For centuries India has been a civilisation that held knowledge in the highest esteem. From the huts of gurukuls where young seekers found shelter, to the globally reputed universities of Nalanda and Takshashila, where scholars from all over Asia and the world found their way, learning the core of ethos. This enormous wealth of wisdom was retained not just in oral discussion but also through the numerous manuscripts written on palm leaves, birch bark and eventually paper across subjects as varied as philosophy, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, literature and spirituality. These manuscripts were the bearers of our civilisational memory and the ideas endured over generations.
Under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is experiencing a renaissance of this heritage. The Digital India movement, which has already revolutionized governance and daily lives from BharatNet networking villages with high-speed internet to UPI revolutionising financial inclusion is now spreading its wings to preserve heritage. Technology is not just being leveraged for ease, but for cultural revival as well. Ancient texts, which were previously susceptible to destruction, neglect or oblivion, are now being digitised, restored and made accessible to the world. This effort has solidified into the Gyan Bharatam Mission, which was initiated with historic audacity to conserve and globalise India treasure of manuscripts.
Gyan Bharatam: A National Movement
The Gyan Bharatam Mission is a celebration of India’s civilisational heritage and an idealistic undertaking in accordance with the vision of a Viksit Bharat in 2047. It seeks to make India a real Vishwa Guru combining the sagacity of its past and the innovation of its future. With more than five million of manuscripts across temples, monasteries, archives, libraries and private collections, the goal of this mission is to identify, catalogue, conserve, digitise and disseminate this knowledge treasure in an organised way.
The Ministry of Culture has rooted this vision by hosting the first-ever Gyan Bharatam International Conference on “Reclaiming India Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage,” which took place at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, from 11th–13th September 2025. The conference represents a symbolic and functional milestone, officially commencing the Mission. Its timing has deeper meant, it is on the anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic speech in Chicago in 1893, when India voice of wisdom came to the world stage. On similar lines, the conference aims to reassert India as a civilisation of knowledge is today driven by technology.
In a recent tweet Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mentioned that “India’s ancient manuscripts stand as living symbols of our glorious heritage. With this historic effort to digitally preserve them, our rich culture is poised to gain a renewed identity on the global stage”
भारत की प्राचीन पांडुलिपियां हमारी गौरवशाली विरासत का जीवंत प्रतीक हैं। इन्हें डिजिटल रूप में संरक्षित करने की ऐतिहासिक पहल से हमारी समृद्ध संस्कृति को वैश्विक मंच पर एक नई पहचान मिलने वाली है। pic.twitter.com/iAgIewhq3t
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 12, 2025
The Conference: A Global Platform for Knowledge
The three-day conference will have more than 1,100 attendees, including researchers, specialists, institutions, cultural custodians and students from across India and the world. Renowned personalities, 17 national speakers and 17 overseas speakers discussed themes ranging from conservation, restoration, digitisation, AI tools, legal aspects and incorporation of manuscript heritage into education and research.
The conference is structured on one inaugural, one valedictory, four plenary sessions and twelve technical sessions, maintaining a balanced proportion of dialogue and technical exchange. The debates extended beyond the academic attracting manuscripts as living knowledge systems rather than remnants of the past capable of shaping India future in science, culture and innovation.
This conference reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasis on youth participation. Among the delegates there are 230 students, 112 research scholars and hundreds of young professionals. The message was clear heritage preservation is not an isolated scholarly pursuit but a national responsibility, where the younger generation must play an active role.
To guarantee that the mission’s objectives are well rooted, eight specialized working groups were formed prior to the conference. These assembled archaeologists, conservation scientists, legal specialists, technologists and cultural diplomats. Their discussion yielded practical guidelines from standardizing documentation to suggesting AI tools for cracking ancient scripts. These groups guarantee that the conference is not ceremonial but solution-oriented, paving the way for long-term institutional action.
Gyan-Setu: The AI Innovation Challenge
One of the highlights of the mission is Gyan-Setu, a National AI Innovation Challenge under Gyan Bharatam. With more than 10 million manuscripts on every aspect of knowledge be it governance and medicine or arts, the challenges aim to utilize artificial intelligence to make this heritage accessible. Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and machine learning algorithms can now interpret scripts, translate text and build searchable digital repositories.
By opening up participation to students, researchers, institutions and start-ups, Gyan-Setu has made manuscript preservation a collaborative national effort. It puts young innovators in the driving seat, challenging them to perceive old texts not as delicate artefacts but as living idea laboratories. India Bhāratīya Jñāna Paramparā is being brought back to life for coming generations, turning the insights of the past into a source of strength for tomorrow’s troubles.
The Mission has been sanctioned as a Central Sector Scheme for 2024-31, with an outlay of Rs. 482.85 crore. For the year 2025-26, Rs. 60 crores have been earmarked to launch its initiatives.
The Mission is organized around several objectives:
• Identification and Documentation: Introduction of Manuscript Resource Centres (MRCs) for the creation of a credible national register.
• Conservation and Restoration: Augmentation of Manuscript Conservation Centres (MCCs) for preventive as well as curative methods.
• Digitisation and Repository Creation: Mass digitisation, facilitated by cloud storage, AI-driven cataloguing and microfilming.
• Research, Translation, and Publication: Resurrection of old manuscripts through translations and critical editions.
• Capacity Building: Training courses in palaeography, conservation and transcription.
• Technology Development: Mobile applications, safe storage and IIIF-compliant platforms for global access.
• Engagement and Incentivisation: Certification and revenue-sharing models to incentivise private custodians.
• Global Collaboration and Education: Collaborative partnerships for retrieval, digitisation and inclusion into curricula as part of NEP 2020.
Jointly, these goals turn manuscript conservation into a comprehensive national programme integrating heritage and innovation.
Capitalizing on the National Mission for Manuscripts
The Gyan Bharatam Mission draws strength from the base created by the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) founded in 2003. Through the years, NMM has:
•Documented 44.07 lakh manuscripts in its Kriti Sampada repository.
• Developed Manus Granthavali, software conforming to international metadata standards.
• Collaborated with world-class repositories such as Saraswati Mahal Library (Thanjavur), Rampur Raza Library (Rampur) and Khuda Bakhsh Library (Patna).
•Published over 2,500 catalogues under its programs.
This heritage now forms the strong foundation upon which Gyan Bharatam is constructing a digitally empowered future architecture.
NEP 2020 and Indian Knowledge Systems
The National Education Policy 2020 fortifies the cultural base of the Gyan Bharatam Mission. By encouraging the education in mother tongue up to Grade 5 and incorporating Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) into curricula, NEP ensures that children are tradition-rooted while learning the modern. It hopes that students are exposed to India contributions in mathematics, philosophy, medicine and literature as part of their studies.
This merging goes perfectly with the goals of the mission. Books that were previously shelved in libraries are being brought back into classrooms, research programs and cyber spaces by making India intellectual capital available to all students.
Relevance in Today’s Context
In today’s world, where digital tools shape governance, finance and education, the Gyan Bharatam Mission extends the Digital India vision into heritage preservation. Just as UPI revolutionised payments and DIKSHA transformed classrooms, GBM is redefining how heritage is conserved, catalogued and accessed.
With over 1,400 students and researchers enrolled for the global conference and start-ups taking part in Gyan-Setu, the mission is already establishing a youth-led movement. Manuscripts are not now fragile artifacts, they are being rediscovered as wellsprings of knowledge for innovation, research and diplomacy.
Civilisational Pride and Global Leadership
The importance of the Gyan Bharatam Mission is not only preservation but also making India a world intellectual leader. Through making its manuscript resources available globally, India reinforces its cultural diplomacy role. The manuscripts provide an insight into governance, ethics and integral science contributions that are still relevant to global issues.
As the Mission develops, it reflects the essence of “Virasat aur Vikas” heritage and progress together. It ensures that while India progresses towards Viksit Bharat @2047, it does so with roots strengthened by civilisational wisdom.
The Gyan Bharatam Mission is not merely a cultural endeavour, it is a civilisational movement. It blends the vitality of tradition with the potential of technology so that Indian manuscripts are not lost to time but revived to meet the demands of a digital age. By engaging youth, empowering scholars, mobilising technology and aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the mission ensures that India’s civilisational wisdom is preserved, celebrated and share it with the world.
From the gurukuls of ancient times to the cloud storage facilities of the present, India’s journey of knowledge remains unbroken. Gyan Bharatam Mission is the newest path in that journey one which makes sure that the riches of the past turn into the strength of the future.
Comments