Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Culture has gained marginally in the budget for 2012-2013 with an outlay of Rs.1,447 crore (Rs.14.47 billion/$300 million) against Rs.1,378 crore (Rs.13.78 billion/$273 million) in the previous fiscal.

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had benefited the most in the 2011-12 fiscal ending March 31.

A department wise break-up of the provisions said Rs.415 crore has been allocated for the overall promotion of art and culture. The archaeological surveys, archives and museums have an outlay of Rs.785 crore while libraries have Rs.121 crore.

The zonal cultural centres have been allocated Rs.31 crore and the National Library of Kolkata has a proposed pool of Rs.38 crore under the new outlay.

Reacting to the provisions for culture in the budget, poet and former chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi Ashok Vajpeyi said: “There was no dearth of money for culture under the budget provisions.”

“What I understand is that the spending capacity of some of the institutions is limited and they require a massive renovation. The spending pattern will have to change,” Vajpeyi told IANS.

Culture needs a “lot more infrastructure and money”, Amal Allana, chairperson of the National School of Drama said.

The drama school has an outlay of Rs.23 crore, a small hike from Rs.21 crore last year.

“We need centres for performing arts in smaller cities and more private-public partnerships in culture. We have lot of professionally trained people at NSD, but so many of them are jobless,” Allana told IANS.

“Our family has been running an arts initiative for the last 35 years, but with little government support. Young artists cannot afford gallery spaces because they are expensive. The government has to build multi-disciplinary arts centres across the country to promote culture,” Allana said.