New Delhi, Mar 10
The Global Engagement Scheme of the Ministry of Culture aims to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage on the international stage and enhance the country’s global image. The scheme focuses on strengthening cultural ties with foreign nations, promoting bilateral cultural exchanges, projecting India’s cultural identity worldwide, and encouraging inbound tourism.
The scheme is administered through Indian Missions Abroad and includes three main components:
- Festival of India – This provides Indian artists an opportunity to perform abroad under the ‘Festival of India’ banner. Performances include folk music, dance, puppetry, theatre, classical and semi-classical music, traditional dance, and contemporary dance.
- Grant-in-Aid to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies – Financial support is provided to cultural societies in foreign countries through Indian Missions to foster closer friendship and cultural ties between India and other nations.
- Contribution Grant to International Organizations – India contributes funds to international cultural organizations of which it is a member. India is actively involved in UNESCO conventions, such as the World Heritage Convention (1972), the Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), and the Convention on Cultural Diversity (2005). India is also a part of organizations like ICCROM and WIPO.
The scheme does not include specific partnerships with institutions from any Indian state. Under the Festival of India component, the Government covers all expenses for artists performing abroad. The Ministry of Culture has empanelled 627 artists/groups across India, including 37 from Maharashtra. So far, seven artists/troupes from Maharashtra have performed in various Festivals of India in countries like Oman, Netherlands, Ghana, Venezuela, Vietnam, Qatar, and South Africa between 2016-2020.
This information was shared by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in Lok Sabha.
(Source: PIB)
