Financial Assistance To Cultural Organizations With National Presence

The scheme “Financial Assistance to Cultural Organizations with National Presence” was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The objective of the scheme component is to provide financial assistance to Cultural Organizations with National Presence to meet the expenditure to be incurred on conducting the cultural programmes/festivals.
Mode and Conditions for Release of Grant:

1. The grant shall be given based on the appraisal of applications/proposals received under the scheme by the Expert Advisory Committee and thereafter by the administrative authority in the Ministry of Culture.
2. The grant will be paid in two installments (i.e. 75% & 25%), the first being released at the time of approval of the project. The second installment will be released on receipt of the Utilization Certificate in the proper format [as per GFR-19(e), duly audited statement of accounts showing the utilization of the entire amount of grant plus the share of the grantee and other documents certified by a Chartered Accountant. The release of the balance of the grant will be decided on the basis of the actual expenditure incurred on the project subject to the maximum limit of the grant sanctioned.
3. An Organization in receipt of financial assistance under the Scheme shall be open to inspection by an officer/representative authorized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, or the State Government concerned.
4. The accounts of the project shall be maintained properly and separately and submitted to the Government of India as and when required and will be subject to check by an officer of the Central Government or the State Government or by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India at his discretion.
5. The Organization shall submit a detailed break-up of expenditures utilized for Maintenance (Salary of staff, Office Expenses, Miscellaneous Expensed) and Construction/ Repairs/ Extension/ Restoration/ Renovation of the Building of the Institute/ Organisation/ Culture focused on the promotion of Art & Culture.
6. The Organization shall maintain a record of all assets acquired wholly or substantially out of the Central Government grant and shall not dispose of or encumber or utilize for purposes other than those for which the grant was given without prior written approval of the Government of India.
7. If at any time, the Government of India has reason to believe that the sanctioned money is not being utilized for approved purposes, the payment of the grant may be stopped and the earlier grants recovered.
8. The Organization must exercise reasonable economy in the working of the approved project.
9. The grantee Organization shall furnish to the Ministry of Culture a quarterly progress report of the project indicating in detail both the physical achievements and the expenditure incurred on each of the approved items separately.
10. Applications against which a previous grant/Utilization Certificate is pending will not be considered.
11. The Organizations should mandatorily organize at least 02 activities (function, lecture, seminar, workshop, exhibition, etc.) in any of the schools in their vicinity. A certificate to this effect from the Principal of the school would be a mandatory requirement for the release of 2nd installment”.
12. The grantee shall maintain:

• Subsidiary accounts of the grant-in-aid received from the Government
• Cash book Register in hand-written bound book duly machine numbered.
• Grant-in-aid Register for the grant received from the Government and other agencies.
• Separate ledgers for each item of expenditure like construction of hostel building, etc.

Accounting Procedures: Separate accounts shall be maintained in regard to the grants released by the Central Government

1. The Accounts of the grantee organization shall be open to audit at any time by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or his nominee at his discretion.
2. The grantee Organization shall submit to the Government of India, a Statement of Accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant stating the expenditure incurred on the approved project and indicating the Utilization of the Government grant in the preceding years. If the Utilization Certificate is not submitted within the prescribed period, the grantee shall arrange to refund immediately the whole amount of the grant received together with interest thereon at the prevailing borrowing rate of the Government of India unless specially exempted by the Government.
3. The grantee Organization will be open to a review by the Government of India, Ministry of Culture by appointing a committee or in any other manner decided by the Government as and when deemed necessary by the Government.
4. The grantee Organization shall not invite foreign delegations (being invited in connection with the events financially supported by the scheme of the Ministry of Culture) without obtaining permission from the Ministry of External Affairs, the application for which shall be routed through the Ministry of Culture.
5. It will be subjected to such other conditions as may be imposed by the Government from time to time.

1. An Organization would normally be given financial assistance amounting to ₹1.00 crore.
2. The financial assistance by the Ministry would be limited to ₹2.00 crores only. However, the amount may be enhanced up to ₹5.00 crores in exceptional/deserving cases, with the approval of HCM.
3. Assistance under the scheme to an Organization will be restricted to a maximum of 67% of the approved cost, subject to the ceilings given above. The balance 33% of the approved cost is to be incurred by the Organization as its ‘matching share’ (other than the contribution by State/UT Government/Union Ministries/PSUs/Universities etc.)

1. The applicant Organization should, in order to qualify for grant, have a properly constituted managing body or governing body or governing council with its powers, duties and responsibilities clearly defined and laid down in the form of a written constitution.
2. It should have facilities, resources, personnel and experience to take up the project for which grant is required.
3. The Applicant Organization should be registered in India having an all India Character with national presence and should have operational presence at national/international level.
4. The activities of the organization should be primarily or significantly cultural.
5. The Organization should have capacity to do at least 20 events/programmes in a year.
6. The Organization should have adequate working strength artistes/staff/volunteers.
7. The Organization should have spent ₹1 crore or more during 3 of the last 5 years on cultural activities.
8. Financial assistance will be given for all or any of the items listed below:

• Normally up to 25% of total Govt. grant may be utilized for Maintenance (Salary of staff, Office Expenses, Miscellaneous Expenses) and Construction/Repairs/Extension/Restoration/Renovation of the Building of the Institute/Organization/Culture focused on promotion of Art & Culture.
• Normally up to 75% of the total Govt. grant should in any case be utilized for Payment of Honorarium and other miscellaneous expenses on showcasing/production of events important to the preservation or promotion of cultural heritage and arts including Research Projects on promotion of Art & Culture.

Offline

Step 01: Advertisement to call applications from eligible organizations will be uploaded on the official website of the Ministry of Culture.
Step 02: The eligible applicant organizations should submit two copies of the applications, complete in all respect at the address mentioned below: Section Officer (P. Arts. I), Room No.205, 2nd Floor, ‘D’ – Block, Puratatva Bhawan, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi-110023
Note 01: Each and every page of the application and enclosures must be signed by the authorized signatory & stamped with the seal of the organization.
Note 02: Cultural organizations must submit their two copies of applications/proposals in two separate file covers.
Note 03: All papers of the applications/proposals must be page numbered (on the top right-hand corner) in a back-to-back fashion.
Note 04: The applicant cultural organizations must attach an Index on top of the application/proposal clearly showing the page number at which various required documents, etc. are placed in the application/proposal.
Note 05: The applications duly filed in prescribed Pro forma should be recommended by the Cultural Department/Wing of the concerned Central Government/State Government/UT Administration or any of the Zonal Cultural Centers of the Ministry of Culture/National Academies including National School of Drama(NSD), Sangeet Natak Academy(SNA), Lalit Kala Akademy(LKA), CCRT, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts(IGCNA) and bodies of similar stature and should be routed through these Organizations only. However, the Ministry of Culture will have the discretion to entertain an application directly.
Note 06: Canvassing by the applicant organizations in any form will be a disqualification for financial assistance.