Ministry of Tourism establishes new centre to promote Buddhist philosophies

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has established a new institute called the Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies in Arunachal Pradesh to provide education in Buddhist philosophies.

The institute will promote research in different aspects of Buddhism, preserve ancient Buddhist manuscripts, digitize ancient Buddhist texts preserved in the languages of Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian languages.

The Ministry has taken over the following three Institutions, which have been granted Deemed University Status by UGC – Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda (NNM), Bihar; Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi and Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh, Ladakh.

The Ministry also provides annual grants-in-aid to the following six grantee bodies for promoting Buddhist culture and art – Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamshala; Tibet House, New Delhi; Centre for Buddhist Cultural Studies, Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh; Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Sikkim; International Buddhist Confederation; GRL Monastic School, Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh.

There is also a scheme to provide financial assistance to voluntary Buddhist/Tibetan organizations including monasteries engaged in the propagation and scientific development of Buddhist/Tibetan culture, tradition and research in related fields, said the Minister of State of Culture and Tourism, i Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.