Google Arts & Culture has partnered with India’s Ministry of Culture to digitise and present the country’s cultural heritage to audiences in India and abroad. The agreement will make monuments, manuscripts, museum collections and traditional art forms more discoverable through digital platforms.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on 5 November 2026 at a virtual ceremony attended by Ministry of Culture secretary Vivek Aggarwal and Google Arts & Culture vice president and founder Amit Sood. The collaboration aims to document, preserve and share India’s cultural assets using digital technology.
What the partnership covers
The initiative will include cultural assets protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), collections held in national museums, manuscripts documented under the Gyan Bharatam initiative, and crafts, performing arts and living traditions supported by institutions under the Ministry of Culture.
A major component will be the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum, planned across New Delhi’s North and South Blocks. The museum, intended to present India’s history across different periods, will be digitally documented as part of the project.
The digital documentation will create a lasting record of the historic buildings and artefacts expected to become part of the museum’s collection. It will also allow audiences to explore aspects of the institution and its heritage before the museum is fully developed.
Digital access and Indian languages
A key objective is to make heritage collections discoverable in Indian languages and accessible across devices. The programme is designed to extend access beyond physical museum spaces and geographic boundaries.
The partnership forms part of the Ministry of Culture’s broader effort to improve public access to cultural resources through digital initiatives. It also brings together the ministry’s institutions and technology partners to support preservation, public engagement and India’s creative economy.
What officials said
Ministry of Culture secretary Vivek Aggarwal described India’s cultural heritage as a shared inheritance that requires documentation, preservation and wider access. He said the collaboration would use technology to bring manuscripts, monuments, national museum collections and the upcoming Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum closer to audiences worldwide while protecting them for future generations.
Amit Sood said the agreement builds on Google Arts & Culture’s 15-year engagement with India’s artistic and cultural heritage. He said the partnership would combine technology with the ministry’s preservation efforts, including support for the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum and digitisation of historical manuscripts.
Google’s existing work in India
Google Arts & Culture has previously worked with several Indian cultural institutions, including the ASI, National Museum and National Gallery of Modern Art. Those collaborations have made collections from these organisations available to wider audiences through digital platforms.
The new agreement expands that approach by linking Google’s digital tools with the Ministry of Culture’s institutional network. The stated aim is to make India’s cultural collections freely discoverable for education, research and public engagement.
Why it matters
The initiative reflects the growing role of digital platforms in cultural preservation. Digitisation can help institutions document fragile objects, improve discoverability, support education and reach audiences who may not be able to visit museums or heritage sites in person.
For India’s cultural and creative sectors, the partnership may also strengthen the visibility of heritage-based content globally. By combining institutional collections with digital access tools, the programme seeks to create a durable digital record of India’s history, art and traditions.
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