Context: The Union Ministry of Culture is set to “revive and relaunch” the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) and is mulling the formation of an autonomous body to help preserve ancient texts in India. Presently, NMM is a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.

About Manuscript

• It is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf, or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical, or aesthetic value.

• Manuscripts have knowledge content. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts.

• Manuscripts are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts.

• Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts. For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script, and many other scripts.

• Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firm ans, and revenue records, which provide direct information on events or processes in history.

About the relaunch of the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM)

• Goal: To intensify the preservation of ancient texts across India.

• New Structure: Plans are underway to create an autonomous body dedicated to this mission.

• Proposed New Body: It has proposed a new body called the National Manuscripts Authority.

• Autonomy: It will operate as an autonomous entity under the Ministry of Culture.

• Current Status: NMM currently functions within the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.

About National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM)

• It was established in February 2003, by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India.

• Mandate: Documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in the manuscripts.

• Motto: ‘Conserving the past for the future’

• A unique project in its programme and mandate, the NMM seeks to unearth and preserve the vast manuscript wealth of India.

• India possesses an estimated of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world.

• These cover a variety of themes, textures, and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations, and illustrations.

• While 75% of the existing manuscripts are in Sanskrit, 25% are in regional languages, according to the NMM.

Achievements of the National Mission for Manuscripts

• Metadata Creation: Metadata for approximately 5.2 million manuscripts has been created.

• Digitization: Over 300,000 manuscript titles have been digitized, though only one-third are currently accessible online.

• Conservation Efforts: Preservation activities have covered roughly 900 million folios over the past 21 years.

Future Goals

• Digital Access: Increase the upload rate of digitized manuscripts to make them more accessible.

• Enhanced Conservation: Continue both preventive and curative conservation of manuscripts across the country.