Last updated: December 17th, 2019 5:02 PM

Financial Assistance to Cultural Organisations

The Ministry of Culture has allotted financial assistance to cultural organisations that have a national presence in India. A grant is provided for such cultural organisations to help them grow and contribute to the growth of cultural activities in India.

Objectives

• Provide financial assistance by covering all expenditure that has incurred every financial year
• Enhance the cultural heritage by preserving, promoting and protecting through cultural organisations
• Encourage cultural organisations to extend cultural contribution

Eligibility

• The organisation should have a fully functioning governing body or council. The duties and powers of the council need to be clearly stated in the form of a formal written constitution.
• Should have provisions, resources and facilities to initiate a project
• The organisation should be registered in India with all India Character with a national presence
• The activities of the organisation should be cultural in nature
• Should be able to conduct at least 20 cultural events or programme during the financial year
• The organisation needs to have sufficient volunteers or full-time employees to undertake events.
• The organisation needs to have spent at least Rs.1 crore or more during 3 of the last five years on cultural activities/events/programmes.

Financial Assistance

The Ministry of Culture provides Rs.1 crore, and it can be extended up to Rs.2 crores.

Under exceptional circumstances, the Ministry may grant up to Rs.5.00 crores.

The entire grant cannot be extended beyond 67% of the total project cost. 33% of the project cost needs to be borne by the cultural organisation.

Up to 25% of the government grant may be used for maintenance which includes:

• Office expenses
• Salary of staff
• Miscellaneous expenses
• Construction and repairs
• Extension and restoration

Up to 75% of the government grant may be used or payment towards Honorarium and other expenses incurred for showcasing an event. The events should have promoted culture and heritage. Research expenses can also be clubbed into this bracket of the grant.

Conditions

• The conditions for the release of the grant include:
• The grant is allotted based on the appraisal of the applications and proposals received from the Expert Advisory Committee. The administrative authorities from the Ministry of Culture shall approve the final grant.
• The grant is allotted in two instalments:

                   First Instalment: 75% is allotted when the project is approved

                   Second Instalment: 25% will be released when the Utilization Certificate is furnished based on the format as per GFR 19(e).

                   The grant expenditure should be approved by a CA

• The organisation needs to be open to inspections by authorities from the Ministry of Culture, State Government or the Government of India.
• A break-up of all expenditure needs to be submitted as stated in terms of the sanction.
• The grantee needs to maintain subsidiary accounts for all the details of the grant-in-aid received from the government, a cash book register, ledgers, and other financial documents. Details of all assets acquired using the grant money need to be recorded as well.
• If the government feels that the sanctioned money is not being used judiciously, the sanction can be withdrawn.
• The organisation needs to be economical with its expenses.
• A quarterly progress report detailing all events and projects needs to be furnished.
• Applications with pending utilisation certificate/grant certificates will be rejected.
• The organisation must conduct at least two cultural events at the nearby schools. The event shall be part of the second instalment. The Principal of the school must have provided a certificate, which shall be added to the document for claiming the second instalment.

Application Procedure

• Application form should be submitted, which can be downloaded from the Ministry of Culture portal
• The organisation must attach a recommendation letter from the Central Government, State Government, UT Administration, Cultural Department the, Zonal Cultural Centers, Ministry of Culture, National Schools of Drama, National Academies, Sangeet Natak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Indra Gandhi National Centre of the Arts (IGCNA) or Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT)
• Attach the documents as required by the guidelines

Documents Required

• Copy of documents related to the constitution of the board and all the members
• Copy of Annual Report
• DPR
• Income Tax Returns