Zonal Cultural Centres to promote traditional, folk art

New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) In an attempt to protect, preserve and promote various forms of traditional art and folk art, the government has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCC) across the country, said the Ministry of Culture on Monday.

With headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur, the initiative would implement a number of schemes such as 'Award to Young Talented Artistes', 'Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme', 'Theatre Rejuvenation Scheme', 'Research and Documentation Scheme', 'Shilpgram Scheme', 'Octave' and 'J&K Festivals and National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP)'," said a ministry statement.

According to the statement, an annual grant-in-aid is provided to all these seven ZCCs for carrying out various cultural activities throughout the country for this purpose.

The ministry also told that the government has taken a number of initiatives to disseminate Indian culture across the world by signing multilateral and bilateral agreements.

"Various activities taken up in the financial year 2016-17 include holding of 'Festival of India' in 18 countries, sanction of an amount of Rs 11.56 crore to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies in foreign countries," the statement mentioned.

The ministry further added that the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) which is also mandated to foster and strengthen cultural relations with other countries has sponsored 166 groups from India during the last one year to 88 countries.

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