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.

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

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.

Salient features of NVLI along with achievements made so far

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.

This information was given by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and development of North Eastern Region Shri G.Kishan Reddy in the Lok Sabha today.

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NB/SK