The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts have signed a memorandum of understanding to preserve, document, digitise and promote tribal cultural heritage.

The MoU was signed in New Delhi on September 28 in the presence of Secretary (Tribal Affairs) Ranjana Chopra and Dr K. Anil Kumar, Head of Department at IGNCA.

The partnership will focus on endangered languages, oral traditions, arts, music, crafts and traditional knowledge systems. It brings together the ministry’s network of Tribal Research Institutes with IGNCA’s academic and archival expertise.

Officials said the collaboration would help create a lasting digital record of tribal heritage while supporting research and public awareness.

The agreement is part of the government’s broader effort to safeguard the cultural legacy of India’s tribal communities.

The two institutions will also explore joint exhibitions, publications and academic programmes to bring tribal art forms to wider audiences.

The ministry said documentation teams would begin fieldwork shortly, with priority given to languages and traditions identified as most at risk of disappearing.