Museum Grant Scheme

The Museum Grant Scheme under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, provides financial assistance for setting up new museums and strengthening and modernizing existing ones at regional, state, and district levels. The scheme also promotes digitization of museum collections to make images and catalogues accessible online and focuses on capacity building of museum professionals. It supports institutions such as Central and State Governments, Public Sector Undertakings, Societies, Autonomous Bodies, Local Bodies, Academic Institutions, and Trusts registered under the Societies Act.
Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for establishing and developing museums, digitizing art objects, and training museum professionals. It covers a wide range of museums, including those with collections of antiquities, numismatics, paintings, ethnological objects, folk art, textiles, stamps, and other art and craft items, as well as online virtual museums, theme-based museums, Virtual Experiential Museums (VEM), and projects of national importance. For effective implementation, a Project Monitoring Committee reviews progress, and beneficiary museums must submit annual visitor (footfall) data for five years after project completion.
Monitoring
The museums granted financial assistance under the scheme would be required to send yearly footfall in the museums for 5 years after the completion of the project. A Project Monitoring Committee/cell constituted in the Ministry will periodically monitor and review the progress of the scheme for its effective implementation.
Scheme Components

1. The Scheme will have 3 components as given below :
2. Development and Establishment of Museums at the regional, state and District level
3. Digitization of Museum Collections
4. Capacity building and training of Museum Professionals

The financial assistance will be provided to the museums in the following way :
Category IMaximum Amount of financial assistance (₹ In Crores)Category I15Category II****Maximum Amount of financial assistance (₹ In Crores)Setting up of New Museums10Development of Existing Museums8Category IIIMaximum Amount of financial assistance (₹ In Crores)Setting up of New Museums5Development of Existing Museums4Digitization Component
Category****Max Grant AmountCategory I₹50 LakhCategory II₹25 LakhTraining & Capacity Building Component
Category****Max Grant AmountCategory I₹30 LakhCategory II₹25 Lakh

The applicant should belong to Category I, II, or III as defined:

• Category I: Central or State Government-owned museums in state capitals, including Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) museums.
• Category II: Central or State Government-owned museums, including PSU museums, not necessarily in state capitals.
• Category III: All other museums, including PSU museums.

1. The applicant should be located in the capital of the state or union territory (for certain categories).
2. The applicant should have a significant collection of historical or cultural objects/artifacts.
3. The applicant should be a museum of high repute in its region.
4. The applicant should have an annual footfall of at least 1 lakh visitors per year in the preceding two years.
5. The applicant should have been in existence for at least three years prior to application.
6. Note: This requirement may be relaxed in exceptional cases, with written justification by the Expert Committee.
7. The applicant should have a well-defined constitution and laid-down rules/bye-laws for functioning.
8. The applicant should not be run for personal profit.
9. The applicant should own and possess a substantial collection of objects for display.
10. The applicant should be able to maintain the museum and bear all recurring costs, including utilities, maintenance, and staff.
11. The applicant should have adequate infrastructure, resources, and trained personnel to execute the work for which the grant is requested.
12. The applicant should provide a certificate from the State Government (Department of Culture or equivalent) attesting to satisfactory performance.
13. The applicant should own the land where the museum is situated or proposed to be constructed.
14. The applicant should ensure that the land and museum are easily accessible to visitors.
15. The applicant should be eligible for funding for construction of new museum buildings or galleries.

Offline

Step 1: The applicant should submit Form, annexures, and Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Ministry of Culture, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
Step 2: The application is scrutinized by the Expert Committee and approved by Secretary (Culture).
Step 3: installments are released by the Joint Secretary; the final installment is paid after physical inspection and submission of required documents.