RAS question
The Gyan Bharatam Mission was formally launched in September 2025. What is the total budget allocated to this mission for 2024–31 and how many manuscripts have been documented so far?
Correct answer: (A) ₹482.85 crore; 44.07 lakh manuscripts.
The Gyan Bharatam Mission has a total outlay of Rs. 482.85 crore for 2024-31, and over 44.07 lakh manuscripts have been documented in the Kriti Sampada repository.
Explanation
The answer is Rs. 482.85 crore and 44.07 lakh manuscripts because the PIB backgrounder states that Gyan Bharatam Mission has been approved as a Central Sector Scheme for 2024-31 with a total outlay of Rs. 482.85 crore. The Press Information Bureau links the manuscript count to the earlier National Mission for Manuscripts, which documented over 44.07 lakh manuscripts in the Kriti Sampada repository. The formal launch was at the three-day international conference held at Vigyan Bhawan from 11-13 September 2025. Together, these details show that the mission is not only a new launch event but a funded heritage-preservation programme building on an existing national manuscript documentation base.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Rs. 350 crore and 25 lakh manuscripts understate both figures; the PIB backgrounder gives Rs. 482.85 crore and over 44.07 lakh manuscripts.
- (C) Rs. 600 crore and 60 lakh manuscripts overstate both the approved outlay and the documented manuscript count.
- (D) Rs. 200 crore and 10 lakh manuscripts are too low and do not match the PIB figures for either the 2024-31 outlay or Kriti Sampada documentation.
Concept
This tests government schemes and cultural governance, especially the linkage between budgetary allocation and institutional documentation. Such facts recur in RAS because culture-related schemes often combine ministry, funding period, launch event, and measurable output.