'Digitising Indian Manuscripts Will Curb Intellectual Piracy': PM Modi At Gyan Bharatam

Last Updated:September 12, 2025, 21:55 IST

PM Modi said this effort is key to reclaiming India’s knowledge legacy and building a self-reliant India

PM Narendra Modi speaks at the International Conference on Gyan Bharatam in New Delhi. (Image via X/@narendramodi)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that digitising India’s ancient manuscripts will help stop “intellectual piracy", as the country’s traditional knowledge has often been copied and patented by others.

Speaking at the International Conference on Gyan Bharatam in New Delhi, PM Modi said this effort is key to reclaiming India’s knowledge legacy and building a self-reliant India (aatmanirbhar Bharat).

The Prime Minister noted that India’s manuscripts hold great civilisational knowledge and that digitising them not only protects them but also prevents others from misusing this knowledge as their own.

“Digitised manuscripts can feed this sector, serving as a vast data bank. They will inspire data-driven innovation, providing new opportunities for young researchers. New technologies like AI will play a key role," he said.

The event was held at Vigyan Bhawan under the theme ‘Reclaiming India’s Knowledge Legacy through Manuscript Heritage’. Modi said over 10 lakh manuscripts have already been digitised with support from both government and private institutions.

The prime minister also launched the Gyan Bharatam portal — a digital platform to boost manuscript digitisation, preservation and access.

“Throughout history, crores of manuscripts were destroyed, but the ones that remain show how devoted our ancestors were to knowledge, science and learning," he said.

PM Modi noted that India is also working with countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Mongolia, which share cultural ties and hold similar manuscripts.

“Under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, India aims to preserve this heritage globally, engaging countries with centuries-old cultural ties… We have collaborated with universities in Thailand and Vietnam, training scholars to decipher manuscripts in Pali, Lanna, and Cham languages," he noted.

Calling the conference a symbol of a new cultural renaissance, he said India’s knowledge system has always been built on preservation, innovation and adaptation.

India’s Gyan Bharatam Mission aims to document, conserve, digitise and open access to over one crore manuscripts stored in institutions and private collections across the country.

(With inputs from PTI)

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