On 26 October 2026, the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India and the Bibliothèque nationale de France signed a Memorandum of Understanding for manuscript preservation in Paris.
Under this agreement, both parties will collaborate on digitisation, digital accessibility, technology exchange, preservation and research on Indian-origin manuscripts.
Key areas of cooperation
The key areas of cooperation are: digitisation, sharing on a national digital repository, technology exchange, preservation and research & development.
- Collaboration through India’s National Archives, National Library and Knowledge India Mission
- Identification and digital conversion of Indian-origin manuscripts held by BNF
- Exchange of digitisation & preservation technologies, cataloguing standards, OCR/HTR tools
- Joint workshops, capacity‑building programmes, research initiatives, publications and exhibitions
- Exchange of scholars and experts