NEW DELHI: Five archaeological sites would be developed as iconic sites across India which will have on-site museums, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced at the Union Budget on Saturday. The iconic sites which would be developed are Rakhigarhi in Haryana, Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, Shivsagar in Assam, Dholavira in Gujarat, and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu. A total of Rs 3,150 crore would be earmarked for the Ministry of Culture for 2020-2021.
The Centre also announced the establishment of Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture with the status of a deemed university. “Acquisition of knowledge in disciplines such as museology and archaeology are essential for collecting and analysing scientific evidence of such findings and for dissemination through high-quality museums. Currently, lack of trained manpower is a handicap for both these disciplines. This also affects tourism,” said Sitharaman.
A museum would also be set up in Jharkhand and four museums would be recurated. Under the shipping ministry, the Centre would set up a maritime museum at Lothal — the Harappan age maritime site near Ahmedabad. The budget allocation shows there has been a cut in the funds for development of museums from last year’s Rs 286 crore to this year’s Rs 180 crore. Under the revised estimates for the year 2019-20, the funds were earmarked at Rs 126 crore.
The national mission for preservation of manuscripts also saw a cut from Rs 12 crore to Rs 6 crore this year. The government allocated Rs 2,500 crore for the ministry of tourism. The state governments are expected to develop a roadmap for certain identified destinations and formulate plans against which specific grants would be made available to them.
cultural boost
A maritime museum would be set up at Lothal — the Harappan age maritime site near Ahmedabad.
Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation with the status of a deemed university will be established
Numismatics and Trade Museum to be located in Kolkata