Artistes across 100 genres to be rated by govt, winners to receive Rs10 lakh

A prize money of Rs 10 lakh will be up for grabs soon for artistes under the ministry of culture's initiative to rate and create a repository of artistes across the country.

Under the Rs 470 crore scheme - The National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India programme - the ministry will introduce a rating system for artistes and writers and hold competitions across the country in a minimum of 100 genres.

The national level winner - who would have competed with his peers at bloc, district, state and national level - from each genre will be given an award of Rs 10 lakh, out of which Rs 2 lakh will have to be mandatorily given to the artiste's guru.

"We will tap every bloc, every district so that we can create a database of artistes. In the end for every genre, whoever emerges as the national champion will be awarded the prize money.

"It has also been made mandatory for such artistes to give Rs 2 lakh to his guru, so that the guru doesn't feel that he hasn't got his gurudakshina," said culture secretary, N K Sinha.

Under the scheme, from each genre, the winner at the end will get Rs 10 lakh, the second will get Rs 5 lakh and third Rs 3 lakh.

Five other artists from thereon will be paid Rs 40,000 each. Thus for every discipline, the ministry has earmarked Rs 20 lakh as the prize money with a Rs 20 crore kitty for 100 recognised forms of art.

The programme which has been planned to create a database of artistes from across all villages in over 100 disciplines under one portal is expected to be completed in the next three years.

Explaining the logic behind recognising the guru is also to ensure that no poor, yet talented artist is denied training because of lack of funds.

The programme will also encourage peer to peer relations whereby artists from similar genres can bond together, train each other as well as learn from each other, Sharma said.

"The idea is to develop talent in art and preserve those arts that are dying," said Culture minister Mahesh Sharma.

The programme is also open for children - divided into four age groups each with 100 genres.