Lok Sabha Question No. 2144 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-09
Subject: Scheme for Financial Assistance to Veteran Artists
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Shri Anto Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.2144 ANSWERED ON 09.12.2024

## 'SCHEME FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO VETERAN ARTISTS'

## 2144. Shri Anto Antony:

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

- (a) the total amount allocated for the Scheme for Financial Assistance to Veteran Artists this year, and how much has been disbursed so far;
- (b) the  number  of  veteran  artists  who  have  benefited  from  this  scheme  over  the  past  five years, with a year-wise breakdown;
- (c) the current number of pending applications for financial assistance under the said scheme; and
- (d) the percentage of total applicants approved for assistance under the said scheme during the last five years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM

## (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

- (a) The  funds  allocated  for  'Scheme  for  Financial  Assistance  to  Veteran  Artists'  under  BE 2024-25 and amount disbursed so far is given below:

(in Cr.)

|   Funds Allocated |   Amount Disbursed |
|-------------------|--------------------|
|                26 |              14.31 |

- (b) The number of veteran artists benefited under the scheme during the last five years is given below:
- (c) Release of financial assistance to the selected artists depends on the submission of certain mandatory  documents  such  as,  Digital  Life  Certificate  (DLC)  once  in  a  year,  annual income certificate once in every five years, documents showing receipt of artist pension, if any,  from  the  concerned  State  Government/UT  Administration.  Once  the  requisite mandatory documents are received from them, which is a continuous process throughout the year, all efforts are made to disburse the financial assistance expeditiously.
- (d) As per the scheme guidelines, applications found complete in the preliminary scrutiny are placed  before  the  Expert  Committee  for  evaluation  and  recommendation  on  its  merits. During  the  last  five  years,  the  percentage  of  applications  approved  out  of  the  complete applications is given below:

| Financial Year   |   Number of Veteran Artists benefited |
|------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2019-20          |                                  3188 |
| 2020-21          |                                  2000 |
| 2021-22          |                                  3029 |
| 2022-23          |                                  3651 |
| 2023-24          |                                  3811 |

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year   |   Numbers of complete applications |   Applications approved |   Percentage of application approved |
|-----------|------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|         1 | 2019-20          |                               1208 |                     411 |                                   34 |
|         2 | 2020-21          |                               2603 |                    1821 |                                   70 |
|         3 | 2021-22          |                               2737 |                    2251 |                                   82 |
|         4 | 2022-23          |                               2179 |                    1150 |                                   53 |
|         5 | 2023-24          |                               1868 |                     355 |                                   19 |

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