Which Ministry is associated with the ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ ?

Correct — option (2), Union Culture Ministry.

'Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar' (MGMD) belongs to the Union Culture Ministry. A Government release of 26 July 2023 called it a pan-India initiative of the Ministry of Culture under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping, which the Ministry initiated in coordination with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

The same release gives its aim: to map culturally India's 6.5 lakh villages, across 29 States and 7 Union Territories, on one virtual platform, mgmd.gov.in.

The portal went live on 27 July 2023 at the Qutub Minar, New Delhi. The Ministry of Culture's release of 28 July 2023 says Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Culture, Law & Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, launched it there.

The idea to remember: MGMD is the Ministry of Culture's village-mapping portal, initiated in coordination with IGNCA under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Union Rural Development Ministry — The project is about villages, but it is not a Rural Development project. The 26 July 2023 release calls MGMD an initiative of the Ministry of Culture.

  Rural Development did appear at the launch: the 28 July 2023 release lists its Minister of State, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, among those present. Attending a launch is not the same as owning the project.

• (3)
  Union Science and Technology Ministry — MGMD is a digital platform, but neither of the Ministry of Culture's releases of 26 and 28 July 2023 names the Science and Technology Ministry. The owner is the Ministry of Culture, and the partner is IGNCA.

  The Science and Technology Ministry's Department of Science and Technology runs programmes such as the INSPIRE scheme for science students.

• (4)
  Union Defence Ministry — Neither the 26 July nor the 28 July 2023 release on MGMD names the Defence Ministry. The project maps the cultural heritage of villages and sits with the Ministry of Culture.

  The Defence Ministry is the parent of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), whose motto RPSC's 2021 paper asked about.

Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar means 'My Village, My Heritage'. It is an online record of village culture, set up under the Ministry of Culture's National Mission on Cultural Mapping.

The 26 July 2023 release says the portal gives information about each village, including its location, demographic details, traditional dress, ornaments, arts and crafts, temples, fairs and festivals, among other things.

The 28 July 2023 release calls the result a virtual museum that maps over 6.5 lakh villages.

Key facts

• MGMD is a pan-India initiative of the Ministry of Culture under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping, initiated in coordination with IGNCA (release of 26 July 2023).
• Its stated aim is to map culturally 6.5 lakh villages across 29 States and 7 Union Territories on the portal mgmd.gov.in.
• The portal went live on 27 July 2023 at the Qutub Minar, New Delhi, with a projection mapping show on the monument.
• The Ministry of Culture's release of 28 July 2023 says Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal launched the portal.
• A release of 26 July 2023 had said Union Home Minister Amit Shah would launch it; the later release reports Meghwal as the one who did.

Common traps

• Reading 'Gaon' (village) as a clue to Rural Development: MGMD is the Ministry of Culture's project, and Rural Development's minister only attended the launch.
• Taking a preview for the event: the 26 July 2023 release said Amit Shah would launch MGMD, while the 28 July release reports that Arjun Ram Meghwal launched it.
• Mixing MGMD with the Vibrant Villages Programme, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs for select villages along the northern border.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In coordination with which institution did the Ministry of Culture initiate the 'Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar' project?

  • (a)National Book Trust
  • (b)Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
  • (c)National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
  • (d)Defence Research and Development Organisation
  Answer(2) — The Government's release of 26 July 2023 says the Ministry of Culture initiated MGMD in coordination with IGNCA. Options (1), (3) and (4) are not named as partners in the Ministry of Culture's releases of 26 and 28 July 2023.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Consider the following statements about 'Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar': A. It aims to map culturally about 6.5 lakh villages of India on a virtual platform. B. It is a component of the Vibrant Villages Programme of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Choose the correct option:

  • (a)Only A is correct.
  • (b)Only B is correct.
  • (c)Both A and B are correct.
  • (d)Neither A nor B is correct.
  Answer(1) — A matches the 26 July 2023 release on the Ministry of Culture's project. B is wrong: MGMD sits under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping, while the Vibrant Villages Programme is a separate Home Affairs scheme for northern border villages. So options (2), (3) and (4) fail.