Ministry of Culture signs MoU with Bibliothèque nationale de France to strengthen preservation of India’s manuscript heritage

The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in Paris under the Gyan Bharatam Mission. The partnership aims to strengthen institutional cooperation in the preservation, digitisation, research, and dissemination of India's manuscript and documentary heritage. The collaboration involves the National Archives of India and the National Library, Kolkata, focusing on five key areas: digitisation, cross-sharing on the National Digital Repository, technology exchange, conservation, and research and development. It also includes provisions for cataloguing standards, OCR/HTR tools for Indian scripts, joint workshops, capacity-building, and scholar exchanges.