Union Cultural Ministry seeks Google's support to ensure conservation of protected monuments

New Delhi: The Culture Ministry of Government of India has envisioned a plan to digitally map the boundaries of more than 3,600 centrally protected monuments in order to increase security and prevent encroachment through improved surveillance of these locations. Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy has said technology giant Google could help the government in doing this job, and talks between the ministry and the software bellwether are “in the pipeline”. There are a total of 3,693 heritage sites in India are protected under the Archaeological Survey of India that falls within the purview of the ministry. In continuation of the decade-long partnership between the Ministry of Culture and Google, a project named ‘India ki Udaan’ was unveiled at a glittering event at the Sunder Nursery here on Friday night to mark the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which captures several milestones India has achieved in its journey of 75 years since Independence, as also celebrates the legacy of iconic personalities. The project executed by the Google Arts & Culture, celebrates the country’s achievements, and is “themed on the unwavering and undying spirit of India over these past 75 years”. It draws from rich archives and features artistic illustrations to tell the story of the country. In his address at the event, Reddy also said Google could help the culture ministry in digital mapping the boundaries of its over 3,600 centrally-protected monuments that will help in better monitoring of sites and check any encroachment. As also, Google can help in digitalisation of rare archival material, he said. “Therefore, we urge Google team to be a partner in government’s transformative journey, and also to promote India’s tourism destinations,” Reddy said. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.