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Project ‘Mausam’ is the initiative of Ministry of Culture to be implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the nodal agency with research support of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Museum as associate bodies. This project aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean ‘world’ – collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean. The main objective of the project is to inscribe places and sites identified under Project Mausam as trans-national nomination for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The details of achievement made so far are as follows:-

1. A publication titled Mausam: Maritime cultural landscapes across the Indian Ocean; edited by Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray
2.  Ninteen lectures were held on various themes related to project Mausam- which could now be taken up for publication
3. An exhibition on “Africans in India: A rediscovery” in the IGNCA (October-November, 2014)
4. One day Conference on “Africans in India: A rediscovery” in the IGNCA on 15-10-2014
5. National conference on the theme “Cultural landscapes and maritime trade routes of India” under project Mausam was organised by ASI and Kerala Tourism on 17-19 November, 2014 at Kochi, Kerala- in which the IGNCA also participated
6. Exhibition on “Unearthing  Pattanam: Histories, Cultures and Crossings” at National Museum ( 28-11-2014)
7. Conference on “the making of the Indian Subcontinent: Indian ocean perspective” at National Museum (7-8 January, 2015)
8. An international conference on “Maritime routes and cultural landscapes” was held by ASI and the IGNCA on 16-02-2016 at Kancheri Caves, Mumbai.
9. Symposium on “Maritime culture of India and its potential” on 28-01-2017
10. Conference on Maritime Traditions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans at Kochi, Kerala (22-24 March, 2018)
11. Brainstorming session for creation of a database of Coastal sites on 18-06-2018 in the IGNCA at New Delhi.
12. Director, World Heritage visited Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam 18 to 25 March, 2016 to explore possibilities of collaboration under Project Mausam.
13. Indian Mission in these countries have been requested to identify appropriate authority / expert / resource person for dialogue. Seminar and academics have been taken in IGNCA.

SFC primarily approved a fund allocation of Rs 15,244,5021/- for the period of 2015-17, out of which Rs. 42,08,341/- has been utilized. Further, the duration of the project has been extended up to 2020 with the pre-approved fund of Rs 60,039,297/-.

List of 39 Indian Ocean countries identified under Project Mausam:

The above information was given by Minister of State (independent charge) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate change Dr. Mahesh Sharma, in reply to an Unstarred Question in the Lok Sabha today.