indiaculture.nic.in Scheme for Promoting International Cultural Relations : Ministry of Culture

Organization : Ministry of Culture
Scheme Name : Scheme for Promoting International Cultural Relations
Country: India

Details : https://indiaculture.nic.in/
Home Page : http://indiaculture.nic.in/

Scheme for Promoting International Cultural Relations

The scheme component is for supporting the travel expenditure of artists to go abroad for seminars, research, workshops, festivals and exhibitions, etc. organized on different aspects of Indian Culture for performance/participation in countries abroad to showcase its rich and diverse culture that would help in further promotion of Indian culture abroad.

Related : Ministry of Culture Scheme for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage : www.statusin.in/21448.html

Target/Benefit :
** Financial Assistance for travel is proposed for supporting artistes to go abroad for cultural activities, seminars, research, workshops, festivals, exhibitions, etc. organized on different aspects of Indian Culture for performance/participation in countries abroad.
** The scheme is however, not meant for such organisations or institutions that are functioning as religious institutions.

Eligibility :
** Individuals and groups including ‘not-for-profit’ organizations like Societies, Trusts, NGOs and Universities.
** Individuals pursuing the activities in the field of culture for at least five years before date of application. They should have the UID number/Aadhar Card.
** Societies, Trusts, NGOs and Universities should be registered and have a properly constituted governing body and clearly laid down functional responsibilities/Memorandum of Association.
** Maximum 5 artists shall be covered in a group.
** Individuals/NGOs/institutions/trusts seeking grant will be eligible to obtain one grant in a financial year. In case, grant is received from any other Govt. Organisation/private institution during the current financial year, for the same activity, the request will not be considered.

Quantum of assistance :
** Reimbursement shall be made only on economy class air ticket subject to a ceiling of Rs. 75,000/- or actual air fare whichever is less subject to all other criteria being fulfilled.
** Only air fare shall be paid and no other expenditure like visa fees and registration fees shall be paid under this grant.
** Certificate from applicant of receipt/non receipt of financial assistance for the same purpose from any other government organization or private institution(s) is required.
** If receiving grant then the applicant shall furnish: (a) details thereof and (b) amount sanctioned, if any.
** Approval/Sanction letter for financial assistance will be issued before the onward journey.
** The actual payment will be made on re-imbursement basis after completion of journey and his/her return to India after participation in the event and on production of ticket, vouchers and boarding passes in original.
** Documents to be submitted after the trip shall be forwarded with the approval letter.

Application Process :

** Application will be decided on a case to case basis and on first-come-first serve as per budget availability.
** Application should be received three months in advance of the travel/event.
** The individual/Organisation desirous to apply for financial assistance under the Scheme will send the application in the prescribed format of the Ministry at Annexure-I and II as applicable.
** An advertisement will be placed annually both on the website of the Ministry of Culture as well as in the print media, applications may be made at any time during the financial year.
** The applications complete in all respects will be considered on a fixed date every quarter by a Committee which will be constituted under the Chairmanship of the Joint Secretary concerned to decide the applications/proposals received.

Ministry shall process only complete applications & inform the selected applicant of the final outcome before date of scheduled event, and thereafter the grant would be released on fulfilling the required formalities.

Documents to be attached with application. :
** In case of Individuals their curriculum vitae and a character certificate duly attested by Gazetted Officer.
** In case of applications by Institution/Organization/NGO the Constitution of the Organization and registration details, Organization prospects, Memorandum of Associations, Rules and Regulations of the Organization, Constitution of the Board/Management with particulars of each member.
** If applicant is a registered NGO, a copy of registration certificate with Govt. of India.

(Please note that in case any of these documents are in a vernacular language, the English or Hindi Version attested by a Gazetted Officer be attached with each document.)

** Report of activities in the field of culture undertaken in the past three years.
** Aadhar/UID No of individual to be sponsored shall have to be submitted.

** Statement of income and expenditure of the applicant or the organization and a copy of the balance-sheet for the previous three years certified by a Chartered Accountant or a Government Auditor. In case of applications from NGOs/Trusts, three years audit and annual reports along with three years activities in the field of culture should be submitted.

** Details of bank account to enable electronic transfer of sanctioned funds.
** Letter of invitation from host Organization to be routed through the Indian Missions abroad or letter of recommendation from the Indian Missions for participation in the event.
** In case applicant is an Organisation in the Ministry of Culture or the event is being organised by the Ministry of Culture the letter of invitation would not be required, however, this should be specifically mentioned in the application form.

** A brief description of the event for which the assistance is requested along with the duration, venue, probable or exact dates of travel. Approximate cost of the ticket may be mentioned if available. Applicants seeking assistance for seminar or conference should submit the paper they propose to present or a synopsis thereof.