JODHPUR : IHUB Drishti Foundation at Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IIT Jodhpur) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, on 16th April 2024 to preserve India’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.
The MoU was signed by Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Chairman, iHub Drishti Foundation and Director, IIT Jodhpur, and Prof. Ramesh C Gaur, HoD, Kalanidhi, IGNCA, New Delhi in the presence of Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA.
IHUB Drishti Foundation, a Technology Innovation Hub focused on Computer Vision, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, is dedicated to fostering the growth and development of CPS technologies.
The IGNCA, a premier academic research institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is committed to research, documentation, and dissemination of knowledge in Indian art and culture.
The collaboration between IHUB Drishti Foundation and IGNCA aims to digitize manuscripts, books, and historical documents held by IGNCA, thereby ensuring their preservation, accessibility, and utilization in the digital age. IGNCA boasts a significant collection of valuable resources, including books, manuscripts, and historical documents archived in microfilm, spanning various Indian languages.
One of the primary objectives is to digitize these microfilms and make them searchable and accessible online.
The MoU outlines the scope of collaboration between the two institutions, which includes collaborative research and development in digitization and preservation of cultural artifacts.
The collaboration will be carried out in two phases:
Ø Phase 1 will focus on collaborative research and development,
Ø While Phase 2 will involve an assessment mechanism at the end of Phase 1 to evaluate progress and plan future activities.
Elaborating about this partnerhsip, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Chairman, iHub Drishti Foundation and Director, IIT Jodhpur, said, “This partnership signifies a crucial step towards leveraging technology for the preservation of India’s cultural heritage. By digitizing these manuscripts and historical documents, we are ensuring their accessibility to people around the world, thereby enriching our understanding of Indian art and culture.”
Through this partnership, IHUB Drishti Foundation and IGNCA aim to leverage their expertise and resources to preserve and promote India’s cultural heritage for future generations.
The collaboration between IHUB Drishti Foundation and IGNCA exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary partnerships in leveraging technology for the preservation of cultural heritage.
