Ministry of Culture signs a manuscript heritage MoU with the Bibliotheque nationale de France under the Gyan Bharatam Mission

26 October 2026

The Ministry of Culture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris to strengthen cooperation in the preservation, digitisation, research and dissemination of manuscript and documentary heritage. It was signed by Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, and Gilles Pecout, President of the Bibliotheque nationale de France. The MoU is implemented through the Gyan Bharatam Mission, the Ministry's flagship manuscript heritage initiative, with the National Archives of India in New Delhi and the National Library in Kolkata as participating institutions. It covers five areas of cooperation: digitisation, cross-sharing on the National Digital Repository, technology exchange, conservation, and research and development. Work will include identifying and digitising Indic-origin manuscripts held by the French library and exchanging expertise on cataloguing standards and OCR and HTR tools for Indian scripts.