National Mission for Manuscripts Documents 5.2 Million Manuscripts and Preserves 90 Million Folios Nationwide
The National Mission for Manuscripts has documented 5.2 million manuscripts, conserved 90 million folios and digitized 3.30 crore of manuscripts across the country from its inception in 2003 till September 2023. In addition to this the Mission has uploaded 1,25,000 manuscripts on its cloud platform out of which 75,000 manuscripts are available for research purposes on public domain.
The objectives of National Mission for Manuscripts are:-
- Locate manuscripts through national level Survey and Post-Survey
- Document each and every manuscript and manuscript repository, for a National Electronic Database that currently contains information on four million manuscripts making this the largest database on Indian manuscripts in the world
- Conserve manuscripts incorporating both modern and indigenous methods of conservation and training a new generation of manuscript conservators
- To train the next generation of scholars in various aspects of Manuscript Studies like languages, scripts and critical editing and cataloging of texts and conservation of manuscripts
- To promote access to manuscripts by digitizing the rarest and most endangered manuscripts
- To promote access to manuscripts through publication of critical editions of unpublished manuscripts and catalogs.
- To facilitate public’s engagement with manuscripts through lectures, seminars, publications and other outreach programmes.