The Ministry of Culture provided an update on the Gyan Bharatam Mission (GBM), a pan-India initiative mandated to establish a nationwide network of Cluster Centers (CCs) and Independent Centers (ICs) for manuscript preservation. The mission has onboarded 47 institutions across states and union territories, comprising 29 Cluster Centers and 18 Independent Centers, with representation from Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh.
The National Manuscript Survey was launched in March 2026 across all states and union territories to identify and document manuscript holdings, repositories, and custodians representing diverse languages and scripts. The survey has reported more than 1.19 crore manuscripts discovered nationwide. Digitization efforts have resulted in over 8 lakh manuscripts being digitized across the country, with more than 3.90 lakh manuscripts currently available on the Gyan Bharatam portal for public access in view mode.
The financial allocation for the mission shows significant year-on-year growth: ₹3.50 crore sanctioned with ₹2.63 crore actual expenditure in FY2024-25, ₹15.00 crore sanctioned with ₹14.25 crore spent in FY2025-26, and ₹60.00 crore sanctioned with ₹4.48 crore utilized so far in FY2026-27, totaling ₹78.50 crore sanctioned over three years.
Gyan Bharatam encompasses cataloguing, conservation, digitization, and publication of manuscripts identified across the country, irrespective of script, language, dialect, tradition, community, or geographical location. The mission operates through a framework of Cluster Centres and Independent Centres that receive financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid to undertake manuscript-related activities. Eligibility for onboarding with GBM is determined by mission guidelines, subject to physical verification, institutional readiness, and availability of resources and funds.
The information was formally presented by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 27, 2026.