Odisha government today announced an artists' assistance scheme called the 'Mukshyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana' (MMKSJ) under which 50,000 artists from across the state will get a monthly assistance of Rs 1,200.
The announcement in this regard was made by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after a meeting, attended by culture minister A C Panda, Chief Secretary A P Padhi and other officials.
"The government has decided to give Rs 1,200 per month as artist assistance. About 50,000 artists from across the state will get the benefit," Patnaik told reporters adding that earlier only 4,000 artists were being given Rs 1,000 as the artist assistance per month.
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Patnaik said the state government has also changed the eligibility criteria for availing the artist assistance. Now under the new scheme, a male artist can avail assistance after attending the age of 50 years instead of the present 60 years, while the age criteria for female artist is reduced to 40 years from 50 years.
This apart, the district cultural councils would now identify artists eligible for the assistance.
Earlier, the culture department identified the artists for the assistance.
"Under the new schemes, artists from all districts can avail the benefit as the district cultural council will identify beneficiaries for the MMKSJ," the chief minister said.
Describing the state government's decision in this regard as "historic", Patnaik said the artists since ages have been instumental in keeping culture and heritage intact.
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