SPREADING AWARENESS ABOUT INDIAN CULTURE AND HERITAGE AMONG YOUTHS

It has been the constant endeavor of Ministry of Culture to spread awareness about the Indian culture and heritage among all sections of the society including the youth of the country. Accordingly, the Ministry administers schemes for the youth viz. Scholarships to Young Artistes in Different Cultural Fields and Award of Fellowship to Outstanding Persons in the field of Culture, the details of which are as under:

1. 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 installments.
2. Scheme forAward 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 Rs. 20,000/-p.m. respectively for a period of 2 years for cultural research. The Fellowship is released in four equal six monthly installments.

Further, to protect, promote and preserve various forms of folk art, culture and heritage in the country, the Government of India has set up seven (7) Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur. These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes throughout the year all over the country on regular basis for which annual grant-in-aid is provided to them. Artists are engaged by ZCCs to showcase their talents in these cultural programmes/activities for which they are paid honorarium, DA/TA, boarding & lodging etc. Besides, all the seven ZCCs also implement a number of schemes viz. Award to Young Talented Artistes, Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme, Theatre Rejuvenation Scheme, Research & Documentation Scheme, Shilpgram Scheme, OCTAVE, J&K Festivals and National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP) to help artists.

Also to spread awareness about our culture and heritage among youth of the country, Ministry of Culture organizes Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs (RSMs) through these ZCCs where a large number of artists from all over India are engaged to showcase their talents during these Mahotsavs. From 2015 onwards, fourteen (14) RSMs and four (04) Zonal Level RSMs have been organized by Ministry of Culture across the country. These ZCCs also organize a minimum number of 42 Regional Festivals every year for development of art and culture.

The Ministry of Culture regularly provides cultural support to all Ministries/ Departments of Government of India including Ministry of Education for their various initiatives/ programmes. Therefore, no separate steps have been taken by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Ministry of Education to include chapters from our rich culture and heritage in the school curriculum.

This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.