Lok Sabha Question No. 5142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-04
Subject: National Virtual Library of India
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Dhanush M Kumar, C.N. Annadurai, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Manjulata Mandal, Gautham Sigamani Pon

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5142 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2022

## NATIONAL VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF INDIA

5142.  SHRI DHANUSH M. KUMAR:

SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

SHRIMATI MANJULATA MANDAL:

SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is implementing any scheme for the creation of the National Virtual Library of India (NVLI) and if so, the details thereof along with the objectives and salient features of NVLI;
- (b) whether the Government has achieved the objective for which NVLI was set up and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the challenges faced by the Government while implementing NVLI;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  any  details  regarding  the  progress  of  the  implementation  of  NVLI project and targets achieved thereunder so far and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government has set any timeframe for the completion of the NVLI project; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government for completing the project in a timebound manner?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION

## (G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a) & (b) Yes Sir, the Government has implemented a National Virtual Library of India (NVLI) through the  Indian  Culture  Portal,  www.indianculture.gov.in in  collaboration  with  IIT  Bombay,  Mumbai.  The objective of NVLI is to provide a platform for the digital preservation of diverse cultural artefacts and to create awareness and a sense of collective ownership among citizens about their shared heritage. The salient features of NVLI along with achievements made so far is at Annexure-A .

(c) None

(d) This project has progressed very well. The main output of this project is the Indian Culture Portal, www.indianculture.gov.in.

(e)  &  (f)  No,  Sir.  The  NVLI  project  has  been  implemented  satisfactorily.  The  Indian  Culture  Portal developed under the NVLI has a total of about 2.98 lakh digital artefacts, with metadata and more than 34 lakh bibliographic entries.

The content is presented in 28 categories such as Rare Books, E- Books, Archives, Paintings, Stories, Snippets, Historical Cities and Forts etc. The portal is currently available in English & Hindi and can be accessed through an App called Indian Culture, available on both Android phones and iPhone.

## ANNEXURE-A

Recognizing the ongoing need to position itself for the digital future, NVLI is an initiative by the Ministry of Culture, a platform that hosts data of cultural relevance from various repositories and institutions all over India.

As part of the NVLI project, IIT-B has developed the Indian Culture Portal (www.indianculture.gov.in) - a one-stop source for information related to history, heritage and culture.

## Salient Features of NVLI: -

1. An all-inclusive Digital Platform - to provide access to multiple cultural resources such as the national and state archives, libraries and district gazetteers which will cater to all sections of the society.
2. Data Collection and Curation Data is collected from the various MoC organisations. The data thus received is duly curated
3. Data Harvesting Curated data is harvested into a common repository and made available to the public on the Indian Culture Portal.
4. Free Access Free access to archival resources and documents
5. Advanced and User-friendly interface Easy navigation of the portal allows the user to reach the desired result quicker.
6. Accessible by the Visually Impaired The portal has specific features and functionalities that allow visually impaired to read and access the portal without difficulty.
7. Faceted and Advanced Search Faceted search allows the user to look through the different layers of the portal with the use of filters. Advanced search helps look for books and other resources using the specific fields such as author name, title etc.
8. Bilingual  Digital  Platform  The  portal  is  bilingual  and  is  available  in  both  English  and  Hindi language.
9. Digital Flipbook for Rare Books and E-books This exclusive feature is available for all books on the portal. Rare Books on the portal are also downloadable.
10. Easy-to-read Content Content related to history, heritage and culture is written in an easy to read format to cater to people from all walks of life.
11. QR Code Sharing Data on the portal can be easily shared using unique QR codes. Once scanned, the desired page can be easily accessed on phone and other devices.
12. Constant Growth and New Additions The portal is constantly growing with new content and curated data. The portal hosts lakhs of data in the form of books, manuscripts, archival documents, images, videos and other resources.
13. Categories currently available on the Indian Culture Portal: -

Rare Books, E-Books, Archives, Gazettes and Gazetteers, Manuscripts, Museum Collections, Paintings, Audios,  Intangible  Cultural  Heritage,  Photo  Archives,  Images,  Videos,  Content  from  UNESCO, Research Papers, Indian National Bibliography, Reports & Proceedings, Union Catalogues and Other Collections etc. Stories, Snippets, Photo Essays, Forts of India, Textiles and Fabrics of India, Historic Cities of India, Musical Instruments of India, Food and Culture, Virtual Walkthroughs and Freedom Archive - Unsung Heroes etc.