Lok Sabha Question No. 1157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Funds Released to NGOs For Preservation and Promotion of Indian Culture
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1157 #

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

## FUNDS RELEASED TO NGOs FOR PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF INDIAN CULTURE

## 1157.   SHRI SHRINIWAS PATIL

- a) the steps taken by the Government to preserve and promote Indian culture in the country during the last five years;
- b) the details of new programmes formulated to promote and create awareness about Indian culture during the said period; and
- c) the State/UT-wise details of the funds released to NGOs for this purpose during the said period?

## ANSWER

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

## (G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a) to  (c):  Ministry  of  Culture  has  taken  necessary  steps  to  preserve  and  promote Indian  culture  in  the  country  during  the  last  five  years  (2016-17    to  2020-21) through  its  activities  and  programmes  which  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.  The  details  of  major  activities for promotion of culture for the last five years are Annexed .

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1157 FOR 06.12.2021

## Major Activities of Ministry of Culture and its organizations during 2016-2017 to 2020-2021.

-  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, 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.
-  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.
-  Retrieval of antiquities (36) from abroad.
-  During this period, 18 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 had been carried out. The Delhi Circle, Archaeological Survey of India 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.

-  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  Mahotsav  were  organized  at  New  Delhi,  Allahabad, Varanasi,  Gujarat,  Puducherry,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand, West  Bengal  etc.  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. Despite COVID 19 Pandemic, 139 Regional Level Festivals, 193  Revival of vanishing art forms and 52 Bridging classical and folk arts have already been performed.
-  Sangeet Natak Akademi has been organizing various festivals viz. Desaj, Lok Pratibha, Rang Swadhinta etc. on regular basis.
-  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.
-  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.
-  Celebration of International Buddha Poornima Diwas & Ashadh Poornima.
-  E-ticketing- A cashless tool started for tourists at all ticketed monuments.
-  100 Monuments Identified for Portal on 'Must-See Monuments and Archaeological Sites of India'.
-  The  Archaeological  Survey  of  India  now  allows  photography  within  the premises of all centrally protected monuments/sites.
-  Ease of doing business - Website and Smart Smarac Mobile App for National Monuments Authroity (NMA) Permissions.
-  Satellite Mapping of ASI Monuments with the support of ISRO done.
-  Establishment of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology.
-  Celebration of 75th Anniversary of Formation of Azad Hind Government in the Presence of Prime Minister.
-  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.
-  Through Abhilekh Portal, 27 Lakhs files/records about various ministries and departments of the Government of India and records of other categories like Mutiny  Papers,  Private  Papers  etc.  has  been  created  and  the  same  is available  in  the  full-fledged  web  portal  http://www.abhilekh-patal.in  of  the Department for use by scholars, administrators and users of archives.
-  On the occasion of 119 th birth  anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi released a set of 100 declassified files at National  Archives  of  India  (NAI)  on  2 3rd January,  2016.  The  Prime  Minister also launched the web application www.netajipapers.gov.in uploading the said 100  files  containing  approximately  16,530  pages  relating  to  Netaji  Subhash Chandra Bose.
-  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.
-  Special Exhibition to Commemorate the 70 years of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India.

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