Lok Sabha Question No. 49 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Financial Assistance to Artists during COVID-19 Pandemic
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Kirron  Kher, Chandra Sekhar Sahu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 49 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH SEPTEMBER, 2020

## FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ARTISTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

## 49.  SHRIMATI KIRRON KHER:

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

- (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the entertainment industry and artists across India and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Ministry  has  provided  any  financial  assistance  to  musicians,  theatre  artists, dancers, craftsmen, etc. who have faced a loss of livelihood due to the Covid-19 pandemic;
- (c) if so, the details thereof including the total financial assistance granted; and
- (d) the other steps taken by the Government to provide relief to artists across India?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Ministry has not assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the entertainment industry and artists across India. However, the Ministry is aware that the Covid-19 pandemic has had  a  negative  impact  on  the  artist  community  as  no  physical  cultural  programmes  are  being organized by Ministry of Culture due to social distancing norms and other safety guidelines issued by the Government of India. In order to mitigate the financial loss being faced by the artists, the Ministry has taken various steps which have been further elaborated under replies to (b), (c) and (d).
- (b) & (c) Yes,  Sir.  Due  to  Covid-19  pandemic  in  the  country,  the  entire  artist  community faced a financial crisis  and  lost  their  means  of  livelihood.  To  help  these  artists,  the  Ministry  of Culture ensured speedy and timely release of the grants to the artists under the following various Central Sector Schemes:

(Rs. in lakh)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the scheme                                                                                            |   Grant provided |
|-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| i.        | Financial assistance under Repertory Grant Scheme                                                             |          1517.04 |
| ii.       | Scheme of Financial Assistance for the Development of Buddhist/ Tibetan Art and Culture                       |          1329    |
| iii.      | Cultural Function and Production Grant Scheme                                                                 |           886    |
| iv.       | Scheme of Scholarship &Fellowship for promotion of Art &Culture                                               |           881    |
| v.        | Financial Assistance to Cultural Organizations with National Presence                                         |           427.25 |
| vi.       | Scheme of Financial Assistance for the Preservation & Development of Cultural Heritage of Himalayas           |           165    |
| vii       | Scheme of Pension &Medical Aid to Artists                                                                     |           160    |
| viii.     | Financial assistance under Seva Bhoj Yojna                                                                    |            74    |
| ix.       | Financial Assistance for Cultural Activities in Performing Arts for Building Grants Including Studio Theatres |            23.4  |
| Total     | Total                                                                                                         |          5462.69 |

Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) have provided financial assistance of Rs. 927.83 lakh to the artists.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) being national academy of music, dance and drama have organized the following programmes during the current pandemic. A number of artists from various genres have been benefitted by these virtual activities:

- i. The Akademi organizes the Webinar on weekly basis with its Fellows and Awardees in the  field  of  music,  dance,  drama,  folk  &  tribal  arts  and  puppetry.  Akademi  has successfully  organized  32  webinars  by  which  32  artists  have  also  been  monetarily benefited.
- ii. Deeksha is an online training series in various dance forms like Kathak, Kutiyattam, Manipuri, Sattriya, Chhau.  As on date, 15 Deeksha programmes have been organized and  Rs. 11 lakh apprx. has been  released  to senior artists, gurus  and  their accompanists.
- iii. An amount of Rs. 16.00 lakh was released to the artists who participated in Yog Parv a festival of music, dance, drama, folk & tribal arts and puppetry.

(d)        Most  of  the  organizations  under  Ministry  of  Culture  are  organizing  following  online programmes:

-  Seven  Zonal  Cultural  Centres  (ZCCs)  under  Ministry  of  Culture  organized  online programmes  wherein  folk and tribal artists showcased  their talents through webinars, workshops, live performances on social media handles like facebook etc. Financial assistance is extended to artists as per the existing norms and rates fixed by ZCCs as remuneration of the above programmes.
-  ZCCs have opened help lines to enable the artists to avail maximum benefits of the schemes of this Ministry.
-  An action plan has been evolved to help artists engaged for events on virtual mode enabling them to avail financial benefits out of the grants released by the Ministry.
-  Folk artists from member States are offered online platforms for their performance.
-  ZCCs have coordinated with the member States and artists to get unregistered artists registered under various schemes of States for financial assistance to artists.
-  ZCCs have collaborated with NGOs to promote registered artists on virtual platforms.
-  SNA under the series 'Abhivyakti' is showcasing the programmes, festivals etc. from its archives on its social media platform.
-  From October onwards, SNA has been planning to virtual festivals of music, dance, drama, folk & tribal and puppetry besides the festivals in physical from January, 2021.