NEW DELHI: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken up a total of 67,461 estampages of Indian epigraphs for digitisation under the Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (BharatSHRI) programme. According to culture minister G Kishan Reddy, 29,260 estampages have been digitised so far.In her budget speech last year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharama had announced about setting up the repository, a digital epigraphy museum, and the digitisation of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first phase.Estampage or stamping is a commonly used term in epigraphy to obtain the exact replica of an inscription that cannot be transported.During the process, inscriptions are collected from different parts of the country via meticulous village-to-village surveys undertaken by a team of epigraphists. The estampages of the inscriptions are then studied and preserved in various epigraphy branches. The information is disseminated through publications such as the Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy, brochures, and booklets like ‘Indian Archaeology: A Review’ every year.Replying to a question pertaining to the status of the project in Rajya Sabha during the recently concluded session, Reddy said, “No separate budget has been allocated for the project, and the expenditure is incurred through the allocated funds to ASI. The Survey of India, being the custodian of the epigraphic wealth of the nation, has taken up the project by itself.”
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