Parliament Question: Digital Transformation of Museums and Cultural Institutions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2351 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03/08/2026 “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS”

2351. DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND:

SHRI RADHESHYAM RATHIYA:

SHRI DULU MAHATO:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

SHRI GOPAL JEE THAKUR:

SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

SHRI RAVINDRA SHUKLA ALIAS RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI:

SHRI KANWAR SINGH TANWAR:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

(a) whether any national framework has been developed for digital archiving, collection management and virtual public access to museum collections in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with status in cultural institutions in the country, State/UTwise, particularly in Bihar, especially in Darbhanga and Himachal Pradesh, especially in Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency;

(c) whether any steps have been taken to strengthen collaboration between museums, academic institutions and technology partners for heritage conservation and digital innovation;

(d) if so, the details thereof along with approved projects, expenditures and achievements in the country, State/UT-wise, particularly in Himachal Pradesh, especially in Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency;

(e) the details of the steps taken by the Government to expand technology-enabled visitor experiences and digital heritage initiatives across museums and other institutions under the Ministry of Culture and projects approved or proposed for Himachal Pradesh, especially Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency; and

(f) whether the Government is considering any special plan for digital preservation and promotion of Darbhanga's rich Mithila art, manuscripts and cultural heritage?ANSWER MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) Yes. The Ministry of Culture is taking different initiatives in digital archiving and collection management to preserve our cultural assets through digitization with JATAN software, developed by C-DAC, Pune, for digitization of museum collections and archival resources. A national digital repository has been created through the Museums of India portal, where digitized collections of eight National Level Museums, two ASI Site Museums and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Museum, Pune are available. Digitized Articles

till date can be viewed by accessing the following link:

https://museumsofindia.gov.in/repository The Gyan Bharatam Mission, launched under the Ministry of Culture, aims to safeguard India’s vast manuscript heritage and revive its civilizational knowledge traditions for future generations. More than 3.5 lakh digitized manuscripts are available on Gyan Bharatam portal at present for public access, which can be viewed by accessing the following

link: https://gyanbharatam.com/ Digitization of archival records are undertaken by the National Archives of India under the Ministry of Culture to preserve valuable documentary heritage and facilitate wider access to archival records. The archival records are regularly uploaded on NAI's dedicated portal, 'Abhilekh Patal' for researchers, scholars and the general public. Statistics are

available on the portal at https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/ Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM), Kolkata, a constituent unit of NCSM developed a National Science & Technology Digital Archive containing papers, letters & manuscripts of eminent Indian scientists which was opened on 05.12.2024.

URL: https://nstad.in/home-login/ The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been undertaking extensive initiatives for the digital preservation, documentation and dissemination of India’s cultural heritage through its various knowledge repositories and digital platforms.

IGNCA has developed and maintained comprehensive digital archives covering manuscripts, photographs, rare books, audio-visual recordings, cultural documentation, art objects and archival collections.

(b) The details of digitized data for National Level Museums under the Ministry of Culture is attached at Annexure – I(c) & (d) National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) under the Ministry of Culture is at the forefront of research and development (R&D) in museum display technologies, continuously innovating to enhance visitor engagement. By integrating cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence

(AI), computer vision and sensor-based interaction. NCSM’s R&D efforts focus on developing intuitive and immersive exhibits that blend seamlessly into the visitor experience. These include advancements in motion tracking, eye-tracking, smart content adaptation and touch less interaction. The goal is to make learning more dynamic, personalized and accessible to all audiences.

Indian Museum, Kolkata aligning with the vision of Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi and in accordance with its mandate of promoting and preserving cultural heritage, it has undertaken collaborative initiatives with the academic institutions to strengthen heritage conservation and digital innovation. Indian Museum has joined hands with IIT, Kharagpur for the use of AI based restoration of archaeological artefacts for digital preservation of its collections.

Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, regularly organizes training programmes for teachers, teacher educators and students with the objective of preserving and promoting Indian culture through education. As part of these programmes, educational visits to museums, heritage monuments and nature parks are organized in collaboration with museums and other cultural institutions to facilitate experiential learning and heritage awareness. Institutions include National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art, National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, National Science Centre, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Swachhata Kendra, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and Red Fort in Delhi. Similar collaborations are undertaken through CCRT Regional Centres for visits to the Salar Jung Museum

(Hyderabad), Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal (Udaipur), Assam State Museum (Guwahati) and Rani Damayanti Archaeological Museum (Damoh).

Digital documentation of antiquities and built heritage sites of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been undertaken through the National Mission оn Monuments Antiquities (NMMA). Further, 723 antiquities of the ASI Museum, Goa and 8,450 antiquities of the ASI Museum, Nagarjunakonda have been digitally documented and uploaded on the JATAN software developed by C-DAC, Pune in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture.

(e) MoC has undertaken the following steps to enhance technology-enabled visitor experience

and digital access including:  Digitization of manuscripts, photographs and archival collections.  Online access to selected publications and archival resources.  Digital documentation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Use of multimedia and interactive technologies during exhibitions, conferences and outreach programmes.

These initiatives have substantially improved accessibility to cultural resources for researchers, students and the public.

National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) under the Ministry of Culture being the apex body of science museums/centres with 26 units in different parts of the country as listed at Annexure-II, houses exhibits which are basically hands on and participatory in nature and are developed in house. NCSM prepares a well thought Annual Action Plan as per periodic requirement every year for upgradation, renovation and modernization of museums and centres under its control to enhance the visitor experience including Palampur Science Centre, Palampur in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Further, under the Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPoCS), (details of the scheme can be found in (https://www.indianculture.gov.in/) NCSM has undertaken modernization/upgradation of six (6)Science Centres in various parts of the country

namely:- Ranchi Science Centre, Jharkhand; Sukanta Academy of Arts, Science & Culture, Tripura; Nagaland Science Centre, Dimapur; Shillong Science Centre, Meghalaya;

Mizoram Science Centre, Aizawl and Manipur Science Centre, Manipur.

Indian Museum in collaboration with Google Art & Culture has prepared a virtual exhibition for promotion of heritage through digital interventions. As a part of its modernisation, AI-based interactives and AR-based visitor engagement tools have been introduced to provide immersive gallery experience to the visitors.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has launched mobile-based applications for the Archaeological Museums at Hampi (Karnataka) and Nalanda (Bihar). The applications provide virtual tours of the museums and facilitate digital access to the artefacts displayed therein.

(f) IGNCA has undertaken documentation, research, publication and digital preservation of various aspects of Mithila art, traditions and manuscripts through its regular academic and archival activities.Annexure – I ANNEXURE REFERRED IN PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2351 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 03.08.2026 REGARDING“DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS”.

Status of digitization of museum collections available on the website through JATAN Software No. of Records transferred to C DAC, Pune by Museums Sl. No. Name of the Museums Total Number of Available on % Available on onboarded artefacts website the website 1 National Museum 2,06,169 1,05,452 51.15 2 Indian Museum 1,08,000 77,943 72.17 3 Victoria Memorial 28,394 27,922 98.34 Hall 4 Salar Jung Museum 48,367 47,504 98.22 5 Allahabad Museum 70,121 62,988 89.83 6 NGMA, New Delhi 15,929 12,555 78.82 7 NGMA, Mumbai 1,457 1,461 100.00 8 NGMA, Bengaluru 534 534 100.00 Total 4,78,971 3,36,359 70.23

Collections can be viewed at the link below https://museumsofindia.gov.in/repositoryAnnexure-II ANNEXURE REFERRED IN PART (c) & (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2351 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 03.08.2026 REGARDING “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS”.

National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) Sl. No. Name of the NCSM Unit Located in State/UT

1. Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, Kolkata West Bengal

2. Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Karnataka Bangalore

3. Shri Krishna Science Centre, Patna Bihar

4. District Science Centre, Purulia West Bengal

5. District Science Centre, Gulbarga Karnataka

6. District Science Centre, Dharampur Gujarat

7. Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai Maharashtra

8. District Science Centre, Tirunelveli Tamil Nadu

9. Regional Science Centre, Lucknow Uttar Pradesh

10. Regional Science Centre, Bhubaneswar Odisha

11. National Science Centre, Delhi Delhi

12. Raman Science Centre & Planetarium, Nagpur Maharashtra

13. Central Research Training Laboratory, Kolkata(R&D West Bengal Hub of NCSM)

14. Regional Science Centre, Tirupati Andhra Pradesh

15. District Science Centre, Bardhaman West Bengal

16. National Science Centre, Guwahati Assam

17. Regional Science Centre, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh

18. Dhenkanal Science Centre, Dhenkanal Odisha

19. Sc. Park, Kapilas Odisha

20. Regional Science Centre & Planetarium, Calicut Kerala

21. Science City, Kolkata West Bengal

22. North Bengal Science Centre, Siliguri West Bengal

23. Digha Science Centre , Digha West Bengal

24. Kurukshetra Panorama And Science Centre, Kurukshetra Haryana

25. Goa Science Centre, Panjim Goa

26. Palampur Science Centre, Palampur Himachal Pradesh *****