Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute is an initiative of the Government of Rajasthan. It was established as the Sanskrit Mandal in 1950 and extended as a full-fledged department in 1954 with a view to explore, collect, preserve, edit and publish the ancient literature in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa and Hindi-Rajasthani available in Rajasthan and adjacent areas. It has a large reference library comprising of 26,713 rare titles and 6,000 periodicals. With 7 branch repositories at Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Alwar having a collection of 1,19,830 manuscripts including 1,011 illustrated manuscripts on different subjects like the Veda , Dharmashastra , Itihasa , Purana , Tantra , Mantra , Darshana , Jyotisha and Ayurveda , the Institute has published 130 Descriptive Catalogues and published critical editions of more than 200 important texts.
 
The rich manuscripts in the collection of the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute include miniature versions with Pala, Western Indian, Rajput, Kangra and Jammu and Kashmir schools of painting on palm leaf, birch-bark, paper, wood and cloth. There are excellent calligraphy texts like Dvipatha , Tripatha and Panchpatha . Some unique specimens are Arsa-Ramayana , Gita Govinda (Mewar School), illuminated Kalpasutra of VS 1485, Buddhist manuscript Arya Mahavidya , and illustrated Bhagavata among others. An authenticated manuscript of Prithviraj Raso from Dharnoj village of Gujrat and a number of manuscripts written profusely in gold ink are also worth mentioning.
 
Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute started functioning as a Manuscript Resource Centre in September 2003. With the active participation of the affiliate branches spread across Rajasthan, the MRC has been able to document 1,75,498 manuscripts so far. The Institute explored 13 districts including Dholpur, Alwar, Jaipur, Kota and Bikaner and managed to cover 9 institutions and 28 private collections during survey. The 7 awareness campaigns conducted by the MRC have unearthed fresh data concerning manuscripts.

Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology was established by Muni Shri Punyavijayji and Shri Kasturbhai Lalbhai. The Library, started by the generous contribution of the founders, gradually became a priceless repository of manuscripts, books and other reference material. It has a reputation as the one of the largest treasure houses of manuscripts relating to Jainism.
 
The L. D. Institute has a library consisting of nearly 45,000 printed books nearly 75,000 manuscripts including 500 illustrated manuscripts, covering a wide range of subjects, like the Vedas, agamas , Buddhist religion, tantra , systems of Indian philosophy, and poetics etc. The institution has published 7 volumes of tabular catalogues, representing several languages like Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, Old Gujarati, Hindi and Rajasthani.

 
L. D. Institute, Ahmedabad has been collaborating with the National Mission as an MRC since September 2003. It has so far documented 64,740 manuscripts available in the different Jaina Bhandars of Gujarat State and catalogued electronic data for the database. It has covered 11 institutions covering 12 districts during the survey and has held many publicity programs in the print and electronic media for sensitizing the people on the preservation of manuscripts.
 

Founded in 1917, in memory of Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, the distinguished scholar, litterateur and one of the pioneers of scientific Indology in India, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute has nearly 20,000 manuscripts, covering a wide variety of subjects like religion, languages, Vedic literature, grammar, music, drama, purana, stotras, tantra, medicine and philosophical systems. The Archives contains copies of Farsi translation of the Gita and Yogavasishtha, made by Dara Shikoh 340 years ago, a copy of Vishnu Purana translated into Persian by a Kashmiri Pundit, a manuscript relating to horse-breeding written by Qazi Hasan Iftakhan 390 years ago, and an original manuscript bearing the seal of the royal library of Emperor Jehangir.

 
Thirty–five volumes of Descriptive Catalogue (covering over 12,000 manuscripts from the Government Manuscripts Library) have been published so far. Microfilming of about over a million folios (including those of about 4,000 un-catalogued manuscripts) was carried out at the Institute, under the auspices of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, and completed recently.

 
The MRC at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute has been functioning since September 2003.

The Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University is unique in academic nature from all the other Sanskrit Universities in India. Other Sanskrit Universities traditionally cater to the learning of Veda, Vedanta, Vyakarana, Nyaya , Mimamsa Dharmashastra and Sahitya in Sanskrit. Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University has an innovative academic program and a syllabus incorporating modern subjects and traditional Sanskrit. On the one hand the courses emphasize a modern approach, and on the other hand they strive to preserve traditional principles. All of the courses are oriented in this way with special emphasis being placed on the science and technology of ancient India as preserved in the Sanskrit texts.
 
It is a leading Sanskrit university among the 9 Sanskrit universities in India. It has 50 affiliated institutions in the Maharashtra State, and 30 outside Maharashtra from Gujarat to West Bengal, and from Kerala to Hariyana.
 
The Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University became a MRC of the Mission in November 2004. The MRC has documented 6,143 data of manuscripts covering Vidarbha and Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Mostly the manuscripts cover on Vrata, Vedic literature, Purana and other Shastras.

The Institute was established in 1980 for the promotion of Indian culture, history, study of manuscripts and Sanskrit language through organizing seminars, workshops, exhibitions and discussions. The library possesses about 3,300 Sanskrit manuscripts and 26,000 volumes of printed books.

 
The MRC at Institute of Oriental Studies has been functioning since May 2005. It has documented 2,800 manuscripts from their own collection in the prescribed data form of the Mission.

The Sat Shrut Prabhavana Trust was established in 1997 for preservation and cataloguing of Jaina manuscripts. The Trust was entrusted with the documentation of Jain manuscripts under the project of “Register of Jain Manuscripts” and registered about 50,000 data of Jaina titles. This data has been already integrated into the Mission's National Electronic Database.

 
The MRC signed the MoU with the Mission in December 2005 and documented 39,508 electronic data.
 

Anandashram Sanstha at Appa Balwant Chowk in Pune was founded by late lawyer Mahadev Chitanmani Apte in 1888 to propagate Sanskrit and preserve and publish Sanskrit texts. There are more than 10,000-odd Sanskrit manuscripts at Anandashram Sanstha and majority of them dates back to the 16th and 17th century. The manuscripts are based on the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vastushastra, Kamashastra, astrology, Ayurveda, creative arts like fine arts, music, poetry and literature and numerous other topics. Besides Sanskrti, Anandashram also has 400 manuscripts in Marathi and 400-odd palm leaves in Tamil.

 
Anandashram, in order to propagate the Sanskrit language, plans to offer short-term and long-term courses in the language from July 2009 onwards. Two scholarships, each of Rs 250 per month, will be given to two students who will undergo a year-long course on foundational sciences in Sanskrit.
 
The Anandashram Sanstha, Pune began working as an MRC from 27 January 2006.
Performance of the MRC:

Formerly known as the School of Buddhist Philosophy, the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies was established in 1959 to develop a comprehensive knowledge of Buddhism, which includes the study of ancient shastras, culture, philosophy and history, and languages such as Hindi, Sanskrit, English, Tibetan (Bhoti) and Pali. The Institute was also set up to translate Buddhist manuscripts into Sanskrit, Hindi, English and other Indian languages, to collect, preserve and publish rare manuscripts and to facilitate research on Buddhism. It has worked as a nodal resource centre for Buddhism in the local area for several years.

The MRC at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh has been working with the Mission since October 2003. It has primarily focused on the survey and documentation of Buddhist (mostly Tibetan) collections of manuscripts in the area. The MRC has done active work in the difficult terrains of Ladakh, dotted with Buddhist monasteries, which are the storehouses of manuscripts. With the team of three scholars and three officials, the MRC has documented and prepared 6,958 electronic data of Tibetan, Bhoti and Buddhist manuscripts in 755 collections in and around Leh, Zanskar and Nubrary Valley. The MRC has conducted 20 publicity programmes in various monasteries, in which 4,000 have people taken part.

The State of Jammu and Kashmir has a large collection of manuscripts, composed in different languages and covering many aspects such as religion, history, literature, geography, arithmetic, medical science and the arts. The manuscripts were written on various materials such as birch bark, hand-made paper, wood, stone, cloth and terracotta. The MRC at Directorate of State Archaeology, Archives and Museum at Srinagar has been functioning since August 2003. The MRC has the mandate of collecting information on the manuscripts scattered all over the region. The Directorate which has offices both in Srinagar and Jammu. With the team of two scholars and three officials it has so far documented 24,880 manuscripts in the State and produced electronic data for 3,672. The rest data has been sent to the Mission Head Office for preparation on electronic data in Manus Granthavali . It has covered 15 institutions and 116 private collections covering 6 districts, and has held 13 awareness campaigns across Jammu and Kashmir.

The Himachal Academy of Arts, Culture and Languages, Shimla is an Autonomous Trust under the Govt., of Himachal Pradesh and it was established for the development of Arts, Culture and Languages of the state. The Academy has a collection of more than 25,000 of rare books and 500 manuscripts written in Sarada and Takri which are preserved in its Libraries across the state.

The Academy signed the MOU with the Mission in May 2005. Since then the MRC has been given financial support towards its whole MRC related activities. Out of its total data contribution 12,199 have been web-loaded till date. Dr. Sudarshan Vashisth was the first Project Coordinator of the MRC and thereafter, Dr. B.R. Jaswal is continuing in the post.

 
In September 2006, the National Survey took place in Himachal Pradesh and through this programme the surveyors could successfully locate approximately 20,000 manuscripts across the state. During the programme, it was also seen that the school students were getting involved in the awareness campaigns to promote the documentation and conservation of manuscripts.

 
From 6th to 23rd November 2006, the Mission organized a primary level workshop on Manuscriptology and Palaeography in the Baishna Mata Temple premises at Kullu, in collaboration with Himachal Academy of Arts, Culture and Languages, Shimla. The 17 days workshop was inaugurated by the Director, Department of Language and Culture, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, Sri Prem Sharma. More than 50 candidates from different districts of Himachal Pradesh participated in the workshop. During the programme, there was an appeal for the young students to take the maximum benefits from this type of opportunities. Dr. Ashok Thakur, the Secretary, Language & Culture, was present on this occasion.

Conceived of and founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) is one of the most important institutions in the world dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Tibetan culture. It has been operational since 1November 1971. As a centre for the study of Tibetan culture, the Library is firmly dedicated to a threefold vision of preservation, protection and promotion. The Library is home to one of only two Tibetan Oral History projects in the world. The Tibetan Manuscript Collection contains more than 80,000 items, ranging from handwritten manuscripts and centuries old documents to contemporary books and periodicals. Of special value are several handwritten editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur, the Tibetan Buddhist Canon; major works of Tibet's four Buddhist traditions, the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug, as well as the indigenous Bön tradition. It is in the process of completing a general catalogue of all materials in the collection. An important new project for the LTWA is the launch of the Central Archives of the Works of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The purpose of which is to gather all materials concerning His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings, writings and speeches. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives started collaborating with the Mission as an MRC since September 2003. The survey in the state of Himachal Pradesh has so far generated out 95,628 data on manuscripts and manuscript collections related to Buddhist studies, vastu , sangita , darsana , chandas , etc. Covering 5 districts with the team of four scholars and one officials the MRC , the MRC has surveyed and documented 22 institutes in Himachal Pradesh. All the above mentioned data has been converted into electronic format. The institute has conducted 25 outreach campaigns in which more than 125 people participated.

Kurukshetra University was established in 1956 as a unitary residential university, located in historical city of Kurukshetra. The University has about 12,000 manuscripts housed in the University Library on different subjects of Indian studies.
 
The MRC at Kurukshetra University has been functioning since October 2003 to locate and document the manuscripts in public and private repositories of Harayana. The MRC has documented 16,658 data of manuscripts covering 7 districts, mostly in private collections. All the data has been entered electronically.

Visweshvarananda Biswabandhu Institute of Sanskrit and Indological Studies, Hoshiarpur is an important manuscript repository from the north west zone of the country. The collection of the Department is distinctive, with 2,685 manuscripts in the north Indian and south Indian languages and scripts pertaining to different subjects such as the Vedas , Upanishads , Puranas , astrology, astronomy, and ayurveda among others. They are written on different materials like birch bark, palm leaf and hand-made paper. Many old and important manuscripts have already been edited and published and some are in process of publication by the Institute. The latest publication to come out of the Institute was Asvalayana srauta sutra in 3 volumes.
 
One of the unique manuscripts of the Institute is a manuscript (photocopy) titled Sancha written in Pavuchi script which is presently not known to be available in any other collection. This script is yet to be deciphered by the scholars. The language used perhaps belongs to the Sirmour and Jubal regions of Himachal Pradesh. The subjects dealt therein are yantra , mantra , jyotisa, shakuna , muhurta etc.

 
The MRC, started by the Institute in September 2003, has been collecting information on manuscripts through surveys. Out of the 125 surveys conducted so far, information was gleaned on 26,000 manuscripts from different collections in places such as Chandigarh, Muktsar, Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur including some areas of Uttaranchal etc. by 3 scholars and 3 officials. The Centre has also produced 24,816 electronic data. During survey 291 manuscripts are aquired. The centre has also 7 awareness campaigns in Chandigarh, Sarhind, Kapurthala, Talwara, Hoshiarpur, Banga and Gupt Kashi (Garhwal) and conducted one workshop cum training camp at Hoshiarpur where more than 35 participants were trained.

Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy was established in December 2002 to promote Sanskrit language, to publish Sanskrit texts and to integrate Sanskrit language with new technology, to organize seminars, exhibitions, to collect the manuscripts from private collections. 88 Sanskrit colleges and schools are working under this Academy. It has a good collection of 4,000 manuscripts.
 
The MRC at Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy has been working with the NMM since June 2005. The only survey conducted by the MRC has given overwhelming result, which extended to 687 institutions and 299 private collections in 6 districts. The manuscripts found in the institutions and private collections in the State cover a wide range of subjects from Veda , Upanishad , Purana Itihasa , Dharmashastra , Darshana , Kavya, Stotra and several other subjects. The MRC has so far received 1200 manuscripts in different subjects out of which 57 manuscripts have been donated to the MRC. At present, five scholars and four official staff are engaged in documentation and survey works. So far, it has documented 5,993 manuscripts from 100 individual & 4 institutional collections.

Rampur Raza Library, housed in the Rampur Fort was established by Nawab Faizu'llah Khan, a remarkably gifted and far-sighted ruler conversant in a number of languages. The library is a rich storehouse of 50,000 books and 15,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Turkish. It also houses Mughal miniature paintings from the sixteenth to eighteenth century. The Library has the status of a National Institution and now functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
 
Rampur Raza Library has a collection of 150 illustrated manuscripts and 11 Descriptive Catalogues of manuscripts in various languages and subjects. The library has published 12 manuscripts dealing with history and is preparing a critical edition of Tarikh-e-Baburi , a manuscript of immense historical value. The book is a contemporary Persian translation by the courtier Zain-e-Khanafi. Tarikh-e-Mohammadi , another important text, is being transcribed from the original for publication.
 
The MRC at Rampur Raza has been functioning since August 2003. The MRC has so far documented 43,300 manuscripts of Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages. The above data has been converted into electronic format. It has covered 35 institutions and 70 private collections covering 40 districts during survey and has held 7 awareness campaigns. Presently 6 scholars are engaged in the documentation work.

Sampurnanand Sanskrit Visvavidyalaya, Varanasi , the oldest of the Sanskrit universities in India, was established by Sir Arthur Venis, along with the pandits he patronized in 1791 as a kind of private school. Located in Varanasi, a centre for Sanskrit learning and culture, it is considered a focal point for Sanskrit studies in India.
 
The University has acquired a valuable collection of 1,25,000 manuscripts covering all the subjects in Devanagari , Bengali and Sarada scripts. The University has published valuable catalogues of manuscripts. Among these, the older catalogue comprises the manuscripts acquired in 1791-1950 and the new one covers those obtained in 1951-1981. Both contain a large number of extremely valuable manuscripts. However, more than fifty percent of manuscripts are uncatalogued and the Mission seeks to catalogue these.
 
Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya signed MOU with the National Mission for Manuscripts in May 2005. On the strength of 8 scholarsand 4 officials, it has started work in 10 districts. The MRC has so far documented 39,056 manuscripts.

The MOU was signed with the MRC on April 2006 and so far it has documented 386 data and conduted 2 awarness campagins with the record of surveying 30 institutions covering there by 2 districts.

Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan was established in Delhi in 1958 in the memory of Bhai Vir Singh to further the objectives of his works. The foundation stone of the building was laid in March, 1972 by Shri V. V. Giri, the then President of India. The memorial was inaugurated by the President N. Sanjeeva Reddy in 1978.

 
Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957), the paramount among the modern Punjabi litterateurs, was the main source of inspiration and the brain behind the Singh Sabha Movement. Some of the leading institutions that brought about this renaissance included the Chief Khalsa Diwan, Sikh Educational Society, Khalsa College, Amritsar and the Punjab & Sind Bank. They all owe their origin to Bhai Vir Singh.

 
The library of the Sadan has a rich collection of books in Punjabi language and literature as well as on the history and culture of Punjab. Valuable private collections and microfilms of rare material have also been added to the Reference Library.

 
The MRC is engaged in an exclusive work of documenting Gurugranth Sahib Manuscripts available through out India and so far it has documented and digitized 214 manuscripts.

This is the “Institute of TAI Studies and Research” located in Moranhat, the one and only of its kind in India. The institute has been publishing academic journals, teaching Tai Ahom language, preserving old manuscripts in a well organized library etc. The institute is well-maintained by its Director (Retd. Prof. of Political Science, Dibrugarh University) Shri Girin Phukan.

The Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology, a premier Institution of International repute, was first started at Patan (North Gujarat) in the year 1980, through the funds provided by the family trust of Bhogilal Family to sponsor and promote research in Jainology/Indology and other aspects of Indian culture.

The setting up of the Institute was inspired by Late Rev. Sri Vijay Vallabhsuriji, who laid emphasis on education as the only means to dispel the darkness of ignorance from the mind of the people. Later on, in 1984 at the inspiration of Rev. Sadhvi Sri Mrigawatiji, the Institute was shifted to Delhi with the active support of Sri Atma Vallabh Jain Smarak Shikshan Nidhi. Since then the Institute as a unique centre of excellence for Jainological and allied subjects in Indology, is working in the complex of the SMARAK.

Scindia Oriental Research Institute of the Vikram University, Ujjain was established in 1957. Apart from the Scindia Oriental Research Institute, the University also has an archaeological museum and an art gallery, which are major repositories of heritage items and artifacts.
 
The manuscript wealth in Scindia Oriental Research Institute is of all languages, Sanskrit being the most predominant. The Scindia Oriental Institute has a rare collection of 18,000 paper, old palm leaf and bark leaf ( bhurja patra ) manuscripts. The subjects are wide-ranging, from ancient philosophy, sciences religion, language, grammar and the arts. There are some rare manuscripts such as the illustrated manuscript of the Srimad-Bhagavatam set in gold and silver, illustrated manuscripts exemplifying the old Rajput and Mughal style paintings, among others.
 
The Manuscript Resource Centre at Scindia Oriental Research Institute, Vikram University, Ujjain, started functioning in September 2003. The MRC has conducted extensive survey and documentation in the state of Madhya Pradesh and documented 38,840 manuscripts through 3 scholars so far. The Institute has so far covered 90 institutions and 34 private collections covering 22 districts throughout Madhya Pradesh. The data received from these institutions and private collections was on a variety of manuscripts on paper, palm leaf, and birch bark written in Sanskrit and Hindi languages.

Dr. Harisingh Gaur Vishwavidyalaya, formerly University of Saugar ,  was established on 18 July 1946 by Dr. Harisingh Gaur with his lifetime savings. The oldest and biggest university in Madhya Pradesh, it has the singular distinction of being founded by the munificence of a single person's endowment of about 20 million rupees.
 
Madhya Bharati , the research journal of the University, and the Bulletin of the Botanical Society of the University are internationally abstracted. The research journals from the Department of Sanskrit, Sagarika and Natyam have pride of place amongst the Indological journals of the country. Isuri the journal from the Bundeli Peeth of Hindi Department is a perennial source of Bundelkhandi art and culture. The University also introduced the Manuscriptology and Paleography certificate course.
 
The Manuscript Resource Centre at Department of Sanskrit has been working with Mission since September 2005. So far 33,983 manuscripts have been documented. The MRC has surveyed 10 institutions and 4 private collections in 3 districts and has also organized various awareness programmes in different places. It organized a National Seminar on “ National Manuscript Wealth in 21 st Century: A Changing Perception ” during 26-27 December 2005. At present, 4 scholars and 3 official staff are engaged in the project.

Kunda Kunda Jnanapitha, Indore was established by Shri Deokumarsinghji Kasliwal in 1987 under Digambara Jaina Udasina Ashram Trust, Indore. The main objective of the Institute is to promote the scientific study of Jainism focusing on the history and archaeology of Jaina religion. The Institute was recognized as a Ph.D. research centre by Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore in the following 5 subjects i.e. Ancient Indian Mathematics and History of Mathematics, Environment and Ecological Sciences, Prakrit, Pali, Apabhramsha and other oriental languages, Comparative Religion, Ancient Indian History, Cultural and Archaeology. Kunda Kunda Jnanapitha Pustakalya has a collection of 12,500 printed books and 350 periodicals for researchers. Since 1999 it has catalogued 58,766 of Jain manuscripts in 479 Jain Bhandaras under the “Register of Jain Manuscripts” project. That data already has been integrated with the Mission's database.
 
The MRC at Kunda Kunda Jnanapitha, Indore has been associated with the Mission since May 2005. It has documented 26,827 data of manuscripts in 575 institutions and private collections in 9 districts with 7 scholars and 6 official staffs. So far it has conducted 24 survey programmes .

Established in 1891 as a Public Library by Khuda Bakhsh Khan out of his personal collection of a few manuscripts, the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library acquired the status of an “Institution of National Importance” by an Act of Parliament in 1969. It is functioning as an autonomous institution under governance of a board constituted by Government of India, since July 1970.
 
The Library is recognized the world over for its rich collection of invaluable manuscripts, rare printed books, many miniatures and paintings of Hindu pantheon and original paintings of Mughal, Rajput, Turkish and Iranian schools. It has special manuscripts like an inch-wide Quran . It also contains the only books rescued from the plunder of the University of Cordoba in Spain. It is one of the National Libraries of India.
 
There are some rare manuscripts in the collection at Khuda Bakhsh, including the Jehangir-Nama, Shah-Namah, Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuriya and Kitab-ul-Hashaish. There are many examples of Persian calligraphy and rare coins. Many rare manuscripts have come from places like Alexandria, Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, Arabia, etc. There are facilities for research work concerning the Islamic period in Oriental studies. The Institution has published 39 volumes of Descriptive Catalogues covering 300 illustrated manuscripts.

 
The Khuda Bakhsh MRC concentrates mainly on documenting Urdu, Arabic, and Persian manuscripts. The MRC, started in September 2003 has collected information on <strong>23,144</strong> manuscripts with electronic data. For the survey, it has covered 65 Goverment institutions and 117 private collections in twenty-seven districts. The 13 publicity campaigns organized by the Centre have yielded rich results in terms of creating awareness in the people in preserving their manuscripts and in sharing the information. The Survey has evoked very positive response from the community, and resulted in the documentation of hitherto unknown manuscripts. A Syrian delegation team has visited the MRC at KBOPL, Patna and the CD on the Mission has been sent to Teheran for Iran Radio Festival 2006. Presently 5 scholars and 9 working staff (including Surveyors and Project Coordinator) are engaged to accomplish the work.

Darbhanga Sanskrit University was established in 1961, with Mahamhopadhyay Dr. Umesh Misra, the eminent scholar, as the first Vice Chancellor. Among the collections of the University are manuscripts on epics, philosophy, vyakarana , dharmashastra , agama , tantra etc. The University has an exceptional collection of nearly 5,562 rare manuscripts including 6 illustrated manuscripts of the Ramayana , Gitagovinda , Srimadbhagavata and Durga Saptasati etc. The few manuscripts of Vidyapati, Mahesh Thakur composed in their own scripts are among the proud possession of the University.
 
Darbhanga Sanskrit University started functioning as a Manuscript Resource Centre in September 2003. Known across Bihar for the rich manuscripts in Sanskrit, this MRC has documented in various collections and surveyed Mithila and Jharkhand areas. Seven scholars have so far documented 10,403 manuscripts, covering 150 collections in 5 districts.

Nava Nalanda Mahavihara was established in 1951 by the Government of Bihar drawing inspiration from Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, to develop a centre of excellence for Pali and Buddhist studies along the lines of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara. Ven. Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap was the Founder-Director of the Institute. The present campus of the Mahavihara, 90 kilometres away from Patna, is situated on the southern bank of the historical lake, Indrapuskarani. Close to the northern bank of the lake lie the ruins of the ancient University of Nalanda

 
In 1994, Mahavihara was taken over by the Department of Culture, Government of India. Now it is functioning as a registered society under the Society Registration Act XXI of 1960. The academic activities of the Mahavihara include teaching and research, seminars and conferences, special convocations, publications and the maintenance and the ongoing development of the library containing 48,000 volumes. Presently, the Mahavihara offers a one-year certificate course in Pali and a two-year diploma in course in Pali, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Hindi and English. The Mahavihara is affiliated with Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, for the Pali Acharya course. Similarly, the Mahavihara is affiliated with Magadh Universiity, Bodh Gaya, for M.A. course in Pali, Philosophy, and Ancient Indian and Asian Studies. Courses leading to PhD degree are also offered in conjunction with Magadh University. Research topics include Pali language and literature, Buddhist philosophy, Culture, the Social and religious history of Buddhist countries and other topics related to Buddhism and Buddhist studies.

 
Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda signed an MOU with the Mission in June 2005. With the help of 2 scholars it has documented 20,000 electronic data from Gaya district.

The “Jain Sidhanta Bhawan” better known as the “Central Jain Oriental Library, Arrah” was found in 1903 by Sri Devakumar Jain, a great scholar and philanthropist.

 
The Library has a valuable collection of manuscripts from all over the world. There are 3,179 palm leaf manuscripts, 3,500 paper manuscripts which are at least 500 years old. Besides the manuscripts, the library has 9,000 published books on religion, philosophy, history, and literature in nearly all the Indian and some foreign languages.  There is also a collection of old paintings, pieces of art and old coins. Most prominent among the manuscript collection are the illustrated Jain Ramayana and the Bhaktamira . There are nearly 200 paintings in Jain Ramayana alone in excellent Mogul and Rajput styles. Among the paintings on mythological subjects, treatment of the 16 dreams of Chandragupta, the 16 Tirthankars and Pawapuri temple stand out. The MRC at the Sri D. K. Jain Oriental Research Institute has been functioning since May 2005. Since then the MRC is engaged in documenting manuscripts and producing electronic data with the help of 8 scholars and 6 official staff in 15 districts. The MRC has so far documented 1,17,049 manuscripts, in electronic format including Post Survey documentation. Manuscripts found in these districts are mostly written in Devanagari , Urdu , Maithili , and Bengali covering wide range of subjects like Veda , Vedanta , Darshana , Karmakanda and many other such subjects. Two awareness programmes organized by the MRC has rendered help to the people in preserving and sharing their knowledge about the manuscripts. It has also documented 56,410 Jain manuscripts under the Register of Jain Manuscripts scheme which data is integrated with the National Electronic Database. The Institute has also coordinated the National Survey for Manuscripts in 2004 in 10 districts of Bihar and is now looking after the Post Survey programme in those districts.

The manuscript section of Calcutta University, Kolkata, has been in existence right from the inception of the University in 1857. In 1990, the Manuscript Library of Calcutta University became a full-fledged unit of the University under the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic). The Library has a collection of more than 42,000 manuscripts including quite a few on palm-leaves, including 20,000 in Sanskrit, 12,000 in Tibetan and Bengali and also several Persian and Arabic manuscripts. They are in different languages such as Sanskrit, Tibetan, Bangla, Oriya, Maithili, Pali, Arabic and Persian, and in scripts like Bengali, Oriya, Gaudi, Newari, Malayalam and Maithili. Some manuscripts are wrought in gold and silver lettering.

 
The MRC at Calcutta University was started in August 2003. The MRC has conducted surveys in Government and Government-sponsored libraries, institutional libraries, private libraries and personal collections in West Bengal.

 
The MRC has documented manuscripts covering 13 districts of West Bengal and also prepared a list of manuscripts for digitization. It has also taken initiative in providing conservation support to several collections of manuscripts through applying indigenous methods for conservation at the time of documentation
 
The MRC has also been involved in conducting the National Survey for manuscripts in Himachal Pradesh in 2006.

Performance of the MRC:

The collection of the Museum focuses on the arts of the region. The precious palm leaf manuscripts of the Museum deserve special mention. About s titles have been collected out of which 52 manuscripts have been published. It has manuscripts made of palm leaf, bamboo leaf, hand-made paper, ivory, bhurja bark and kumbhi bark. Rare garland-shaped, fan-shaped, fish-shaped, sword-shaped, rat- and parrot-shaped varieties of manuscripts and different types of stylus are available here. Four hundred illustrated manuscripts of coloured and monochrome variety are also found. Important manuscripts of Gitagovinda of Kali Charan Pattnaik, Ushaharana , Ushavilasa etc, and different varieties of cover design of palm-leaf manuscripts are also available in the collection.
 
The MRC at Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar has been functioning since August 2003. Ever since its inception, the MRC has been very active in survey and documentation work. The MRC has so far documented a massive number of 2,94,946 manuscripts under National Survey and Post Survey documentation in several scripts such as Oriya, Bengali, Devanagari , Telugu , Persian etc. covering 39 institutions and 360 private collections in 16 districts. The MRC also has produced electronic record for 1,500 manuscripts and remaining were submitted in datasheets . The Orissa State Government has been an active supporter of the program, and the publicity through print and electronic media has been immense. The OSM MRC also conducted the first ever National Survey for Manuscripts in all 30 districts unearthing thousands of manuscripts and collections. It is also looking after the Post Survey programme in Orissa. The present staff includes eight scholars and two officials.

Sanskrit Academy of Research through Vedic and Allied Traditions of India (SARASVATI) is one of the leading institutes for Oriental Studies and Research in Orissa state dedicated to the cause of promoting Bharatiya Vidya (Indian Indigenous Science and Technology). Situated at the eastern part of Orissa at Sarasvati Vihar, Bhadrak. Since its inception it has focused on training in manuscriptology and has so far organized 10 orientation courses on manuscriptology building a team of more than 400 scholars in this field in Orissa, Assam and West Bengal.
 
The SARASVATI MRC has been working with the Mission since May 2005. It has managed to document 1,8,861 data so far out of which 98,424 are in electronic format, where as 10,437 are in data sheet format documented under Post Survey programme. The MRC has so far conducted 35,000 survey covering 126 institutions and 1,746 individual collections in 14 districts. The manuscripts documented by the MRC are mostly written in Oriya and Devanagari scripts covering a wide range of subjects like Purana , Dharmashasta , Karmakanda , Ayurveda , Tantra and many other subjects. Two publicity campaigns organized by the MRC in Balasore and Bhadrak, were attended by hundreds of people, which aimed at encouraging holders of collections to provide their support to Surveyors for easy access to their manuscripts. The MRC is also looking after the Post Survey programme in Orissa in some districts.

The Gauhati University Library started its functioning in 1948. In 1982 the Gauhati University Library was renamed as Krishna Kanta Handiqui Library after its first Vice Chancellor. The Library was established primarily to enhance and support the different research programs carried out by the University.
 
The Library has acquired more than 4,500 manuscripts on different subjects including 5 illustrated manuscripts of the Ramayana , Bhagwata and Lavakusha Yuddha among others. The collection of manuscripts in the repository is written mostly in agaru bark. They also have immense historic and cultural value as representing the region of their origin.

 
The MRC at Krishna Kanta Handiqui Library, Gauhati University, has been functioning since August 2003. The MRC has so far documented 25,273 manuscripts from the 13 districts of Assam. All the data submitted in electronic format. This survey has resulted in the assessment of the immense collections from over 200 collections across the districts including some places in the Majuli islands. The manuscripts are found to be written mostly in Assamese and Devanagari scripts. The sanchipat , tulapat are unique to this area as a medium of composition. The Centre has carried out extensive communication programmes in the State.

The Manipur State Archives was established in March 1982, by the Government of Manipur. The repository has thousands of records and manuscripts as well as a rich collection of many valuable historical manuscripts in Archaic Meitei and few manuscripts in Bengali script.
 
The MRC at Manipur State Archives, Imphal, has been functioning since August 2003. The MRC has taken up the task of documenting the precious documentary heritage of the North East, focusing on the areas in Manipur. Consisting of 4 personnel, the MRC has surveyed 18 institutions in the current year (5 institutions and 13 private collections) covering 4 districts, documenting and producing 36,602 electronic data of manuscripts on various subjects such as astrology, history, literature and medicine. These are found in scripts such as ancient Meitei, Bengali and Devanagari . It has worked on disseminating information on the Mission's activities through 13 public events, in which over 400 people actively participated. In 2005, the MSA MRC also conducted the National Survey of Manuscripts in Manipur in November that unearthed 22,212 manuscripts and collections.

Gurucharan College, Silchar was established in 1935. The MRC at Gurucharan College, Silchar has been functioning since October 2005. It has 7 scholars and 4 official staff. The MRC has so far conducted 18 surveys covering 3 institutions and 15 individual collections in 7 districts. It has documented more than 500 manuscripts in different subjects like Ayurveda , Tantra/Mantra , Jyotisha , Pujavidhi etc, out of which most are found to be written in Archaic Bengali script. Five publicity programmes and advertisements in the media made by the MRC in different districts yielded good response among the general public and made it easier for the Surveyors to travel to the interiors for documenting manuscripts hidden in that region. The MRC also assisted with the National Survey of Manuscripts in Assam focusing on 3 districts.