The Ministry of Culture’s Gyan Bharatam portal currently maintains digital records of more than 88,800 manuscripts across different material categories, with paper manuscripts accounting for the largest share, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
According to the Ministry, the portal contains records of 83,045 paper manuscripts, 5,772 palm leaf manuscripts and three birch bark manuscripts. No manuscripts on parchment are currently recorded on the platform.
The Ministry noted that manuscripts preserved on the portal belong to different historical periods. It added that determining the exact age of individual manuscripts is a continuous process that depends on detailed research, decipherment and scholarly analysis.
The information was shared by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
