Govt To Set Up IIT-Like Varsity For Archaeology Under Culture Ministry

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget at the Lok Sabha today, announced that the government is set to establish an Indian Institute of Culture. The FM kicked off the Union Budget on February 1, 2020, at 11 am.

The Finance Minister said that the Modi government will set up an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture soon, which will be get a deemed university status.

Speaking about the project, the FM said: “Acquisition of knowledge in disciplines like archaeology, museology is essential for collecting scientific evidence and then dissemination through museums is necessary.” The university will be established on lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

She announced Rs 3,150 crore for the Culture Ministry this year, a Rs 108 crore rise from the previous budget. The ministry was allocated Rs 3,042.35 crore for 2019-2020.

She also said that five archaeological sites will be developed as world-class sites — Rakhigarhi, Haryana; Hastinapur, UP; Sivasagar, Assam; Dholavira, Gujarat; Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu. A Tribal Museum was also proposed in Ranchi.