President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Granth Kutir at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 23, 2026. The initiative is linked to preserving, displaying and widening access to India’s manuscript and textual traditions in classical languages. For RAS and UPSC preparation, its relevance lies at the intersection of culture, governance and heritage preservation, because a national institution has connected India’s knowledge traditions with public education.
Granth Kutir has a collection of manuscripts and books in 11 classical languages of India: Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali. The collection includes about 2,300 books and around 50 manuscripts. Its subject coverage includes epics, philosophy, linguistics, history, governance, science, devotional literature and the Constitution of India in these languages. Many manuscripts are handwritten on traditional materials such as palm leaf, paper, bark and cloth.
The space was developed through collaboration among the central government, state governments, universities, research institutions, cultural organisations and individual donors. Institutions associated with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture supported the initiative, while the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is providing expertise in manuscript management, conservation, documentation and display. Granth Kutir also supports the vision of Gyan Bharatam Mission, which aims to preserve, digitise and disseminate India’s manuscript heritage.
For prelims, likely facts include the location, inaugurating authority, number of classical languages, size of the collection and its link with Gyan Bharatam Mission. For mains, it can be used as an example of cultural heritage conservation, linguistic diversity, digital preservation, institutional collaboration and citizen awareness. Visitors can see the works during the conducted tour of Rashtrapati Bhavan Circuit 1, access collection information and digital material through the online portal, and researchers can apply through the portal for physical access to Granth Kutir.