The Ministry of Culture has launched the upgraded Indian Culture Portal Version 2.0 in March 2026 to strengthen digital access to India's cultural heritage. The portal features a modern, scalable, and secure architecture with enhanced search capabilities, multilingual support, improved user interface and experience, Progressive Web Application functionality, and an AI-enabled chatbot named Bharti.
Key initiatives include a responsive user interface with improved navigation, availability of content in 22 Indian languages through integration with the BHASHINI platform, advanced search and filtering features, and development as a Progressive Web Application enabling access across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. The technical architecture uses React and Drupal 10 for improved performance, scalability, and security, with addition of new thematic sections and curated cultural collections.
The portal has established mechanisms for integration of cultural institutions through standard metadata exchange, APIs, and institutional onboarding, serving as a unified discovery platform aggregating digital resources from museums, libraries, archives, monuments, and other cultural institutions under the Ministry of Culture and partner organizations.
The upgraded portal aims to promote wider public access and preservation by providing a single digital platform for cultural resources, facilitating research through advanced search and metadata-based discovery, supporting students and researchers with authenticated cultural information, enabling virtual exploration of heritage collections, and strengthening long-term digital preservation. The website is accessible globally and responsive across all screen sizes.
A total of 38 institutions across 17 states and union territories have been integrated with the portal. Major participating institutions include the National Archives of India, National Museum, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Museum, National Library of India, and various state archives and cultural centers. Maharashtra has four institutions integrated: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Maharashtra State Archives, Mani Bhavan, and South Central Zone Cultural Centre.