Lok Sabha Question No. 123 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-04
Subject: Conservation and Promotion of Indian Culture
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: RITI PATHAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 123

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 4.2.2019

## CONSERVATION AND PROMOTION OF INDIAN CULTURE

## ϯ 123.  SHRIMATI  RITI  PATHAK

- a) the steps taken by the Government for conservation and promotion of Indian culture in the country during the last three years;
- b) the  details  of  new  programmes  prepared  for  promotion  of  Indian  Culture  and  to create awareness towards it during the said period; and
- c) the funds released to non-Governmental organizations for this purpose during the said period, State/U.T?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CULTURE AND

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) to (c): Ministry of Culture has taken necessary steps to achieve its  mandate  i.e preservation and conservation of cultural heritage and promotion of tangible and intangible  art  and  culture  through  its  attached,  subordinate  and  autonomous organisations.    Its  activities  and  programmes  are  accomplished  under  several broad cultural heads viz. Preservation and conservation of Archaeological sites, Museums  and  its  artefacts,  Public  Libraries,  Promotion  and  dissemination  of Performing  Arts,  Buddhist  and  Tibetan  studies,  International  Cultural  Relation and construction of cultural complexes etc. during the last three years (2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017- 18).  The details of major activities for promotion of culture for the last three years are at annexure.

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 123 FOR 04.02.2019

Major Activities of Ministry of Culture and its organizations for the year 2015-16, 201617 & 2017- 18.

1. E-ticketing- A cashless tool started for tourists at all ticketed monuments.
2.         100  Monuments  Identified  for  Portal  on  'Must-See  Monuments  and  Archaeological Sites of India' .
3. Excavation at the site near Saser La Pass in Ladakh at an altitude of about 1350014000 feet. Archaeological site development at Purana Qila (Delhi), Kalibangan and Binjor (Rajasthan), Lothal and  Dholavira (Gujarat)  and  Sannathi (Karnataka), Conservation  work  outside  India,  in  Cambodia,  Laos,  Myanmar  and  Vietnam.  The Archaeological  Survey  of  India  (Delhi  Circle)  of  Ministry  of  Culture  discovered  a hoard  of  254  Copper  Coins  of  medieval  period  in  the  premises  of  Khirki  Mosque during the course of conservation of the monument.
4. The Archaeological Survey of India now allows photography within the premises of all centrally protected monuments/sites.
5. Ease of doing business - Website and Smart Smarac Mobile App for NMA Permissions.
6.         Satellite Mapping of ASI Monuments with the support of ISRO done.
7. Retrieval of stolen antiquities (17) from abroad.
8. Swachh  Bharat  -  Swachh  Smarak-  all  ASI  Protected  Historical  Monuments  and Archaeological Sites declared Polythene Free Zones. 25 ASI sites were launched as 'Adarsh  Smarak'  on  26 th December,  2014.  The  ASI  has  ranked  top  25  Adarsh Monuments on the basis of Cleanliness parameters such as amenities like toilets, green  lawns,  Polythene  Free  Zone,  signage  for  awareness,  disabilities  access, drinking  water  and  provision  for  garbage  bins  etc.  'Rani  ki  Vav  (Gujarat)'  a World Heritage Site has been declared as the cleanest iconic place in the country.
9. Establishment of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology, ASI.
10. Celebration of International Buddha Poornima Diwas. Celebration of 75th Anniversary of Formation of Azad Hind Government in the Presence of Prime Minister.
11. The  Tagore  Awards  for  Cultural  Harmony  for  the  years  2014,  2015  &  2016  were conferred on the doyen of Manipuri dance Sh. Rajkumar Singhajit Singh; Chhayanaut (a cultural organization of Bangladesh) and on one of India's greatest sculptors, Sh. Ram Vanji Sutar, respectively.
12. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav were held at New Delhi, Allahabad, Varanasi, Gujarat, Puducherry, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc.
13. Gandhi Heritage:  Development of Dandi Heritage Path from Ahmedabad to Dandi and 21 Nigh Halt places have been completed.  Up gradation and modernization of Gandhi Ashram Trust at Noakhali (Bangladesh); up gradation of the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya,  Barrackpore,  Kolkata;  curating  exhibition  of  permanent  nature  at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, South Africa and creation of data base relating to Gandhi Heritage Sites have been completed National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi is scheduled to be inaugurated this month..
14. Festivals of India organized in approximately 37 Countries.
15. Khangchendzonga  National  Park  (KNP)  in  Sikkim  and  The  Capitol  Complex  in Chandigarh were also announced as World Heritage Sites. The historic walled city of Ahmedabad, dotted with 28 protected ASI sites was inscribed as India's first heritage city  by  UNESCO  on  July  8,  2017.  Mumbai's  Victorian  Gothic  and  Art  Deco Building declared as World Heritage by UNESCO.
16. Release of Netaji Files.
17. The Prime Minister  Shri  Narendra  Modi  inaugurated  a  Digital  Exhibition  -  'Uniting India  :  Sardar  Patel'  organized  by  the  Ministry  of  Culture  on  the  occasion  of Rashtriya  Ekta  Diwas-  the  birth  anniversary  of  Sardar  Vallabhbhai  Patel,  former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister  of India in National Science Centre, New Delhi on 31 st October 2016.
18. Commemorations have been celebrated of Lala Lajpat Rai, Maharana Pratap, Rani Gaidinliu, Tatya Tope, Bhisham Sahni, 500 years of return of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to  Vrindavan,  350 th birth  anniversary  of  Guru  Gobind,  birth  centenary  activities  of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, 200 th Anniversary of Paika Rebellion, 70 th Anniversary of  Indian  Independence,  Centenary  of  Champaran  Satyagraha,  Centenary  of Sabarmati Ashram. Commemoration of 150 th Birth  Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi the  Father  of  Nation  commenced  on  2 nd October,  2018  both  at  national  and international levels for a period of two years. 550th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji. Release of commemorative coin in honour of Bharat Ratna  Shri  Atal  Bihari  Vajpayee.  Special  Exhibition  to  Commemorate  the  70 years of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India.
19. The National School of Drama has hosted the 8 th edition of Theatre Olympics in the year 2018.
20. A pilot version of the 'Vedic Heritage' Portal has been launched by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
21. Ministry of Culture also plans to create Virtual Experiential Museums to showcase the tangible and intangible heritage of the country. The first of these proposed museums is  in  the  process  of  being  commissioned  at  the  Man  Mahal,  an  early  17 th century protected monument in Varanasi.
22. The  Ministry  of  Culture,  Government  of  India  launched  the  new  scheme  namely 'Seva  Bhoj  Yojna'  on  01.08.2018, with  a  total  outlay  of  Rs.  325.00  Crores  for Financial Years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
23. Foundation stone laid for Museum on Prime Ministers of India in Delhi