Financial Assistance For Allied Cultural Activities

About Financial Assistance For Allied Cultural Activities

The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, runs the “Financial Assistance for Allied Cultural Activities” scheme, a sub-component of “Financial Assistance for Building Grants Including Studio Theatres” itself part of the broader “Scheme of Financial Assistance for Creation of Cultural Infrastructure.” This sub-component funds the creation of assets that enhance the audio-visual experience of allied cultural activities, giving audiences a first-hand feel of live performances on a regular basis and at festivals — in open or closed venues that regularly draw large crowds of tourists and visitors, and where major events/festivals can swell attendance into the lakhs.

Sanction and Release of Grant:

1. Once a project proposal is approved, the Ministry informs the organization of its decision, spelling out the approved total project cost, the amount of assistance sanctioned, the organization’s matching-share amount, and other terms and conditions governing release of the sanctioned assistance. 2. The Ministry’s sanction letter for releasing the grant must clearly identify the equipment being funded, and must also specify that the same make/brand of equipment named in the original proposal, as approved by the Competent Authority, is to be purchased. 3. The sanctioned assistance is released in two installments, as follows: (1) First Installment: 60% of the sanctioned assistance is released as soon as the Ministry approves/sanctions the project proposal, with no further correspondence needed from the grantee organization. (2) Second and final Installment: The remaining 40% of the sanctioned grant is released once: (i) The grantee organization submits the following documents: (a) A physical and financial progress report on the equipment project, prepared by a Chartered Accountant, detailing the equipment bought, along with a self-attested invoice copy and colour photographs. (b) A Chartered Accountant’s certificate confirming that some or all of the listed equipment has been purchased using the approved cultural-equipment grant, that any remaining equipment will be bought after the next installment is received, and stating the value of equipment already purchased plus the additional amount needed to finish the project. (c) An audited statement of the project’s accounts, signed by a Chartered Accountant. (d) A Utilization Certificate on Form GFR12-A/GFR12-C from a Chartered Accountant confirming that the first installment has been fully utilised on the project. (e) A Chartered Accountant’s certificate confirming that the organization has spent 60% of its matching share. (ii) Officials from the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM)/National Science Centre (NSC)/Ministry of Culture have physically inspected the project and reported favourably on releasing further installments. Note: (i) Should the final funds required work out to less than the approved project cost, or should the organization’s spending of its matching share fall below 60% of the approved cost, the final installment will be reduced proportionately. (ii) Before-and-after photographs from the physical inspection report will be posted on the Ministry’s social media pages for public feedback. 4. Based on the Expert Committee’s recommendations, the meeting minutes are approved at the level of the Hon’ble Culture Minister (HCM).

Conditions of Grant:

1. The grantee organization must keep separate accounts for grants released by the Government of India. 2. Ministry of Culture representatives may inspect the accounts and project site at any time for verification. 3. Every equipment project must be finished within one year of the first installment’s release date. Missing this one-year window (excluding time taken for physical inspection once complete documentation is received from the grantee) means no further grant will be released and the claim lapses. 4. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, or his nominees, may audit the organization’s accounts at any time, at their discretion. 5. Within twelve months of the close of the financial year in which the grant or any installment was released, the grantee must submit to the Government of India an audited Statement of Accounts (certified by a Chartered Accountant) detailing expenditure on the approved project, plus a Utilization Certificate for the preceding year’s use of the grant. Missing this deadline may require the grantee to immediately refund the entire grant with interest at the Government of India’s prevailing borrowing rate, and failure to do so may lead to the organization being blacklisted from future Government grants/financial support. 6. The grantee must execute a bond, in the prescribed format, with two sureties (giving their full postal addresses and signatures) in favour of the President of India, undertaking that (i) it will meet the grant-in-aid conditions by the target dates; (ii) it will not divert the grant or hand over execution of the scheme/work to another institution or organization; and (iii) it will comply with any other conditions in the grants-in-aid agreement. Breach of the grant conditions or the bond makes the grantee and the bond’s signatories/sureties jointly and severally liable to refund the President of India the whole or part of the grant, with 10% annual interest, or the sum stated in the bond. 7. Quasi-Government Institutions, Central Autonomous Organizations, and Government-budget-approved Institutions are exempt from executing this bond. 8. The President of India holds the first lien on assets acquired with Central assistance, and such equipment cannot be leased or mortgaged to third parties without prior Government of India approval. 9. Assets bought wholly or largely with Government grants cannot be disposed of without prior approval from the sanctioning authority, except those declared obsolete, unserviceable, or condemned under General Financial Rules procedure. 10. Should the Government at any point be dissatisfied with how the grant or the facilities it funded are being used, it may demand a refund of the entire grant amount plus interest at the Government’s prevailing lending rate. 11. The grantee organization alone bears responsibility for any breach of local laws governing the equipment. 12. Grantee organizations must use audio-visual means to spread awareness of cleaning, conserving, and rejuvenating the River Ganga among visitors attending the cultural spectacle, and must also promote other Government of India social-sector programmes such as ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao.’ 13. NCSM will supply an e-platform for live-streaming the audio-visual spectacle funded under this scheme. 14. The Government of India may impose further conditions from time to time. 15. To close the case, the applicant must submit the following within 6 months of the close of the financial year in which the final installment was released: a) Self-attested invoice copies showing each item’s cost with applicable taxes paid. b) A project completion report from a Chartered Accountant. c) A Chartered Accountant’s certificate confirming the organization has spent its full matching share.