Gyan Bharatam Mission: National Manuscript Survey and AI-enabled manuscript digitisation tools
The Ministry of Culture launched the National Manuscript Survey under the Gyan Bharatam Mission and expanded AI-enabled manuscript digitisation and access tools on the Gyan Bharatam Web Portal.
- The survey maps manuscript holdings, repositories, and custodians across many languages and scripts.
- Digitised manuscripts are shared only as per applicable laws and permissions of custodians and rights holders.
- Manuscripts and metadata may be shared for public and scholarly research when legally permissible.
- OCR and HTR convert text images into machine-readable text; script recognition and translation support discovery and understanding.
What happened: National Manuscript Survey and AI tools on Gyan Bharatam Web Portal
The Ministry of Culture implemented the Gyan Bharatam Mission through two connected activities: (1) the National Manuscript Survey to identify and document manuscript holdings, and (2) the Gyan Bharatam Web Portal to provide AI-enabled access to India’s manuscript heritage.
National Manuscript Survey was launched across all States and Union Territories to identify and document manuscript holdings, repositories, and custodians representing diverse languages and scripts.
Use the initiative to frame an exam-ready link between cultural heritage documentation and AI-enabled usability: national mapping through the National Manuscript Survey, conversion of manuscript images into machine-readable knowledge via AI, and a rights-sensitive model for access to digitised copies. UPSC framing can combine GS1 culture, GS3 AI applications, and GS4 ethics in digitisation and access.
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