Lok Sabha Question No. 20 (STARRED), answered on 2025-02-03
Subject: Welfare and Development of Performing Artists
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Dr. T Sumathy Alias Thamizhachi Thangapandian

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *20 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2025

## WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMING ARTISTS

## *20. Dr. T Sumathy Alias Thamizhachi Thangapandian:

## Will the MINISTER OF CULTURE be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  adequate  measures  for  the  welfare  and development of performing artists of traditional art, culture, dance, drama and songs from Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof;

(b)  the total funds sanctioned and released for the welfare of performing artists from the said State during each of the last ten years; and

(c)  the total number of artists who have gone abroad during the last ten years under the cultural exchange programmes and other schemes of the Ministry?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM

- (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) of LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *20 FOR 3 rd  FEBRUARY, 2025

- (a) Yes,  Sir.  The  Ministry  of  Culture  administers  various  Central  Sector  Schemes under which Financial Assistance is provided to eligible cultural organizations/individual artists  working  in  the  field  of  promotion  and  development  of  performing  arts  including traditional art, dance, drama, music etc. across the country including the state of Tamil Nadu. The brief of these schemes is given at Annexure - I Under these Central Sector Schemes, there is no provision for state wise funds allocation.  Instead,  financial  assistance  is  released  directly  to  the  approved  cultural organizations and individual artists. The year-wise, scheme-wise funds released to the cultural  organizations  /  individual  artists  under  various  schemes  in  the  state  of  Tamil
- (b) Nadu during the last ten years are given at Annexure - II .
- (c) Under  'Global  Engagement  Scheme'  of  the  Ministry,  263  Troupes  with  2348 Artists  have  participated  in  'Festivals of  India'  abroad  during  the  last  ten  years.  Out  of these,  1  Troupe  with  3  Artists  from  Tamil  Nadu  was  deputed  to  perform  in  Festival  of India held in Russia (2018). In addition, 2 Troupes with 13 Artists, from Tamil Nadu, were deputed  to  perform  in  Freedom-70  events  held  in  Czech  Republic  (2017)  and  Spain (2017).

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## ANNEXURE - I

## Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 20 for 03.02.2025

## 1.  FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTION OF GURU-SHISHYA PARAMPARA (REPERTORY GRANT)

The  objective  of  this  scheme  component  is  to  provide  financial  support  for  all genres  of  performing  arts  activities  like  dramatic  groups,  theatre  groups,  music ensembles,  children  theatre  etc.  for  imparting  training  to  artists  by  their  respective Guru  on  regular  basis  in  line  with  Guru-Shishya  Parampara.  As  per  the  scheme, support is provided to 1 Guru and maximum 18 Shishyas in the field of theatre and 1 Guru  and  maximum  10  Shishyas  in  the  field  of  music  &  dance.  The Amount  of Assistance for Guru is Rs.15000/- per month and for Shishya, the same is Rs.200010000/-per month depending upon the age of artist.

## 2.  FINANCIAL  ASSISTANCE  FOR  PROMOTION  OF  ART  AND  CULTURE: This scheme has following sub-components:

## i. Financial Assistance to Cultural organizations with National Presence

To promote and support cultural organisations with national presence involved in promotion of art and culture throughout the country, this grant is given to such organisations that have a properly constituted managing body, registered in India; having  a  pan-India  character  with  national  presence  in  its  operation;  adequate working strength; and have spent 1 crore or more during any 3 of the last 5 years on cultural activities. The quantum of grant under this scheme is upto Rs. 1 crore which can be increased upto Rs. 5 crore in exceptional cases.

## ii. Cultural Function & Production Grant (CFPG)

The  objective  of  this  scheme  component  is  to  provide  financial  support  to NGOs/  Societies/  Trusts/  Universities  etc.  for  Seminars,  Conference,  Research, Workshops,  Festivals, Exhibitions, Symposia,  Production of  Dance,  DramaTheatre, Music etc.  The maximum grants provided under CFPG is Rs.5 Lakh for an organization which can be increased to Rs. 20.00 lakhs in exceptional cases

## iii. Financial  Assistance  for  the  Preservation  &  Development  of  Cultural Heritage of the Himalayas

The  objective  of  this  scheme  component  is  to  promote  and  preserve  the cultural  heritage  of  the  Himalayas  through  research,  training  and  dissemination through  audio  visual  programmes.  The  financial  support  is  provided  to  the organizations  in  the  States  falling  under  the  Himalayan  Region  i.e.  Jammu  & Kashmir,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand,  Sikkim  and  Arunachal  Pradesh.  The quantum of funding is upto Rs.10.00 lakhs per year for an organization which can be increased upto Rs.30.00 lakhs in exceptional cases.

## iv. Financial Assistance for the Preservation & Development of Buddhist/Tibetan Organization

Under this scheme component financial assistance is provided to the voluntary Buddhist/Tibetan organizations including Monasteries engaged in the propagation and scientific development of Buddhist/Tibetan Cultural and tradition and research in related fields. The quantum of funding is upto Rs. 30.00 lakhs per year for an organization which can be increased upto 1.00 crore in exceptional cases

## v. Financial Assistance for Building Grants including Studio Theatres

The  objective  of  this  scheme  component  is  to  provide  financial  support  to NGO, Trust, Societies, Govt. Sponsored bodies, University, College etc.  for creation of  Cultural  infrastructure  (i.e.  studio  theatre,  auditorium,  rehearsal  hall,  classroom etc.)  and  provision  of  facilities  like  electrical,  air  conditioning,  acoustics,  light  and sound systems etc.  Under this scheme component, the maximum amount of grant is Rs.50 Lakh in metro cities and Rs.25 Lakh in non- metro cities.

## vi. Domestic Festivals and Fairs

The objective of this scheme is to provide assistance for holding the 'Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs' organized by Ministry of Culture. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs (RSMs) are conducted through Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) where a large number of  artists  from  all  over  the  country  are  engaged  to  showcase  their  talents.  From November, 2015 onwards, fourteen (14) RSMs have been organized by Ministry of Culture  in  the  country.  During  last  three  years,  Rs.  38.67  Cr.  has  been  released under this scheme.

## 3.   FINANCIAL  ASSISTANCE  FOR  CONSTRUCTION  OF  TAGORE  CULTURAL COMPLEXES (TCC)

The aim of the scheme component is to provide financial support to NGO, Trust, Societies,  Govt.  Sponsored  bodies,  State  /  UT  Govt.  University,  Central/State  Govt. agencies/bodies,  Municipal  Corporations,  reputed  not-for-profit  organizations  etc.  for creation of new Large Cultural Spaces such as Auditorium with facilities and infrastructure for stage performances (dance, drama and music), exhibitions, seminars, literary  activities, green rooms, etc.  The Scheme component also provides support for restoration,  renovation,  extension,  alteration,  up-gradation,  modernization  of  existing cultural facilities (Rabindra Bhawans, Rangshalas) etc.  Under this scheme component, the financial assistance for any project will normally be up to a maximum of Rs. 15.00 crore. Central financial assistance would be 90% of the total approved project cost and remaining  10%  of  the  total  approved  project  cost  will  be  borne  by  the  recipient  State Govt./NGO or concerned organization for NER Projects and except NER, there is 60:40 ratio for central assistant and state share (matching share).

## 4.   SCHEME  OF  SCHOLARSHIP  AND  FELLOWSHIP  FOR  PROMOTION  OF  ART AND CULTURE: The scheme consists of following three components:

## i. Scheme for the Award of Fellowship to Outstanding Persons in the field of Culture

Upto 400 fellowships (200 Junior and 200 Senior) are awarded in a batch year to outstanding persons in the age group of 25 to 40 years (Jr.) and above 40 years (Sr.) in different cultural fields @ of Rs. 10,000/- p.m. and 20,000/-p.m. for the period of 2 years for cultural research. The Fellowship is released in four equal six-monthly instalments.

## ii. Scheme for Scholarships to Young Artistes in Different Cultural Fields

Upto  400  Scholarships  are  awarded  in  a  batch  year.  Under  this  scheme financial  assistance  is  given  to  young  artistes  of  outstanding  promise  in  the  age group  of  18-25  years  for  advanced  training  within  India  in  the  field  of  Indian Classical Music, Indian Classical Dance, Theatre, Mime, Visual art, Folk, Traditional and Indigenous Arts and Light Classical Music etc. @ Rs. 5,000/- p.m. for 2 years. The Scholarship is released in four equal six-monthly instalments.

## iii.  Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research

The purpose of the Scheme Component is to invigorate and revitalize the various institutions under the Ministry of Culture (MoC) and other identified cultural institutions  in  the  country,  by  encouraging  scholars/  academicians  to  affiliate themselves with these institutions to work on projects of mutual interest. Upto 15 Fellowships  (Rs.80,000/-  p.m.  +  Contingency  Allowance)  and  25  Scholarships (Rs.50,000/- p.m. + Contingency Allowance) for a maximum period of 2 Years. The Fellowship is released in four equal six monthly installments.

## 5.       FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR VETERAN ARTISTS

The  objective  of  this  Scheme  is  to  provide  financial  assistance  maximum  upto Rs.6.000/-  p.m.  to  the  old  artistes  and  scholars  aged  60  years  above  having  annual income not exceeding Rs.72,000/- who have contributed significantly in their specialized fields of arts, letters etc. In the event of death of the beneficiary, the financial assistance is transferred to his/her spouse.

## Annexure - II Annexure referred to in reply of part (b) of the Lok Sabha Starred

## Question No. 20 for 03.02.2025

(Rs. in lakhs)

|   Sl. No. | Name of the scheme                                                                | 2014-15   | 2015-16     | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   |   2020-21 | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|         1 | Financial Assistance for Promotion of Guru- Shishya Parampara (Repertory Grant)   | 83.28     | 67.32 31.74 |           | 59.76     | 14.40     | 26.59     |     49.54 | 17.28     | 108.6     | 143.02    |
|         2 | Cultural Function & Production Grant (CFPG)                                       | 37.00     | 31.00       | 35.56     | 41.37     | 38.03     | 14.58     |     46.15 | 34.84     | 18.87     | 10.73     |
|         3 | Financial Assistance for the Development of Buddhist/ Tibetan Culture & Art       |           |             |           |           | 5.00      | 0         |      5    | 5         | 5.00      | 10.00     |
|         4 | Tagore Cultural Complexes (TCC)                                                   | -         | -           | -         | -         | -         | -         |    596.43 | -         | -         |           |
|         5 | Building Grant including Studio Theatre                                           | 0         | 0           | 0         | 10        | 15        | 0         |      0    | 0         | 0         | 0         |
|         6 | Scheme For the Award of Fellowship to Outstanding Persons in The Field Of Culture | 5.40      | 12.60       | 34.2      | 25.2      | 15.00     | 6.00      |     13.8  | 45.60     | 24.60     | 15.00     |
|         7 | Scheme for Scholarships to Young Artistes in Different Cultural Fields            | 0.90      | 1.50        | 6.90      | 3.00      | 7.50      | 6.30      |      7.8  | 11.10     | 5.40      | 15.30     |
|         8 | Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research                                  | -         | 7.80        | 10.45     | -         | 9.05      | -         |      9.05 | -         | -         | -         |
|         9 | Financial Assistance for Veteran Artists                                          | -         | -           | -         | -         | 19.58     | 9.92      |      0.87 | 15.49     | 14.6      | 46.96     |

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