The Ministry of Culture has clarified the scope of the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) and its Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) initiative. The government says MGMD is meant for village-level cultural mapping and documentation of cultural heritage, not for registration or welfare delivery for artists and cultural practitioners.
What the Ministry of Culture said
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that MGMD documents cultural information linked to villages across India. The recorded material includes information on artists, artisans, cultural practitioners, cultural institutions and folk-art groups, wherever such information is available.
The ministry also clarified three important limits of the Mission:
The MGMD portal maintains data village-wise, not category-wise.The Mission does not provide for registration of artists, artisans or cultural practitioners.The Mission does not provide financial assistance, insurance or social security support.
Background and earlier position
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