Ministry of Culture and Bibliothèque nationale de France Sign MoU to Strengthen India's Manuscript Heritage Preservation
Distilled Policy Brief
- The Ministry of Culture signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bibliothèque nationale de France to strengthen the preservation of India's manuscript heritage under the Gyan Bharatam Mission.
- The partnership focuses on five key areas: digitization, sharing on a national digital repository, technology exchange, conservation, and research and development.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
The Gyan Bharatam Mission is an initiative by the Ministry of Culture dedicated to the identification, documentation, preservation, digitization, translation, research, and dissemination of India's manuscript heritage.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
International collaborations in digital humanities and manuscript preservation are crucial for safeguarding historical Indian knowledge systems and enhancing global accessibility.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
According to the Standing Committee on Information Technology's report on paid news, which of the following measures was specifically recommended?
- [A] The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should formulate a comprehensive legal definition of paid news and empower the Election Commission to enforce it during elections.
- [B] Media‑owner representatives should be included as members of a new single statutory regulator for print and electronic media.
- [C] Punitive powers of existing bodies like the Press Council of India should be reduced to promote self‑regulation.
- [D] The Election Commission should be stripped of any authority to intervene in paid‑news cases during elections.
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
The Committee urged the MoIB to create a legal definition of paid news and to empower the Election Commission to enforce it during elections. The other options contradict the Committee's recommendations, which call for regulators without media‑owner members, stronger punitive powers, and enhanced, not reduced, ECI authority.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.