Financial Assistance to Cultural Organization with National Presence

Eligibility:

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 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 Rs.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 upto 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 upto 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.

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 authorize in the Ministry of Culture.
2. 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 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 balance of 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. 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 Genera of India at his discretion.
4. The Organization shall submit detailed break-up of expenditure utilized for Maintenance (Salary of staff, Office Expenses, Miscellaneous Expensed) and Constructions/Repairs/Extension/Restoration/Renovation of the Building of the Institute/Organistion/Culture focused on promotion of Art & Culture.
5. 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.

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. 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.
8. 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 school would be a mandatory requirement for release of 2nd installment”.

Quantum of Assistance:

An Organization would normally be given financial assistance amounting to Rs.1.00 crore. Further, the financial assistance by the Ministry would be limited to Rs.2.00 crores only. However, the amount may be enhanced upto Rs.5.00 crores in exceptional/deserving cases, with the approval of HCM. 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.)

Relaxation:

1. All such cultural organizations already receiving Grant-in-Aid under the Non-Plan Head shall be exempted to formally apply for grant from Plan Head under the provisions of the Schemes guildelines.
2. In exceptional cases Ministry of Culture reserves the right to relax any of the criteria of the guidelines on the recommendations of the Experts/Steering/Advisory Committee for the reasons recorded in writing.

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