Context: Recently, Development of Museums and Cultural Spaces, Ministry of Culture, Government of India hosted a webinar on “Revitalising Museums and Cultural Spaces” to celebrate the International Museum Day.
Key Points

• The webinar has been hosted by Development of Museums and Cultural Spaces, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has supported DMCS, Ministry of Culture by providing technical assistance for conducting of this Webinar.
• The webinar featured some of the best experts in the museum and cultural spaces domain.
• The objective of the webinar is to identify the possible policy actions that will help alleviate the short and long term effects of the crisis on museums, cultural spaces and their broader ecosystems
• The nascent topic Museo-preneurs also discussed to look at how museums can embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and work on sustainable business models.

Administration of Museums in India

• Multiple ministries hold charges of various Museums.
• Not all Museums are administered by the Ministry of Culture.
• Some are run without government support by a handful of people under a Board of Trustees.
• The Budget 2020 proposed the setting up of an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation with the status of a deemed university under the Ministry of Culture.
• The National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums (under the Ministry of Culture) have been launched for digitisation of the collections of the Museums.

About International Museum Day

• It is an international day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
• The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year to reflect the basis of the international museum community’s preoccupations.
• International Museum Day therefore serves as a platform to raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society today, on an international level.
• It was celebrated with the theme “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”.

About National e-Governance Division (NeGD)

• In 2009, National e-Governance Division (NeGD) was created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) as an Independent Business Division under the Digital India Corporation.
• Since 2009, NeGD has been playing a pivotal role in supporting the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology in Programme Management and implementation of e-Governance Projects and initiatives undertaken by Ministries/ Departments, both at Central and State levels.

About International Council of Museum(ICOM)

• It is the main and only organisation of museums and museum professionals with global scope, committed to promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.
• It was created in 1946 and is headquartered in Paris, France. It serves as a network of museum professionals (35,000 members in 137 countries) acting in a wide range of museum- and heritage-related disciplines.