Government Official, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, Introduces Digital Indian Culture Platform
The Indian Culture web portal, a digital platform initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is a significant stride in the Digital India initiative. This platform aims to preserve, showcase, and disseminate India's rich and diverse cultural heritage.
The portal offers access to a wide range of tangible and intangible cultural resources. From rare books and antiquarian e-books to images, paintings, musical instruments, and multimedia content from cultural institutions across the country, the portal is a treasure trove of India's cultural heritage.
Key features and content of the portal include:
- Digitized ancient manuscripts and rare documents: Under the 'Gyan Bharatam Mission', the portal provides digital access to over 50 crore pages of manuscripts written in multiple Indian and classical languages. These manuscripts, sourced from various archives and private collections, are available as digital PDFs.
- Rare books and e-books: The portal hosts a vast collection of first editions, signed copies, and rare antiquarian books as well as e-books relating to ancient Indian history, traditional records, and culture.
- Photo archives and digital images: It provides a rich database of culturally significant images, including digital images connected to art, tribal culture, archaeological sites, and other facets of Indian heritage.
- Multimedia resources: The portal offers audio and video recordings of traditional music, dance performances, exhibitions, documentaries, and other cultural events, thereby showcasing India's intangible cultural heritage.
- Research and educational collections: It features scholarly articles, cultural documentation, and educational resources to support research and learning in Indian culture.
The portal functions as a national digital repository and interactive platform, enabling widespread public, researcher, and academic access to India’s cultural materials via web and mobile applications. It serves as a key component of the Digital India program, aiding in the preservation of physical and intangible cultural heritage through digitization and making it accessible nationally and internationally.
By integrating diverse cultural artifacts—manuscripts, rare books, images, multimedia, and interactive resources—the portal helps promote awareness, education, and appreciation of India’s rich and varied cultural traditions. It supports ongoing cultural research and heritage conservation efforts by providing an authoritative, centralized digital resource that links multiple government and cultural institutions.
Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched the Indian Culture web portal in New Delhi, with plans to further develop and enhance it. Currently, information about over 90 lakh items is available on the portal, with plans to provide its content in various regional languages in the future. The larger aim of the portal is to foster greater awareness among citizens about the diverse heritage of India.
Technology plays a pivotal role in the conservation and dissemination of India's cultural heritage via the Indian Culture web portal. The portal employs advanced digitization techniques to transform ancient manuscripts, rare books, images, and multimedia content into digital formats, making them easily accessible through web and mobile applications, demonstrating how technology can bridge the gap between traditional culture and modern means of learning.
