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Culture ministry charts out Rs 27,000 crore plan
Vasudha Venugopal
Sep 10, 2019
NEW DELHI: The culture ministry plans to start the “authentic reconstruction” of 11 historic sites, including Hampi and the Indus Valley, as part of a Rs 27,000-crore, five-year plan, starting next year. About a quarter of this will go to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), marking a nearly seven fold increase in the budget of the agency tasked with conserving the country’s historical sites.
The ministry wants to set up 100 experiential museums on the lines of the Acropolis Museum in Greece, a national centre for performing arts, and an Indian Institute of Culture (IIC) to provide training in archaeology, museology, conservation and allied fields. It also plans a national-level Jashn-e-Kashmir festival to celebrate the folk art of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is part of the culture ministry’s five-year plan submitted to the Fifteenth Finance Commission, a copy of which has been reviewed by ET. The ministry estimated the expenditure at Rs 26,549 crore between 2020 and 2025. The five year plan was finalised at a meeting two weeks ago.
ASI to get Rs 6,769 crore
The Archaeological Survey of India is considered a key arm, accounting for Rs 6,769 crore against its current resources of Rs 974.56 crore, and will be revamped. Wait times will be reduced to five minutes from 45 for visitors to 42 monuments. World-class amenities will be provided at 600 sites, 50 interpretation centres will be established and 50 monuments will be illuminated. The national experiential archaeological museum will be set up at an ASI excavation site in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hometown Vadnagar in Gujarat. Gujarat officials say the state government is in the process of acquiring land for the project.
The culture ministry is exploring technological aids for authentic reconstruction, including Indus Valley sites such as Dholavira and Rakhigarhi. The ASI has identified 19 Indus Valley Civilisation experts who will act as “knowledge experts.” The ministry has received proposals from 25 organisations to discuss technological possibilities. IIT Bombay will be the project’s nodal agency while the National Council of Science Museums will provide technical support, officials said.
The ministry is working on a concept that involves merging education and training institutes to establish the IIC. These include the Institute of Archaeology, National Museum Institute and National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC). The IIC will offer graduate, postgraduate and research degrees, apart from diplomas and short-term courses in areas related to archaeology, museology and the cultural economy.
With regard to the Museum on Prime Ministers of India at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the ministry plans to complete the civil construction by March 2020 and content creation and installation by October 2020. The establishment of the IIC, the Prime Ministers’ museum and modernising 1,000 libraries are estimated to cost the ministry Rs 1,240 crore.
The ministry also plans to revive and expand the cultural mapping project that was launched by former culture minister Mahesh Sharma by creating an aggregator for bringing together buyers and sellers of indigenous products and services. The flagship programme that was aimed at creating a dossier of artists across India had been criticised by a parliamentary panel led by Trinamool Congress lawmaker Derek O’Brien last year, which called it “unplanned” and “directionless.” The project estimate has been increased to Rs 449.26 crore for the next five years. An official said an agency such as the Quality Council of India could also be roped in for grading of artists. The online Gandhipedia will include Gandhi’s important works and the philosophies of Guru Nanak and Rabindranath Tagore. The ministry has also examined which of these moves will need changes in laws and is working toward drafting the required amendments, an official said.
Other ministry vision statements include expansion of the Indian Museum in Kolkata that hasn’t changed much since its formation in 1814. It also wants to upgrade the Gandhi museum at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune where the leader spent 21 months and wife Kasturba died. The ministry wants to expand the Vedic Heritage portal to have 1,550 hours of Vedic recitations and translations. It also plans a nationwide talent show, Mujh Mein Kalakaar, to identify children who can be groomed in the performing arts.
A programme is also being drawn up to promote festivals such as Raksha Bandhan, Karwa Chauth, Teej and Bhaiya Dooj, both nationally and internationally, the vision statement said.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...-rs-27000-crore-plan/articleshow/71057588.cms
Vasudha Venugopal
Sep 10, 2019
NEW DELHI: The culture ministry plans to start the “authentic reconstruction” of 11 historic sites, including Hampi and the Indus Valley, as part of a Rs 27,000-crore, five-year plan, starting next year. About a quarter of this will go to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), marking a nearly seven fold increase in the budget of the agency tasked with conserving the country’s historical sites.
The ministry wants to set up 100 experiential museums on the lines of the Acropolis Museum in Greece, a national centre for performing arts, and an Indian Institute of Culture (IIC) to provide training in archaeology, museology, conservation and allied fields. It also plans a national-level Jashn-e-Kashmir festival to celebrate the folk art of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is part of the culture ministry’s five-year plan submitted to the Fifteenth Finance Commission, a copy of which has been reviewed by ET. The ministry estimated the expenditure at Rs 26,549 crore between 2020 and 2025. The five year plan was finalised at a meeting two weeks ago.
ASI to get Rs 6,769 crore
The Archaeological Survey of India is considered a key arm, accounting for Rs 6,769 crore against its current resources of Rs 974.56 crore, and will be revamped. Wait times will be reduced to five minutes from 45 for visitors to 42 monuments. World-class amenities will be provided at 600 sites, 50 interpretation centres will be established and 50 monuments will be illuminated. The national experiential archaeological museum will be set up at an ASI excavation site in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hometown Vadnagar in Gujarat. Gujarat officials say the state government is in the process of acquiring land for the project.
The culture ministry is exploring technological aids for authentic reconstruction, including Indus Valley sites such as Dholavira and Rakhigarhi. The ASI has identified 19 Indus Valley Civilisation experts who will act as “knowledge experts.” The ministry has received proposals from 25 organisations to discuss technological possibilities. IIT Bombay will be the project’s nodal agency while the National Council of Science Museums will provide technical support, officials said.
The ministry is working on a concept that involves merging education and training institutes to establish the IIC. These include the Institute of Archaeology, National Museum Institute and National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC). The IIC will offer graduate, postgraduate and research degrees, apart from diplomas and short-term courses in areas related to archaeology, museology and the cultural economy.
With regard to the Museum on Prime Ministers of India at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the ministry plans to complete the civil construction by March 2020 and content creation and installation by October 2020. The establishment of the IIC, the Prime Ministers’ museum and modernising 1,000 libraries are estimated to cost the ministry Rs 1,240 crore.
The ministry also plans to revive and expand the cultural mapping project that was launched by former culture minister Mahesh Sharma by creating an aggregator for bringing together buyers and sellers of indigenous products and services. The flagship programme that was aimed at creating a dossier of artists across India had been criticised by a parliamentary panel led by Trinamool Congress lawmaker Derek O’Brien last year, which called it “unplanned” and “directionless.” The project estimate has been increased to Rs 449.26 crore for the next five years. An official said an agency such as the Quality Council of India could also be roped in for grading of artists. The online Gandhipedia will include Gandhi’s important works and the philosophies of Guru Nanak and Rabindranath Tagore. The ministry has also examined which of these moves will need changes in laws and is working toward drafting the required amendments, an official said.
Other ministry vision statements include expansion of the Indian Museum in Kolkata that hasn’t changed much since its formation in 1814. It also wants to upgrade the Gandhi museum at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune where the leader spent 21 months and wife Kasturba died. The ministry wants to expand the Vedic Heritage portal to have 1,550 hours of Vedic recitations and translations. It also plans a nationwide talent show, Mujh Mein Kalakaar, to identify children who can be groomed in the performing arts.
A programme is also being drawn up to promote festivals such as Raksha Bandhan, Karwa Chauth, Teej and Bhaiya Dooj, both nationally and internationally, the vision statement said.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...-rs-27000-crore-plan/articleshow/71057588.cms
