Financial Assistance For Allied Cultural Activities
State: Central
Ministry: Ministry Of Culture
Department: null
Category: Sports & Culture
Beneficiary Type: NGO, Registered Societies

The scheme provide financial assistance for creating infrastructure and assets that enhance audio-visual experiences for cultural activities, enabling regular live performances and festivals at locations that attract large numbers of tourists and visitors.

Benefits:
1. Maximum assistance under the scheme component, including applicable duties &amp;amp; taxes and also Operation &amp;amp; Maintenance (O&amp;amp;M) costing for five years, will be as under:
(i) **Audio:** ₹100 Lakh; (ii) **Audio+Video:** ₹150 Lakh
2. All grants under the scheme will be of a non-recurring nature. Recurring expenditures, if any, will be the responsibility of the grantee organization.
3. Assistance under this component to an organization will be restricted to a maximum of 90% (including taxes and duties) of the approved estimated project cost along with five years of O&amp;amp;M costs, within the prescribed monetary ceiling. The balance of the approved estimated project cost is to be incurred by the organization as its ‘matching share’.
**Note:** While indicating the cost estimate of the equipment, the applicant organization will have to separately specify the duties &amp;amp; taxes and O&amp;amp;M costs for five years.

Eligibility:
**Eligible Projects:**
Grants will be given to projects for procurement of audio-video equipment, which will include: Microphone, Transmitter, Power conditioner, Audio Mixer, Live Encoder, Router, Streaming Transceiver, Broadcast quality video cameras, Hyper Cardioid Microphones, Digital Mixer, Audio Delay Device, Amplifiers, Line Array Speakers, Network Switch, LED Display Controller, Audio De-Embedder, etc.
**Eligible Organisations:**

   1. All not-for-profit organizations who are engaged for at least for past three years in presenting the spectacle for allied cultural activities to give first-hand experience of live performances on a regular basis and during festivals in open/closed areas/spaces where large numbers of tourists/visitors come regularly and during major events/festivals the number of visitors swells to lakhs and shall also fulfill the following criteria will be eligible:

  - The organization is registered as a society under the Registration of Societies Act (XXI of 1860) or similar Acts, or as a Trust or as a Not-for-Profit Company, at least for a period of three years; and
  - The applicant organization will submit a recommendation letter in the prescribed format ([Annexure-I](https://indiaculture.gov.in/sites/default/files/Schemes/Sub_component_1B_SCHEME_31_01_2019.pdf)) from the District Authority (District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner) in this regard Or State Governments/Union Territories/District Authorities.

Application Process:
[Offline]
Application Process:
Step 01: Applications are invited for Central financial assistance from not-for-profit organizations who are engaged at least for the past three years in the desired allied cultural activities/State Governments/Union Territories/District Authorities under the scheme who fulfills the eligibility criteria prescribed in the guidelines of the scheme sub-component.
Step 02: National Science Centre (NSC) under the Ministry of Culture will notify the scheme sub-component through its website/Ministry’s website: http://nscd.gov.in & https://indiaculture.nic.in
Step 03: Duly filled applications in the prescribed proforma along with the checklist and all the requisite enclosures would have to be sent by email to director@nscd.gov.in/ nscdl01@gmail.com or any valid medium of communication to “The Director, National Science Centre, Near Gate No. 1, Bhairon Road, Pragati Maidan, New Delh-110001.”
Note 01: All relevant documents must accompany the application.
Note 02: All registered not-for-profit organizations that want to apply under the scheme component are required to first sign up/register with NGO Darpan Portal: https://ngodarpan.gov.in/ and obtain Unique ID No.
Note 03: All entries in the application form should be legible and filled in clearly.
Note 04: Each page of the application and enclosures should be serially numbered and signed by the authorized signatory of the organization. Further, the page number of the relevant document should clearly be indicated on the checklist.
Note 05: It may be noted that incomplete applications and applications without the necessary enclosures as mentioned in the application form will not be entertained, in any respect. Applications, duly filled in and supported by all the required documents, would be taken up for consideration by the Expert Committee.
Evaluation Process:
Step 01: All applications received by the National Science Centre (NSC), New Delhi will be scrutinized for completeness as per the requirements of the Scheme sub-component as mentioned in the Checklist of the application form. Applications that are incomplete (without requisite documents) will not be processed further for evaluation by the Expert Committee. Deficiencies in the application will be intimated by NSC, New Delhi to the applicant organizations under intimation to the Performing Arts Section, Ministry of Culture.
Step 02: Technical appraisal of the equipment for which financial assistance is sought shall be done by National Science Centre (NSC), New Delhi.
Step 03: There will be an Expert Committee constituted under the Chairpersonship of Joint Secretary (P.Arts), Ministry of Culture to evaluate the applications received under the scheme subcomponent. Director, NSC, New Delhi, and Director General, NCSM, Kolkata, or his representative/nominee will be Members whereas Director/Deputy Secretary (P.Arts) will be the Member Secretary of the Committee.
Step 04: Applications complete in all respects will be taken up for consideration by the Expert Committee, which will meet from time to time during the year, depending on the number of applications received for the grant.
Step 05: The Expert Committee will evaluate each project proposal on its merit, with specific reference to the following:
(a) Whether the applicant organization is well established in the field and has got an identity of its own;
(b) Whether the proposal is well-conceived;
(c) Financial appraisal of the project whether the cost estimates are reasonable; and
(d) Whether the organization has the capacity or has made arrangements to bring in its matching share to complete the project.
Step 06: As far as possible the proposals will be considered and recommended keeping in view the geographical spread of the country.

Documents Required:
The application should be accompanied by the following documents:
1. Project Report/Proposal which will include–
(a) Organization’s profile containing a description of the organization, its strengths, achievements, and year-wise details of its activities over the last 3 years.
(b) Description of the project/proposal including its rationale/ justification. (The grantee must submit a proposal with branded equipment.)
(c) Summary of the cost estimates. (The cost of the equipment should be arrived after calling for a sufficient number of quotations of the same brand of equipment from different suppliers and the same should be part of the proposal.)
(d) Sources of finance/funds for matching shares.
(e) Time schedule for completion of the project, and
(f) Indicate post-completion plan how the organization will manage the operation and maintenance of the facility created through the project and meet the recurring maintenance/ operational costs.
2. Copy of the Certificate of Registration under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or other relevant Acts in respect of the applicant organization.
3. Copy of the Memorandum of Association (or Trust Deed) of the organization including Rules & Regulations, if any.
4. List of present members of the Board of Management/Office Bearers/Trustees with the name & address of each member.
5. Copies of Annual Accounts (Income & Expenditure Statement, Statement of Receipt & Payment, and Balance Sheet) for the last three financial years (duly certified/audited by a Chartered Accountant or Government Auditor).
6. Copies of the last three year’s Income Tax Assessment Orders, where applicable.
7. Documentary evidence in support of the claim that the organization has secured or made arrangements to secure its
matching share e.g. a bank statement, loan sanction letter, letter of the State Government/Union Territory Administration/ Local Body, etc. sanctioning funds for the project.
8. Resolution (in the prescribed format) of the Board of Management/Executive Board/ Governing Body of the organization authorizing a person to sign the application for the grant, bond, etc. on behalf of the organization.
9. A Bond (in the prescribed format) for the assistance sought, on a stamp paper of the prescribed denomination.
10. Copy of active Unique ID Number obtained from NGO Darpan Portal.
11. Copy of the PAN Card of the grantee organization, where applicable.
12. A Bank Authorization letter (in the prescribed format) showing ECS details of the Bank Account of the organization, which should be duly verified by the Bank Manager of the concerned Bank.
13. (i) The organization will submit a recommendation letter in the prescribed format (Annexure-I) from the District Authority (District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner) in respect of the proposal and also a certificate indicating that the applicant organization is involved in the activities in the field of objectives.
(ii) An undertaking will also be required from the applicant (Annexure-II) to the effect that they will follow the norms prescribed under “The Noise Pollution (Regulation And Control) Rules, 2000” issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and also the orders dated 18.7.2005 of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in W.P. (C) No. 72 of 1998, with Civil Appeal No. 3735 of 2005 (arising out of SLP (C) No. 21851/2003). In case of violation of these provisions, the grantee organization will solely be held responsible.
14. An undertaking (Annexure-II) that the equipment project will be completed by the grantee organization within a period of one year from the date of release of the 1st installment. If the project is not completed within the prescribed period of one year, no further grant shall be released to the organization and the claim will become time-barred.
Note:
(a) The applicant organizations are free to attach any other document they may wish to submit in support of their proposal (e.g. Annual Reports, Press clippings/ reviews, award letters, affiliation letters, etc.).
(b) Wherever the documents are in a regional language, an English or Hindi version must also be made available. Wherever copies of certain documents are being submitted, the same should be duly attested by a Gazetted Officer or Notary Public.
(c) For proposals from State Governments/Union Territories or District Authorities that are dedicated to the allied cultural activities, out of the documents specified in clauses nos. 1 to 14 above, only such documents as are relevant to the applicant organization will need to be provided.