Why in News?
The Union Ministry of Culture plans to revive the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) to enhance the preservation of ancient texts in India.
An autonomous body, likely named the National Manuscripts Authority, may be formed under the Ministry.
Key Points of the Revived NMM
A recent meeting discussed achievements and future goals, including the digitization of manuscripts.
Currently, NMM has prepared metadata for 52 lakh manuscripts, with over 3 lakh titles digitized, but only one-third uploaded online.
Only about 70,000 of the 1.3 lakh uploaded manuscripts are accessible.
Concerns were raised about mismatches in digitized data and the actual manuscripts.
Around 80% of manuscripts in India are held by private owners, impacting accessibility.
Future Roadmap:
Establishment of university chairs abroad in departments focusing on ancient Indian studies.
Suggestions for involving Intellectual property rights (IPRs) and legal experts to address issues related to the sale of manuscripts abroad and private ownership.
Emphasis on preserving non-Brahmi and lesser-known scripts.
National Manuscript Mission
It is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture to preserve and document India's vast collection of manuscripts.
It was launched in 2003 to uncover, document, conserve, and make accessible India’s vast manuscript heritage.
The NMM has conserved 9 crore folios over 21 years.
The Department of Culture is responsible for implementing the mission, while the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) serves as the nodal agency.
India possesses an estimate of five million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world.
70% of manuscripts are in Sanskrit.
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