The Ministry of Culture, through its Gyan Bharatam Portal, maintains comprehensive records of manuscript preservation efforts across India. In a written reply to Lok Sabha presented by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on July 20, 2026, the ministry disclosed detailed material-wise inventory statistics. The data reveals that the portal contains 83,045 manuscripts on paper, representing the vast majority of the collection. Additionally, there are 5,772 manuscripts on palm leaf, 3 manuscripts on birch bark, and zero manuscripts on parchment material. The ministry emphasized that each manuscript belongs to a different historical period, and the ascertainment of its specific time period remains subject to ongoing research and decodification processes, which continue as part of the preservation efforts.
Ministry of Culture Reports 89,000 Manuscripts Catalogued
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