The scheme “Financial Assistance for Development of Buddhist/Tibetan Arts and Culture” was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India to provide financial assistance to voluntary Buddhist/Tibetan organizations including Monasteries.
Financial Assistance For Development Of Buddhist/Tibetan Arts And Culture - Introduction
The scheme “Financial Assistance for Development of Buddhist/Tibetan Arts and Culture” was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India to provide financial assistance to voluntary Buddhist/Tibetan organizations including Monasteries engaged in the propagation and scientific development of Buddhist/Tibetan culture, tradition and research in related fields.
- The grant shall be given based on the appraisal of applications and recommendations by the Expert Advisory Committee and thereafter administrative approval and financial concurrence of competent authorities in the Ministry of Culture.
- The Joint Secretary In-Charge would be the competent authority for the release of funds up to ₹30.00 lakhs based on the recommendation of the Expert Advisory Committee and in consultation with IFD in each Case.
- The grants will be paid in two equal installments, the first being normally released with the approval of the project.
- The second installment will be released on receipt of a duly audited statement of accounts showing the utilization of the entire amount of the grant plus the share of the grantee/concerned State/U.T. Government and other documents on behalf of the Chartered Accountant.
- The release of the balance of the grant will be decided on the basis of the actual expenditure incurred on the project subject to the maximum limit.
- The grant for repairs, restoration, and renovation of Heritage Buildings associated with Buddhism is subject to a certificate from the Archaeological Survey of India. An officer of the appropriate level from the ASI office/Circle concerned will be associated with the organization for this activity. Applications against which a previous grant/Utilisation certificate is pending will not be considered.
Mode of Payment: All payments will be made through electronic transfers.
Special Provision: The Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) on the scheme is empowered to recommend or reject any proposal received without or with the recommendation of State Government/U.T. administration/ Local Administration and also to recommend the amount beyond the maximum limit but not exceeding ₹1.00 crore from this scheme. In respect of any proposal which is of outstanding merit for which the EAC feels that the maximum limit would not be sufficient for undertaking the said project, with the approval of the Minister (Culture) and concurrence of AS&FA, Ministry of Culture. However, in each such case, detailed justification would be given by EAC for exceeding the limit of ₹ 30.00 lakhs.
Inspection & Monitoring: The inspection would be carried out by Ministry officials every year at least in 5% of the cases and also the services of autonomous institutions like Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, ZCCs would be utilized. The concerned State Government/UTs Administration, District Collector/Dy. Commissioner will also monitor.
Penalties in case of misutilization of grant: The members of the executive body of the organization would be liable for the recovery of misused grants. The organization will also be blacklisted for misuse of funds, fake registration certificate, etc. All immovable assets created from the Government grants would be taken over by local administration prescribed by the Ministry.
Benefits
Financial assistance is given for all or any of the items listed below up to a maximum of ₹30.00 lakhs per year for any single organization:
| Sl. No. | Items | Maximum amount per annum |
| 1 | Maintenance (Salary of staff, Off. Exp/Misc. exp) | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 2 | Research Project on the Promotion of Buddhist/Tibetan Art and Culture | ₹2,00,000/- |
| 3 | Purchase of books, documentation, and cataloging relating to Buddhism | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 4 | Award of scholarships to monk/nunnery students | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 5 | Holding special courses on the promotion of Buddhist/Tibetan Art and Culture | ₹2,00,000/- |
| 6 | Audio- Visual Recording/ Documentation/ Archiving of the traditional materials for the preservation and dissemination of Buddhist Art & Culture | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 7 | IT upgradation and IT-enabled Teaching/ Training aids for monastic/nunnery schools | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 8 | Transport facilities for monastic/nunnery schools and monasteries located in remote areas | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 9 | Salary of teachers where the organization is running a school imparting monastic/ nunnery education | ₹5,00,000/- |
| 10 | Repairs, restoration, and renovation of ancient monasteries and Heritage Buildings associated with Buddhism | ₹30,00,000/- |
| 11 | Construction/Repairs/Extension with toilet and drinking water for Class Rooms, School Buildings, Hostels, and Training Centres which are focused on Buddhist/ Tibetan Art and Culture as well as skill development of traditional crafts for monastic/nunnery school | ₹30,00,000/- |
Note 01: In case of the organizations of all-India character and running a school for imparting monastic education, financial assistance may be given beyond the ceiling, on the recommendation of the Expert Advisory Committee, and approved by the Minister (Culture) in consultation with the FA, Ministry of Culture.
Note 02: The maximum grant admissible to an organization would be 75% of the total expenditure to be incurred on any item subject to the maximum ceiling fixed. The remaining 25% expenditure or more should be met by the State Govt./U.T. Administration failing which the grantee organization could contribute the amount from their resources.
Note 03: In the case of North-Eastern States and Sikkim, funding will be shared between the Government of India and the State Government in the ratio of 90:10 respectively failing which the grantee organization could contribute from their own resources.
Eligibility
- The voluntary Institutions/Organizations and Societies should be registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860) or similar Acts.
- Only those organizations which are mainly devoted to Buddhist/Tibetan studies and have been functioning at least for the last three years will qualify for applying for a grant.
- The organization should be of the regional or all-India character.
- Grants from this scheme will be given only to those organizations which are not in receipt of grants from any other source for similar purposes.
- Financial assistance may also be given for the construction of hostel buildings, classrooms, school buildings, and training centers.
Note 01: The grants will be ad-hoc and of a non-recurring nature.
Note 02: Organizations that are doing good work in the field and have resources for meeting matching funds will be given preference.
Exclusions
Application Process
- Step 01: The organization shall submit a complete application along with all the necessary documents/information through the concerned State Government/UTs. The application form may be downloaded from the Ministry of Culture website www.indiaculture.nic.in.
- Step 02: The organization located in North Eastern States, Sikkim, Leh and Kargil districts of the Union Territory of Ladakh are exempted to submit their applications direct to the Ministry of Culture only with the recommendation of the concerned District Collector/Dy. Commissioner.
- Step 03: The application in the prescribed format complete in all respect, duly spiral bound and continuously page numbered, along with a check-list duly recommended by the State Government will be sent to the Section Officer, BTI Section, Ministry of Culture, 'D' Block, 2nd Floor, Puratatav Bhawan, INA, New Delhi-110023.
- Note 01: The Organization against which the previous grant/Utilization Certificate under this scheme is pending will not be considered for a fresh grant.
- Note 02: The organization shall also submit the requisite documents such as (i) Bond (ii) Resolution (iii) Bank Authorization letter and (iv) Agency registration form along with the application form.
- Note 03: The organization should register its Society on the Website of NITI Ayog i.e. "ngodarpan.gov.in" for obtaining a Unique ID, if not registered earlier. The organization should also link their bank account number with their PAN Card. The Unique ID of NITI Aayog and the PFMS user ID is mandatory.
- Note 04: The organization shall submit a detailed break-up of expenditure under the head “Maintenance” in a separate annexure forming part of accounts.