The Ministry of Culture on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that India currently has 3,685 protected monuments, archaeological sites and remains declared as monuments of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
In a written reply, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the government has undertaken several initiatives under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to strengthen efforts in documenting and preserving India’s linguistic, cultural and archival heritage. Programmes such as Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar, Unsung Heroes, Digital District Repository, Har Ghar Tiranga, Unity in Creativity, Kalanjali events, Vibrant Villages Programme and Meri Maati Mera Desh are among the key cultural interventions aimed at highlighting local traditions, celebrating freedom fighters and promoting community participation.
The Minister said the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is playing a major role in safeguarding digital heritage by adopting international metadata standards and ensuring long-term preservation of materials. Its specialised repositories cover Vedic heritage, folk traditions, manuscripts and rare audiovisual records. IGNCA has also developed the National Cultural Audiovisual Archives, a dedicated digital repository for the preservation of oral histories, linguistic traditions and folk performances.
The Ministry has also initiated a national project called Gyan Bharatam, which focuses on the preservation, digitisation and wider dissemination of India’s manuscript wealth.