Scheme For Award Of Senior/Junior Fellowships To Outstanding Persons In The Fields Of Culture
Category: Sports & Culture
Level: Central | State: All
Ministry: Ministry Of Culture

Details:
The scheme “Scheme for Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the Fields of Culture” was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The objective of the scheme is to provide facilities and opportunities to the artists in the fields of creative arts or for the revival of some of our traditional forms of art. The scheme would also cover artistes in rural/tribal areas. The fellowships are awarded for undertaking research oriented projects.
       Under this Scheme, a maximum of 200 Junior and Senior Fellows are selected every year. Awardees are paid grant money @ ₹10,000/- and ₹20,000/- per month respectively for a period of two years. The focus of this scheme is on “in-depth study/research” in various facets of culture. These include new emerging areas of Cultural Studies.
**Fields/Area:**
1.	Senior/Junior Fellowships in the Field of Performing, Literary and Plastic Arts.
•	Performing Arts ( Music/Dance/Theatre/Folk Traditional &amp; Indigenous Arts including Puppetry)
•	Literary Arts (Travelogue/History &amp; Theory of Literature)
•	Plastic Arts (Graphics/Sculpture/Painting including Folk Paintings and Research Work on Traditional Paintings/Creative Photography)
2.	Senior/Junior Fellowships in the New Areas related to Culture: In the ‘New Areas related to culture’, projects are sought in the following fields :
•	Indology
•	Epigraphy
•	Sociology of Culture
•	Cultural Economics
•	Structural and Engineering Aspects of Monuments
•	Numismatics
•	Scientific and Technical aspects of Conservation
•	Management aspects of Art and Heritage
•	Studies relating to application of Science and technology in areas related to culture and creativity.
The objective is to encourage analytical application of new research techniques, technological and management principles to contemporary issues in areas related to art and culture. General and theoretical macro-studies will not be considered. The proposal should be innovative and application-oriented and preferably interdisciplinary in nature.

Benefits:
Under this Scheme 200 of each of the Junior and Senior Fellows are selected every year.
The stipend of ₹20,000/- per month will be given to each artist under the senior fellowships for a period of two years in the age group of above 40 years.
The stipend of ₹10,000/- per month will be given to each artist under the junior fellowships for a period of two years in the age group of 25-40 years.
In addition, there could be a one-time grant up to a maximum of ₹20,000/- or 50% of the cost of the publication, whichever is less, for the publication of selected Project documents. This will be restricted to 20% of the awardees.
Note:
 The fellowships are awarded for undertaking research-oriented projects. The applicant should provide evidence of his/her capabilities in undertaking the project.

Eligibility Criteria:
1. The age of the applicant should be above 40 years for applying under senior fellowships.
   1. The age of the applicant should be between 25-40 years for applying under junior fellowships.
   1. Graduation is the minimum educational qualification for applicants in the fields/areas mentioned in the scheme guideline.
   1. Applicants for senior fellowship should not be the recipient of pension from the Ministry of Culture under the scheme for grant of financial assistance to artists in indigent circumstances.
   1. An applicant should not have availed of the same fellowship earlier. However, an applicant who had been awarded a Junior Fellowship can apply for a Senior Fellowship, provided 5 years have elapsed after the closure of the earlier project.

**Note 01:** The age of the applicant will be reckoned as of 1st April of the year.
**Note 02:** Under the Senior and Junior Fellowships, the awardees will submit a six-monthly progress report. In cases where such reports are not received timely, the Ministry may withhold further releases of the Fellowship amount.
**Note 03:** The selected candidates will have to undertake academic or application-oriented research work on projects for which they have been awarded the Fellowship. They will complete their Projects within two years and submit the same to the Ministry. Extension of time by a maximum of three months will be permissible without any additional financial liability to the Government.
**Note 04:** A mid-term review/assessment of performance in each case will be carried out after one year and further continuance of Fellowship will depend on such review/assessment.