PM LD SCIENCE THREE LAST

The prime minister regretted, "Many of our monuments,
works of art and historical remains are lying in neglect.
Despite our best intentions, the manner in which we preserve
and display our artifacts has fallen behind contemporary world
standards.
"There is no reason why the Indian Museum or our other
premier museums should not be on par with the Smithsonian, the
Hermitage or the British Museum," he said.
The Ministry of Culture, he said, has taken up the revamp
of these museums on a priority basis. "I have asked the
Central Advisory Board on Culture to suggest a plan of action
to make our museums world class."
Another important area where the government has laid
emphasis was the need to popularise contemporary writing in
Indian languages. "We have set up a National Translation
Mission and it is making progress," he said.
Stating that modalities and funding were being worked out
for the purpose, he hoped that in coming years modern Indian
literature and "our classics" would be available in Arabic,
Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and English.
"We should make effort to promote regional studies and
study of foreign languages in India," Singh said.
He said technological upgrading of archives of
institutions was a key priority. Institutions like the Sangeet
Natak Academy, the Films Division, the Zonal Cultural Centres,
the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts had a wealth of
valuable audio-visual materials which need immediate
preservation. PTI