Parliament Question: Promotion of traditional folk arts

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3079 ANSWERED ON- 19/03/2026 PROMOTION OF TRADITIONAL FOLK ARTS 3079. DR. DHARMASTHALA VEERENDRA HEGGADE: Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state: (a) the details of efforts made by Government to promote all types of traditional folk arts (including those of Scheduled Castes/Tribes/Backward Classes) in the country; (b) whether a cultural festival/ programme of these arts is being organised in Karnataka for this purpose; and (c) if so, the details of funds allocated to and utilised in the State during the last three years? ANSWER MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) To protect, promote and preserve various forms of traditional folk arts and culture throughout the country, the Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur. These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes on a regular basis all over India for which they engage folk artists (including Scheduled Castes/ Tribes/ Backward classes artists) to showcase their talents. These artists are paid honorarium, TA/DA, local transportation, boarding & lodging etc. to enable them to earn their livelihood. (b) & (c) Karnataka is the member State of South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), Thanjavur and South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Nagpur. The details of cultural programmes/ festivals/ activities organized in Karnataka by SZCC & SCZCC during the last three years are as under: Sl. Year Number of cultural No. of artists Amount paid to these artists No. programmes/ participated (Rs. in lakh) festivals organized i. 2022-23 38 2446 172.76 ii. 2023-24 17 1592 84.03 iii. 2024-25 18 821 82.48 No State/UT-wise funds are released for this purpose. However, annual grant-in-aid released to these ZCCs to organize various cultural activities and programmes in their member States during the last three years are as under: (Rs. in lakh) Sl. No. Name of ZCC 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 i. SZCC 995.60 2143.33 2049.05 ii. SCZCC 1949.97 2198.85 1009.80 *****