(a) whether our country has the largest collection of manuscripts in the world;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the existing policy of the Government for preservation/conservation and digitisation of the manuscript heritage of the country;
(c) the total number of manuscripts documented and preserved till date; and
(d) the funds allocated by the Government in this regard during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise?
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR CULTURE & TOURISM AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR CIVIL AVIATION (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) to (c) The National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) was established in the year 2003 to document, preserve and digitize the manuscript wealth of India. Through its Manu- script Resource Centres (MRCs), the NMM has documented 31,23,000 manuscripts so far and a total of 1,85,88,390 pages have been digitized up to the end of 2014. 31 Manu- script Conservation Centres (MCCs) are identified across the country which conserve manuscripts with the help of grants from NMM.
Besides this, the National Archives of India operates two schemes for providing financial assistance for preservation of documentary heritage including manuscripts. These are:
(i) Scheme of Financial Assistance for Preservation and Conservation of Manuscripts, Rare Books, Old and Rare Documents, Record of History to Registered Voluntary Organizations/Individuals etc.
(ii) Scheme of Financial Assistance to State/Union Territory Archival Repositories, Government Libraries and Museums.
(d) There is no State-wise allocation of funds for the above.