Culture ministry out with list of 1 crore artistes

The Ministry of Culture has come up with a repository of one crore artistes after collecting data from across the country over two years.
The government started a database of art forms and artistes in May 2015 to streamline financial grant schemes under the ministry.
Under the initiative, a web portal was developed (culturemapping.Nic.In) for the collection of online data on painters, musicians, actors, dancers and others. The data was collected from the states as well as from artistes and cultural organisations, a ministry official said.
The portal will serve as an artistes' repository and will help in the granting of financial aid under various culture ministry schemes.

A sub-scheme -- the National Mission on Cultural Mapping and Roadmap -- with a financial outlay of Rs 469.404 crore from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019 has been approved under the Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojna, the official said.
The ministry has also started finance-based schemes to identify, nurture and train upcoming artistes on a sustained basis. This is being carried out by way of grant of scholarships, fellowships, pensions and other forms of assistance.
The government believes that a database of artistes will ensure that financial aid reaches those registered on it and lead to effectiveness and transparency.