(a) whether the Government proposes to set up cultural centres in the entire country including Maharashtra for promotion of cultural heritage of India and its values among the youth; and
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR CULTURE AND
MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST & CLIMATE CHANGE
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) & (b) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 228 FOR 12TH MARCH, 2018
(a) & (b) To protect & preserve various forms of art and promotion of cultural heritage of India and its values among the youth throughout the country including Maharashtra, the Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur. These ZCCs organize cultural activities and programmes on regular basis all over India. Annual grant-in-aid is provided to these ZCCs by Government of India for carrying out their mandated activities.
To showcase and increase awareness among people regarding cultural heritage and values of India, the Ministry of Culture organized Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs (RSMs) at New Delhi during November, 2015 and October, 2016, at Varanasi during December, 2016, at Bengaluru & Tawang during March, 2017, at Gujarat during October, 2017, at Karnataka during January, 2018 and at Madhya Pradesh during February, 2018. A Sanskriti Mahotsav was also organized at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh during February, 2018.