Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent address at the International Conference on Gyan Bharatam in New Delhi marked a pivotal moment in India’s cultural preservation efforts. The launch of the Gyan Bharatam Portal represents a transformative leap in how the nation approaches manuscript digitisation, preservation, and public accessibility. This groundbreaking digital platform embodies India’s commitment to safeguarding its vast repository of ancient wisdom while making it globally accessible through cutting-edge technology.
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The Gyan Bharatam Portal emerged as a centrepiece of India’s comprehensive manuscript conservation strategy, designed to accelerate the digitisation process of invaluable historical documents. This dedicated digital platform aims to accelerate the digitisation, preservation, and public access of manuscripts, fundamentally transforming how scholars, researchers, and the general public interact with India’s literary heritage.
The portal’s development stems from the broader Gyan Bharatam Mission, which was announced in the Union Budget of India 2025-26, presented on 1st February 2025 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, to safeguard manuscripts containing ancient India’s diverse and valuable knowledge through digitisation. This strategic initiative represents a substantial investment in preserving India’s intellectual legacy for future generations.
The Gyan Bharatam Portal operates within the larger framework of the Gyan Bharatam Mission, which has received significant governmental support. The Mission has received a budget of Rs 482.85 crore for 2024–31, with Rs 60 crore designated for the current year. This substantial financial commitment demonstrates the government’s recognition of the critical importance of manuscript preservation in maintaining India’s cultural continuity.
The mission’s scope is truly remarkable, with Digital India and AI being used to digitise over five million manuscripts, making India’s ancient knowledge globally accessible. This ambitious target reflects the vast treasure trove of wisdom contained within India’s manuscript collections across various institutions, libraries, and private collections.
The Gyan Bharatam Portal represents a significant evolution of the existing National Manuscripts Mission (NMM), which was originally established in 2003. The budget allocation for the National Manuscripts Mission has been increased from Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 60 crore, reflecting the expanded scope and technological sophistication of the new initiative.
This dramatic budget increase enables the integration of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the digitisation. Process. The Gyan Bharatam Portal leverages these technologies to create comprehensive digital archives that preserve not only the visual aspects of manuscripts but also their contextual significance and scholarly interpretations.
The conference that unveiled the Gyan Bharatam Portal brought together leading scholars, conservationists, technologists, and policy experts, highlighting the interdisciplinary approach required for successful manuscript digitisation. This collaborative framework ensures that the portal incorporates best practices from various fields while maintaining the highest standards of scholarly accuracy and cultural sensitivity.
The platform’s design emphasises user accessibility, enabling researchers worldwide to access India’s manuscript heritage without geographical limitations. The Gyan Bharatam Portal serves as a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern technology, facilitating research collaborations and scholarly exchanges that transcend national boundaries.
India’s manuscript heritage encompasses an extraordinary diversity of subjects, languages, and cultural traditions. The Gyan Bharatam Portal recognises this diversity by implementing comprehensive cataloguing systems that preserve the contextual richness of each manuscript. From ancient scientific treatises and philosophical texts to literary works and historical chronicles, the portal ensures that no aspect of India’s intellectual legacy is overlooked.
The initiative particularly focuses on manuscripts that are at risk of deterioration due to age, environmental factors, or inadequate storage conditions. By prioritising these vulnerable documents, the Gyan Bharatam Portal serves as a critical intervention in preventing the permanent loss of irreplaceable cultural artefacts.
The launch of the Gyan Bharatam Portal promises to revolutionise scholarly research by providing unprecedented access to primary sources that were previously difficult to obtain. Students, researchers, and academics can now explore ancient texts, compare different versions of manuscripts, and conduct comprehensive studies without the limitations imposed by physical distance or institutional access restrictions.
Educational institutions stand to benefit significantly from the portal’s resources, as it enables the integration of authentic historical sources into curricula and research projects. The Gyan Bharatam Portal supports the development of a more nuanced and accurate understanding of India’s intellectual traditions across various disciplines.
The Gyan Bharatam Portal aligns with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a digitally empowered India that honours its past while embracing technological innovation. This effort supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Viksit Bharat @2047,” demonstrating how cultural preservation can contribute to national development goals.
The portal’s success will likely inspire similar initiatives in other countries with rich manuscript traditions, potentially leading to global collaborations in cultural preservation. As the Gyan Bharatam Portal continues to expand its collections and enhance its capabilities, it will serve as a model for integrating traditional knowledge systems with modern digital infrastructure.
The launch of the Gyan Bharatam Portal represents more than a technological achievement; it embodies India’s commitment to preserving and sharing its intellectual heritage with the world. Through this innovative digital platform, ancient wisdom becomes accessible to contemporary audiences, ensuring that the knowledge contained within centuries-old manuscripts continues to inform and inspire future generations.
The Gyan Bharatam Portal stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional preservation methods with cutting-edge technology, creating a lasting legacy that honours India’s past while building bridges to its future. This initiative will undoubtedly strengthen India’s position as a leader in cultural preservation and digital innovation on the global stage.
