Across the history of Bharat and its culture, acquiring knowledge and passing it to future generations has been the backbone of its traditions. Apart from knowledge itself the nation has been successful in passing the thirst for knowledge generation after generation. It is from this thirst for wealth of knowledge and wisdom that the nation has given way to many great thinkers, philosophers, scholarly personalities alike. Preserving and passing down this wisdom has taken the form of various mediums over the years.
To quote the Press Information Bureau of India, “From the gurukuls that nurtured generations of thinkers, to the great universities of Nalanda and Takshashila that attracted scholars from across the world, learning has been central to our civilization.”
This wisdom, education and expertise has been vastly preserved through manuscripts, monuments, arts and culture. These verticals have been the mirror of society and way of living every step of the way in the history of the country.
In today’s era of rapid Digitisation, AI and technology, to recapture and reclaim the preservation of the country’s learnings and expertise is the need of the hour. Additionally, to discover new ways that connect Bharat’s contemporary sources of wisdom to the new age learners is very important. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry of Culture and the honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi ji, in a landmark initiative have launched the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’. “Gyan Bharatam is a national initiative dedicated to preserving, digitising, and disseminating India’s manuscript heritage.” – Ministry of Culture.
To mark the occasion, the Cultural Ministry organised a one of a kind Gyan Bharatam International Conference for the first time from 11th to 13th September 2025. The conference circled around ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage’. This conference was the first international platform that invited stakeholders from across the country to discuss, deliberate, and chart the way forward for preserving and digitising Bharat’s manuscript heritage.
As the Chief Guest of this International Conference and the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism of Bharat, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, “This initiative, inspired and guided by the Prime Minister, is an effort to infuse new life into India’s rich knowledge tradition.” He further stated that the knowledge preserved in written form after ‘Shruti’ and ‘Smriti’ is now being revived through the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The conference as a whole was described by Mr. Shekhawat by appreciating the continuous participation and deliberations over the three days of the conference. He also noted that despite diverse perspectives, everyone engaged with mutual respect and energy, leading the conference towards a shared conclusion.
At the International Conference, the Gyan Bharatam Portal which is the face of the ambitious Gyan Bharatam Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This particular portal aims to digitize, conserve and provide unprecedented access to Bharat’s extensive collection of manuscripts. This portal is described by the Government as a “Digital Repository of Ancient Knowledge”.
Key features of the Portal :-
- The portal will be a repository, an easy access to the vast treasure trove of the nation’s knowledge systems from ancient Bharat till today.
- It is set to be a one stop resource for researchers, scholars, students, seekers for Bharat’s vast intellectual fortune.
- Another interesting feature of this portal is the AI facilitated tools to help with searching and surfing the portal along with easy translations of the manuscripts. This way the knowledge becomes more accessible as it will be available in multiple languages.
- The long term preservation of the nation’s knowledge, culture and educational wealth for the future generations of the country.
- To showcase Bharat’s intellectual heritage to a global audience to promote a deeper understanding of its contributions in various fields.
A key takeaway from the Press Information Bureau’s official statement given on 10th Sept 2025, 5:27 pm on this initiative is that Gyan Bharatam Mission is a national initiative to preserve, digitise, and disseminate Bharat’s vast manuscript heritage, integrating tradition with technology for future generations. The Mission has been allocated Rs. 482.85 crore (2024–31), with over 44.07 lakh manuscripts already documented in the Kriti Sampada digital repository.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji said in his official statement at the Gyan Bharatam International Conference, “The Gyan Bharatam Mission is set to become a proclamation of India’s culture, literature, and consciousness. India’s knowledge tradition remains rich to this day because it is built on four foundational pillars of Preservation, Innovation, Addition, and Adaptation.” Furthermore, he emphasized on the vastness of Bharat’s knowledge and wisdom, “India’s manuscripts contain the footprints of humanity’s entire developmental journey. Today, the global cultural and creative industries are worth 2.5 trillion dollars and digitized manuscripts can feed this sector, serving as a vast data bank.” In his short message to today’s youth of the nation he said, “I urge the youth of the country to join this mission. Your involvement will accelerate the process of exploring the past through technology and making this knowledge accessible to humanity, grounded in evidence.”
A shared sentiment amongst researchers and scholars alike is that the portal can prove to be a “game changer” by making previously inaccessible information and manuscripts now available at one’s fingertips. One researcher from Pune, Maharashtra wrote online, “This is a treasure trove. For decades, accessing certain manuscripts meant navigating complex permissions and traveling to different parts of the country. If the execution is as good as the vision, it will transform Indian studies.” The technology-savvy users online are eagerly waiting and hoping for an execution just as smooth as its announcement. An enthusiast on a popular history forum stated, “The announcement is fantastic, but the real success will be in the execution. I am eagerly waiting to see the breadth of content that becomes available in the first year.”
Ultimately, the Gyan Bharatam Portal is a powerful statement of a modern Bharat that is not only building a future but is also confidently reclaiming its past. By leveraging cutting-edge technology to preserve its oldest treasures, the nation is reinforcing its identity as a continuing civilisational force. This initiative ensures that the ink of ancient scholars and thinkers does not fade into history but instead illuminates on screens across the globe, ready to educate, inspire, and enlighten for centuries to come.
Access the Gyan Bharatam Portal at this link : https://gyanbharatam.com/
Watch the Gyan Bharatam International Conference 2025 (Day 1) : https://youtu.be/5dpmOygVJDY
Sources :
- Government of India’s Press Information Bureau https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=2165829
- Press release issued by the Ministry of Culture https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2166404
- PM Narendra Modi ji’s address at the Gyan Bharatam International Conference 2025 https://www.youtube.com/live/QrASqb6ymAs?si=tol0XsRc5gjHSjQd
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