Government Expands Cultural Outreach with Seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) Across India

To promote the cultural traditions, various forms of folk arts and songs of rural and tribal areas, the Government of India has set up seven (7) Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur. These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes throughout the year all over the country on regular basis for which annual grant-in-aid is provided to them. In this regard, these ZCCs also implement a number of schemes viz. Award to Young Talented Artistes, Guru Shishya Parampara, Theatre Rejuvenation, Research & Documentation, Shilpgram, Octave and National Cultural Exchange Programme to, inter-alia, promote the cultural traditions, folk arts and songs of rural and tribal areas which are vanishing in the country including Jharkhand.

The autonomous bodies of Ministry of Culture viz. Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) also conduct various activities such as Orientation Courses, Thematic Workshops, lecture demonstration, practical classes on Indian languages, tribal camps, research programmes/ activities/ events and tribal projects like cultural heritage, music & dance and art & craft to promote the cultural traditions, literature, folk arts and songs of rural and tribal areas.

Further, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India also provides financial support to its Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) in States/ UTs under “Support to TRI(s)” scheme for the projects/ activities undertaken by them for preservation and promotion of tribal culture, heritage and practices. MoTA also undertakes research studies/ publication of books/ documentation including audio visual documentaries for promotion of rich tribal cultural heritage which includes preservation of tribal culture.

While no State/ UT-wise funds are allocated, the grant-in-aid is released to all the ZCCs to organize various cultural activities and programmes throughout the country including Jharkhand. The funds released to all the ZCCs during the last three years are as under: