Lok Sabha Question No. 3173 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Setting up of Seven Zonal Cultural Centres
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Anubhav Mohanty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3173 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  MARCH, 2021

## SETTING UP OF SEVEN ZONAL CULTURAL CENTRES

## 3173.  SHRI ANUBHAV MOHANTY:

## Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters  at  Patiala,  Nagpur,  Udaipur,  Prayagraj,  Kolkata,  Dimapur  and Thanjavur to promote folk artists and music in all the States/UTs of India;
- (b) if  so, the State-wise details thereof of the activities and projects undertaken by ZCCs for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20; and
- (c) the details of the utilization of the central financial assistance of Rs.5952 lakhs received by ZCC during last three years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) & (b) Yes, Sir. To protect and preserve various forms of folk art & culture and to promote folk artists in all the States/UTs, the Government of India has set up the following seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) in the country:

| Sl. No.   | Name of ZCC                                           |   Year of set up |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| i.        | North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala            |             1985 |
| ii.       | Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Kolkata         |             1985 |
| iii.      | West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC), Udaipur             |             1986 |
| iv.       | North Central Zone Cultural Centre (NCZCC), Prayagraj |             1986 |
| v.        | North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), Dimapur      |             1986 |
| vi.       | South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Nagpur    |             1986 |
| vii.      | South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), Thanjavur          |             1986 |

The mandate of these ZCCs is as under:

-  To encourage folk and tribal arts and aid the preservation of vanishing arts;
-  Documentation & Data collection of vanishing art forms;
-  To  preserve  and  promote  the  projection  and  dissemination  of  arts  in  the concerned zone;
-  To develop and promote their rich cultural diversity;
-  To  involve youth in creative cultural  communication  and  lay  special emphasis on the  linkages  among  different  areas  and  their  contribution  to Indian culture;
-  Collection & Dissemination of regional histories & narratives in oral traditions.

These  ZCCs  are  implementing  a  number  of  schemes  viz.  Award  to  Young Talented  Artistes,  Guru  Shishya  Parampara,  Theatre  Rejuvenation,  Research  & Documentation, Shilpgram, Octave and National Cultural Exchange Programme. The details of these schemes are at Annexure-I . No State/UT wise funds are released by the Ministry. However, annual grant-in-aid is provided to all these ZCCs to carry out various  cultural  activities/  programmes  viz.  regional  festivals,  folk  dances  &  songs, workshops,  exhibitions  etc  to  disseminate  information  about  Indian  culture  and traditions  to  public  in  their  member  States  including  programmes  on  the  vanishing tribal  art  &  culture.  The  State/UT  wise  activities/  programmes  conducted  by  these ZCCs during 2018-19 and 2019-20 are at Annexure-II .

To increase awareness among people regarding cultural values of India, the Ministry  of  Culture  organizes  Rashtriya  Sanskriti  Mahotsavs (RSMs)  in  the country and up till now, the Ministry has organized 11 RSMs through its seven ZCCs since 2015. These ZCCs also organize minimum 42 Regional Festivals every year as per their programme calendar.

For proper storage of the treasure of knowledge for posterity, several art forms including the vanishing ones are being documented by these ZCCs. Number of art forms have been documented by all the ZCCs. Many dying  art forms  documented earlier are being converted into digital format for preservation as the older format can no longer be used.

(c) Annual grant-in-aid is provided to all the ZCCs for organizing various cultural activities/ programmes all over the country on regular basis. However, no funds are provided  directly  to  the  States/  UTs  for  the  purpose.  The  grant-in-aid  provided  to these ZCCs during the three years and the current year is as under:

| Year                 |   Amount (Rs. in lakh) |
|----------------------|------------------------|
| 2017-18              |                4689.71 |
| 2018-19              |                5952.69 |
| 2019-20              |                5732.95 |
| 2020-21 (as on date) |                3364.48 |

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3173 for 15.03.2021

## Schemes being implemented by Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs)

- i. Award to Young Talented Artistes: The Scheme 'Young Talented Artists' is carried  out  to  encourage and recognize  the  young  talents  especially  in the  field  of rare art forms. Talented youngsters of the age group of 18-30 years are selected and given a onetime  cash award of Rs. 10,000/-.
- ii. Guru Shishya  Parampara: This  scheme  envisages  transmitting  our  valued traditions to the coming generations. Disciples are trained under veterans in art forms which  are  rare  and  vanishing.  Rare  and  vanishing  art  forms  of  the  region  are identified and eminent exponents are selected to carry out the training programmes in 'Gurukula' tradition. The monthly remuneration for Guru -Rs. 7,500/-, Accompanist - Rs. 3,750/- and Pupils - Rs. 1,500/- each for the period of six month to maximum 1 year for one scheme. The names of the Gurus are recommended by the State Cultural Affairs Departments.
- iii. Theatre Rejuvenation: To  promote theatre activities including stage shows and Production  oriented  workshops,  etc.  Honorarium  Up  to Rs.  30,000/-  per  show excluding TA & DA is paid. The groups finalized on the basis their credentials as well as the merit of project submitted by them.
- iv. Research & Documentation: To preserve promote and propagate vanishing visual and performing art forms including folk, tribal and classical in the field of music, dance, theatre, literature, fine arts etc. in print/ audio - visual media. The art form is finalized in consultation with state Cultural Department.
- v. Shilpgram: To promote folk and tribal art and crafts of the zone by organizing seminar,  workshops,  exhibitions,  craft  fairs,  design  development  and  marketing support to the artisans living in the rural areas.
- vi. Octave: To  promote  and  propagate  the  rich  cultural  heritage  of  North  East region  comprising  of  eight  States  namely  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Assam,  Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura to the rest of India.
- vii. National Cultural Exchange Programme: It can be termed as the lifeline of the Zonal Cultural Centers. Under this scheme, various festivals of performing arts, exhibitions, yatras etc are organized in member  States. Artists from other zones/states  are  invited  to  participate  in  these  programmes.  Participation  of  artists from the Zone in festivals held in other parts of the country are also facilitated. Zonal centres also participate in Major festivals happening in member States by arranging performances during these festivals where large number of audience get chance to enjoy and understand art forms of other regions. These festivals provide opportunity to taste and understand various cultures of our country.

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3173 for 15.03.2021

## State/UT wise activities/ programmes conducted by Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) during 2018-19 and 2019-20

| Sl. No.   | Name of States/UTs                     | No. of activities/ Programmes   | No. of activities/ Programmes   |
|-----------|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|           | States                                 | 2018-19                         | 2019-20                         |
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh                         | 17                              | 12                              |
| 2.        | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 21                              | 20                              |
| 3.        | Assam                                  | 43                              | 32                              |
| 4.        | Bihar                                  | 15                              | 15                              |
| 5.        | Chhattisgarh                           | 12                              | 12                              |
| 6.        | Goa                                    | 44                              | 13                              |
| 7.        | Gujarat                                | 13                              | 16                              |
| 8.        | Haryana                                | 37                              | 33                              |
| 9.        | Himachal Pradesh                       | 42                              | 40                              |
| 10.       | Jharkhand                              | 08                              | 08                              |
| 11.       | Karnataka                              | 31                              | 27                              |
| 12.       | Kerala                                 | 16                              | 15                              |
| 13.       | Madhya Pradesh                         | 16                              | 39                              |
| 14.       | Maharashtra                            | 97                              | 84                              |
| 15.       | Manipur                                | 36                              | 32                              |
| 16.       | Meghalaya                              | 15                              | 11                              |
| 17.       | Mizoram                                | 15                              | 08                              |
| 18.       | Nagaland                               | 21                              | 22                              |
| 19.       | Odisha                                 | 39                              | 39                              |
| 20.       | Punjab                                 | 98                              | 87                              |
| 21.       | Rajasthan                              | 134                             | 135                             |
| 22.       | Sikkim                                 | 13                              | 19                              |
| 23.       | Tamil Nadu                             | 77                              | 91                              |
| 24.       | Telangana                              | 11                              | 09                              |
| 25.       | Tripura                                | 24                              | 19                              |
| 26.       | Uttar Pradesh                          | 21                              | 15                              |
| 27.       | Uttarakhand                            | 21                              | 28                              |
| 28.       | West Bengal                            | 289                             | 77                              |
|           | Union Territories                      |                                 |                                 |
| 29.       | Jammu & Kashmir                        | 39                              | 34                              |
| 30.       | Ladakh                                 | --                              | --                              |
| 31.       | Andaman & Nicobar Islands              | 01                              | 04                              |
| 32.       | Chandigarh                             | 122                             | 87                              |
| 33.       | NCT of Delhi                           | 04                              | 06                              |
| 34.       | Daman and Diu & Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 07                              | 12                              |
| 35.       | Lakshadweep                            | --                              | --                              |
| 36.       | Puducherry                             | 22                              | 19                              |
|           | Total                                  | 1421                            | 1120                            |