Around Rs 6 cr allocated in 2 yrs to collate archaeological research in Indian Ocean region

An amount of around Rs 6 crore has been approved and allocated for Project Mausam, which aims to collate archaeological and historical research to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean region, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma informed Parliament today.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Sharma said while Rs 2.80 crore were allocated for the project for 2018-19, Rs 3.19 crore were allocated for 2019-20.

The expenditure for the project in 2017-18 and in the first three months of 2018-19 was Rs 16.75 lakh.

Project Mausam, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, is to be implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the nodal agency with research support from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and the National Museum as associate bodies.

The project aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean "world" -- collate archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the region.

The main objective of the project is to identify places and sites for trans-national nomination for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List. As many as 39 countries have been identified under Project Mausam, the minister said.