Film Heritage Mission digitized 1,469 titles equaling 4.3 lakh minutes of films as of December 2025. The National Museum of Indian Cinema inaugurated in 2019 at ₹140.61 crore cost attracted 17,000+ visitors in May 2026. India now has 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and hosted the 46th UNESCO World Heritage Committee Session in New Delhi (2024).