Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government has prioritised preserving the country's heritage, even as he lamented that enough efforts were not made in this direction post Independence.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the International Museum Expo 2023 at Pragati Maidan here, Modi also flagged the issue of trafficking of ancient Indian art and antiques, and said that with India's increasing prestige in the world, various countries have now started returning things belonging to Indian heritage.

Modi said 10 special museums are being built to immortalise the contribution of the tribal community in the country's freedom struggle. The long period of slavery also resulted in the destruction of the country's written and unwritten heritage, Modi noted.

This is not only India's loss, it is the loss of the whole world, he asserted. "Unfortunately, the efforts that should have been made post Independence to preserve our heritage, were not made," he said.

He also urged people to make preserving historical artifacts their nature. "For example every household must make a family museum in which they preserve things of their ancestors and elders. Schools and institutions should also make their own museums," he said.

During the event, Modi also unveiled the mascot of the International Museum Expo, a graphic novel titled "A day at the Museum", a directory of Indian museums, a pocket map of Kartavya Path, and museum cards. The mascot of the International Museum Expo is a contemporised version of the dancing girl made of wood in the Chennapatnam art style.

The graphic novel portrays a group of children visiting the National Museum where they learn about different career opportunities that are available at a museum. The pocket map of the Kartavya Path highlights various cultural spaces and institutions and also traces the history of the iconic pathway.

The Museums cards are a set of 75 cards with illustrated facades of iconic museums across the country, and is an innovative way to introduce museums to people of all ages and each card holds brief information of museums.

The expo is being organised as part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' to celebrate the 47th International Museum Day (IMD), according to an official statement. The IMD theme for this year is "museums, sustainability and well-being".

The expo is designed to initiate a holistic conversation on museums with professionals to enable these to evolve as cultural centres that play a pivotal role in India's cultural diplomacy, it said. During the programme, Modi also inaugurated a virtual walkthrough of the upcoming national museum at North Block and South Block.