MoU Signing Ceremony between CCRAS and Berhampur University to Digitize Rare Ayurvedic Manuscripts

1. At a Glance

• MoU between Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush, and Berhampur University, Odisha, to digitise, catalogue and publish rare Ayurvedic manuscripts and palm-leaf documents at the South Odisha Cultural Study Centre (SOCSC) [S1].
• Operationalises India's IKS (Indian Knowledge Systems) and Ayush heritage-preservation agenda; useful for GS-I (Culture) and GS-II (Govt. policies/institutions) [S1][S2].

2. Why in the News

• MoU signing ceremony held on 31 January 2026 at the Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI), Bhubaneswar in the presence of Prof. Geetanjali Das (VC, Berhampur University), Prof. (Vaidya) Rabinarayan Acharya (DG, CCRAS) and Prof. B.S. Prasad (Former President, NCISM) [S1].

3. Background & Evolution

• CCRAS — apex autonomous body under Ministry of Ayush for Ayurvedic research; HQ New Delhi [S1].
• NIIMH, Hyderabad — peripheral unit of CCRAS; designated first WHO Collaborating Centre for Fundamental and Literary Research in Traditional Medicine [S2].
• AMAR Portal (Ayush Manuscripts Advanced Repository) — launched by Ayush Ministry on 13 July 2021 as part of five Ayush portals; catalogues manuscripts of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha & Sowa-Rigpa [S2].
• Berhampur University (1967), Odisha, hosts SOCSC with a large palm-leaf manuscript collection of South Odisha's medical-cultural heritage [S1].

4. Core Static Facts

• Signatories: CCRAS (Ministry of Ayush, GoI) & Berhampur University (Odisha) [S1].
• Implementing arm: NIIMH, Hyderabad (peripheral CCRAS unit) [S1][S2].
• Repository: South Odisha Cultural Study Centre (SOCSC), Berhampur University — >2,000 palm-leaf manuscripts [S1].
• Duration: Initially 2 years [S1].
• Output: "Descriptive Catalogue of Ayurveda Manuscripts of SOCSC-BU, Odisha" with 44 data fields; metadata hosted on AMAR Portal [S1].
• AMAR Portal stock: ~16,000 manuscripts catalogued; 4,249 digitised manuscripts, 1,224 rare books, 14,126 catalogues, 4,114 periodicals [S2].
• IP regime: Manuscripts remain in custody of Berhampur University; confidentiality & IP protocols binding [S1].
• Parent Ministry: Ministry of Ayush (separate Ministry since 9 November 2014).

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Cultural / Historical - Salvages South Odisha's Ayurvedic palm-leaf corpus from physical decay; consolidates regional manuscript traditions into a national digital commons [S1]. - Parallels CCRAS' earlier revival of Dravyaratnākara Nighaṇṭu and Dravyanāmākara Nighaṇṭu — rare Ayurvedic lexicons [S2].

Scientific / Technological - Digital catalogue with 44 metadata fields enables text-mining, drug-discovery leads & cross-referencing with classical Nighaṇṭus (lexicons) [S1]. - Complements CCRAS digital stack: AMAR, SAHI (Showcase of Ayurveda Historical Imprints) [S2].

Governance / Federalism - Centre–State institutional partnership: a Union autonomous council collaborating with an Odisha state university — model for cooperative research federalism [S1].

Strategic / Bio-cultural IP - Pre-empts bio-piracy by documenting and date-stamping traditional knowledge; mirrors logic of TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) under CSIR-Ayush [S1].

Health-systems - Feeds into India's push for evidence-based Ayurveda integrating with WHO ICD-11 TM-2 chapter and WHO International Terminologies of Ayurveda [S2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 31 Jan 2026: CCRAS–Berhampur University MoU ceremony at CARI, Bhubaneswar [S1].
• 2025: CCRAS revived rare manuscripts Dravyaratnākara Nighaṇṭu and Dravyanāmākara Nighaṇṭu via NIIMH [S2].
• 2024–25: NIIMH workshop on ICD-11 TM-2 and WHO International Terminologies of Ayurveda [S2].
• 2025: WHO designated CCRAS-NIIMH, Hyderabad as Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine Research [S2].

7. Prelims Hooks

• CCRAS is under Ministry of Ayush, not Ministry of Health & Family Welfare [S1].
• NIIMH is headquartered in Hyderabad and is a peripheral unit of CCRAS [S1][S2].
• AMAR = Ayush Manuscripts Advanced Repository; covers Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa [S2].
• AMAR Portal launched along with four other Ayush portals by the Ayush Minister on 13 July 2021 [S2].
• SOCSC (South Odisha Cultural Study Centre) is housed in Berhampur University, Odisha [S1].
• Berhampur University's palm-leaf manuscript collection exceeds 2,000 [S1].
• MoU duration: 2 years, executed via NIIMH, Hyderabad [S1].
• Descriptive catalogue will have 44 data fields [S1].
• CARI, Bhubaneswar hosted the signing ceremony [S1].
• NIIMH is the first WHO Collaborating Centre for Fundamental and Literary Research in Traditional Medicine [S2].
• CCRAS' second digital archival initiative is SAHI (Showcase of Ayurveda Historical Imprints) [S2].
• Ministry of Ayush became a standalone ministry in November 2014.

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-I — Indian Culture: "Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture" — manuscript preservation traditions.
• GS-II — Governance: Functions of Ayush autonomous bodies; Centre–State institutional collaboration.
• GS-III — Science & Technology / IPR: Digitisation of traditional knowledge; bio-piracy prevention.
• Plausible stems: 1. "Digitisation of indigenous manuscripts is as much a strategic IPR exercise as a cultural exercise." Discuss with reference to recent Ayush initiatives. (GS-III) 2. "Examine how institutions like CCRAS and NIIMH are operationalising the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) framework." (GS-I/II) 3. "Evaluate the role of WHO Collaborating Centres in mainstreaming Indian traditional medicine globally." (GS-II)

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) — CSIR–Ayush; anti-biopiracy parallel.
• WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, Jamnagar — global Ayush footprint.
• ICD-11 Module TM-2 — codification of traditional medicine diagnoses.
• National Mission on Manuscripts (NMM, 2003) — Ministry of Culture; sister manuscript initiative.
• Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division, Ministry of Education — policy umbrella under NEP 2020.
• Ayush Grid / e-Aushadhi — Ayush digitisation ecosystem.
• SAHI Portal & e-Charaka — CCRAS digital tools.
• Geographical Indications & biopiracy cases (Neem, Haldi, Basmati) — IPR linkage.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• CCRAS ≠ CCRH/CCRYN/CCRUM — distinct councils for Homoeopathy, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani respectively.
• NIIMH is in Hyderabad (not Delhi or Jamnagar; WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is the Jamnagar one).
• AMAR Portal is under Ayush Ministry / CCRAS, not under Ministry of Culture's National Mission for Manuscripts.
• Berhampur University (Odisha) ≠ Berhampore (West Bengal); university is in Ganjam district, Odisha.
• MoU is for digitisation & cataloguing, with manuscript custody retained by Berhampur University — not a transfer.

11. Sources

• [S1] MoU Signing Ceremony between CCRAS and Berhampur University to Digitize Rare Ayurvedic Manuscripts — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2221379&reg=3&lang=1 — (tier: 1)
• [S2] PIB releases on AMAR Portal, NIIMH-WHO Collaborating Centre designation, CCRAS manuscript revival (Dravyaratnākara/Dravyanāmākara Nighaṇṭu), Ayush portal launch 2021 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2127487 ; https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2025296 ; https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1732881 ; https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2111341 — (tier: 1)