The ministry of culture has issued guidelines to conduct events in virtual mode to help artistes/organisations who have already been sanctioned grants under various scheme components of Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY).

There has been a substantial impact on the performing arts and cultural sector with in-person exhibitions, events, and performances either cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

However, there were intensive efforts by the artistes and the institutions of the ministry of culture to provide alternative or additional services through digital platforms with proper documentation of the events. 

The guidelines will ensure continued financial assistance to artistes and help them tide over the present crisis.

Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana

The ministry of culture is implementing Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) through which cultural organisations are given financial assistance for the promotion of art and culture. 

It is an umbrella scheme consisting of a number of schemes.

KSVY has following sub-schemes:

1. Scheme of Financial Assistance for Promotion of Art and Culture.

2. Scheme of Financial Assistance for Creation of Cultural Infrastructure.

3. Scheme for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

There are sub-components for these schemes. 

1. Scheme of Financial Assistance for Promotion of Art and Culture: 

It consists of five components. 

• Repertory Grant: The objective of Repertory Grant scheme component is to provide financial support for all genres of performing arts activities like dramatic groups, theatre groups, music ensembles, children theatre etc and imparting training of artists by their respective guru on regular basis in line with ‘Guru Shishya Parampara’. 

Amount of assistance – For guru Rs 10,000 and for shishya Rs 1,000-6,000.

• Financial assistance to cultural organisations with national presence: The objective is to provide support for cultural activities at large scale on national/international level.

Amount of assistance – Grant of Rs 2 crore (Rs 5 crore under exceptional/deserving cases).

• Cultural function and production grant (CFPG): The objective is to provide financial support to NGOs/societies/trusts/universities, etc for seminars, conference, research, workshops, festivals, exhibitions, symposia, production of dance, drama-theatre, music, etc. 

The grant provided under CFPG is Rs 5 lakh (Rs 20 lakh under exceptional circumstances).

• Financial assistance for the preservation and development of cultural heritage of the Himalayas: The objective 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 organisations in the states falling under the Himalayan Region — Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. 

The quantum of funding is Rs 10 lakh per year for an organisation which can be increased to Rs 30 lakh in exceptional cases.

• Financial assistance for the preservation and development of Buddhist/Tibetan organisation: Under this scheme component, financial assistance is provided to the voluntary Buddhist/Tibetan organisations including monasteries engaged in the propagation and scientific development of Buddhist/Tibetan cultural and tradition and research in related fields. 

The quantum of funding under scheme component is Rs 30 lakh per year for an organisation which can be increased to Rs 1 crore in exceptional cases.

2. Scheme of Financial Assistance for Creation of Cultural Infrastructure

There are three sub-components under this scheme.

• Financial assistance for building grants including studio theatres: The objective is to provide financial support to NGOs, trusts, societies, government sponsored bodies, universities, college, etc for creation of cultural infrastructure (studio theatre, auditorium, rehearsal hall, classroom, etc) and provision of facilities like electrical, air conditioning, acoustics, light and sound systems, etc. It also provides support for purchase of musical equipment, costumes, AV equipment, furniture etc. 

The maximum amount of grant is up to Rs 50 lakh in metro cities and up to Rs 25 lakh in non- metro cities.

• Financial assistance for allied cultural activities: The objective is to provide financial assistance to all eligible organisations for creation of assets for enhancing the audio-visual spectacle for allied cultural activities to give first-hand experience of live performances on 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. Grants will be given to projects for procurement of audio-video equipment, etc.

Maximum assistance under the scheme component, including applicable duties and taxes and also operation & maintenance (O&M) costing for five years are categorised as - Rs 1 crore for audio and Rs 1.50 crore for audio+video. 

• Financial assistance for tagore cultural complexes (TCC): The aim of the scheme component is to provide financial support to NGO, trust, societies, government sponsored bodies, states/UTs, universities, central/state government agencies/bodies, municipal corporations, reputed not-for-profit organisations, 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. It also provides support for restoration, renovation, extension, alteration, upgradation, modernisation of existing cultural facilities (Rabindra Bhawans, Rangshalas, multipurpose cultural complexes), etc. 

The amount of grant is up to Rs 15 crore (Rs 50 crore under exceptional circumstances).

3. Scheme for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage

This scheme was launched for safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage and diverse cultural traditions of the country with the objective of reinvigorating and revitalizing various institutions, groups, NGOs, etc, so that they may engage in activities/projects for strengthening, protecting, preserving and promoting the rich intangible cultural heritage of India.

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