Lok Sabha Question No. 3330 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-09
Subject: Promotion of Indian Culture
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Jugal Kishore Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 3330 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2021

## PROMOTION OF INDIAN CULTURE

## † 3330.  SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state :

- a) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  the  conservation  and  promotion  of Indian culture in the country during the last three years;
- b) the  details  of  the  new  programmes  prepared  for  the  promotion  of  Indian culture and creating awareness in this regard during the said period; and
- c) the amount released to the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for this purpose during the said period, State-wise/Union Territory-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION

## (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (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 (2018-19 to  2020-21).  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. † 3330  FOR 09.08.2021

## Major Activities of Ministry of Culture and its organizations during 2018-2019 to 2020-2021.

-  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.
-  Hon'ble PM inaugurated the year-long celebrations of 125 th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Victoria Memorial, Kolkata on 23 rd January, 2021.  On  this  occasion,  a  gazette  notification  was  issued  to  declare  every year 23 rd Jan as Parakram Diwas.
-  'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' was commenced on 12 th March, 2021 which starts a 75 week countdown to our 75 th Anniversary of Independence, to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.
-  A gallery of Retrieved Antiquities has to be opened in the empty cells of the Purana Qita Fort which was inaugurated on 31 st August, 2019.
-  Retrieval of antiquities (13) from abroad.
-  During this period, 17 monuments/sites have been added thereby taking the total count of monument/sites under ASI's protection to 3693.
-  Excavation at the site near Saser La Pass in Ladakh at an altitude of about 13500-14000  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.
-  Swachh Bharat  -  Swachh  Smarak-  all  ASI  Protected  Historical  Monuments and Archaeological Sites declared Polythene Free Zones. 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.
-  Foundation stone laid for Museum on Prime Ministers of India in Delhi. The objective of the Museum is to highlight life, works and contribution by all the Prime  Minister  to  nation  building.  The  museum  will  have  extensive  use  of

State of the Art and  effective  mode of communications  and  will engage  the visitors as participants.

-  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.
-  In  order  to  conserve  our  priceless  heritage  and  to  bring  Cultural  awareness closer to citizen, a number of initiatives were taken by the premier museums which are as under:-
-  During  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  Indian  Museum,  Kolkata  engaged  its audience  through  online  talks,  virtual  gallery  tours  and  performances under the banner 'Stories of World Cultures'. 80 episodes of 'Stories of World Cultures' have been broadcasted through the social media handles of Indian Museum and the programmes were divided this into three parts academic lecturers, multi-cultural programme and programme for children and special children.
-  National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata has started the works for setting  up  of  new  Science  Centres  at  Palampur  (Himachal  Pradesh), Gaya  (Bihar),  Kottayam  (Kerala)&  Kokrajhar  (Assam)  under  SPoCS  of MoC.
-  04  (Four)  new  Innovation  Hubs  were  also  inaugurated  during  the  year 2019 to 2021 at (i) Shillong Science Centre, Shillong (Meghalaya); (ii) Goa Science  Centre,  Panaji(Goa);  (iii)  District  Science  Centre,  Purulia  (West Bengal);  &  (iv)  Regional  Science  Centre,  Coimbatore  (Tamilnadu)  and 02(Two)new Innovation Hubs are completed and are ready for opening at Solapur  Science  Centre,  Solapur  (Maharashtra)  and  at  Anna  Science Centre, Trichi (Tamil Nadu).
-  03 (Three) new Galleries on various Science & Technology Themes were inaugurated at the existing Science Cities/Museums/Centres under NCSM.
-  23 (Twenty Three) new facilities added to the existing Science Cities/Museums/Centres under NCSM.
-  On  12.01.2020,  Victoria  Memorial  Hall  (VMH),Kolkata  has  inaugurated various renovated galleries viz. Entrance Gallery (depicting the construction  of  VMH),  Portrait  Gallery  (with  new  displays  from  the  VMH collection,  including  Abanindranath  Tagore's  iconic  water  colour,  Bharat Mata), Royal Gallery (displaying the world's second largest oil painting on a  single  canvas,  Jaipur  Procession  by  VasilyVereschagin)  and  the  firstfloor  gallery  complex  (displaying  miniatures  from  the  National  Museum, New  Delhi  and  the  mini-exhibition  Talking  Devices  from  the  National Council of Science Museums).
-  Allahabad Museum, Prayagraj has completed the infrastructure work for Azad  gallery which  will  exhibit  objects,  documents  and  features  of revolution  of  freedom  of  1857  and  Netaji  Subhash  chandra  Bose, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Durga Bhabhi etc.
-  Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs were organized at Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal during this period to celebrate the spirit of Tradition, Culture, Heritage and Diversity of our incredible country. The broader objective of this Mahotsav is  to  Preserve,  Promote  &  Popularize  the  heritage  of  Indian  Spirit,  to

reconnect the new generation with our culture and to showcase the country and the world our soft power of unity in diversity.

-  ZCCs has  organized  various  festivals  viz.  i)  Ras  Banaras  2018  to  promote Namami  Gange,  ii)  Chalo  Man  Ganga  Yamuna  Teer-Annual  Festival  at Sangam,  Prayagraj,  iii)  Simhastha  Kumbh,  Ujjain  and  Sanskriti  Kumbh, Prayagraj - 40 days cultural festival to showcase arts and crafts of India etc.. Till  February  2021 despite COVID Pandemic, 2 National Level Festival, 139 Regional Level Festivals, 193 Revival of vanishing art forms and 52 Bridging classical and folk arts have already been performed.
-  Under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra  Sangathan  (NYKS),  1620  artists  participated  in  various  cultural activites  organized  by  ZCCs;  11  Lecture  -cum-demonstration  by  Sangeet Natak  Akademi;  5  books  translated  by  Sahitya  Akademi;  3  activities  by Archaeological Survey of India, etc. have been conducted (till 31.03.2020).
-  The  Ministry  envisioned  a  portal  namely  'The  Indian  Cultural  Portal''  to empower people to create a knowledge society and ensure the preservation of  digital  content  for  posterity.  The  Indian  Institute  of  Technology,  Bombay was entrusted with the task of building such a resource.
-  Development  of  a  web  portal  for  single  window  clearance  of  applications through  online  application  and  processing  system  (NOAPS)  of  National Monument Authority.
-  The  Ministry  has  launched  a  Citizen  Centric  Web  Portal  to  celebrate  75th Independence  Day.  The  portal  will  serve  as  a  digital  platform  to  facilitate participation of  Ministries/Department/States/UTs/Related Bodies  and  the citizens in various activities being organized as part of the celebration.
-  A pilot version of the 'Vedic Heritage' Portal has been launched by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
-  Festivals of India were organized in many Countries.
-  Gandhi  Heritage  Sites  mission  has  taken  up  several  projects  such  as upgradation and modernization of Gandhi Ashram Trust at Noakhali (Bangladesh); upgradation of the Gandhi Samarak Sangrahalaya, Barrackpore, Kolkata; curating exhibitions of permanent nature at Pietermaritzburg  railway  station,  South  Africa  and  creation  of  data  base relating  to  Gandhi  Heritage  Sites  etc.  Special  Gandhi  Heritage  Portal  i.e www.gandhiheritageportal.org/ has been created
-  The National School of Drama has hosted the 8 th edition of Theatre Olympics in the year 2018.
-  The  Ministry  of  Culture,  Government  of  India  launched  the  new  scheme namely 'Seva Bhoj Yojna' on 01.08.2018 and 'Financial Assistance for Allied Cultural Activities' on 15.10.2018.
-  Guidelines for holding cultural events/activities in virtual / online mode under various  scheme  components  of  central  sector  scheme  'Kala  Sanskriti  Vikas Yojana' (KSVY) issued to ensure continued financial assistance to tide over the present crisis.
-  The National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCH) initiated cultural awareness  as  well  as talent hunt in the country, 5 National Cultural Awareness  Programmes  in  Govardhan,  Shimoga,  Thanesar,  Chauri-Chaura and Saraikela. Focus was primarily laid upon building a strong portal and app.
-  An  Atmanirbhar  Bharat  Centre  for  Design  with  the  mandate  of  'Education, Experience & Economic value addition' at Red Fort premises is proposed to set  up  that  will  highlight  and  celebrate GI  products  from  India  as  a  success stories of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
-  Celebration of International Buddha Poornima Diwas & Ashadh Poornima.

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