CULTURE AND TOURISM

To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country, the Government of India established Lalit Kala Akademi (National Akademi of Arts) at New Delhi on 5 August 1954. Akademi has been organising national exhibition of contemporary Indian art with 15 national awards, each of _ 50,000. Every three year, the Akademi also organises Triennial India, an International exhibition of contemporary art in New Delhi. The Akademi honours eminent artists and art historians every year by electing them as Fellows of the Akademi. participates in International Biennials and Triennials abroad organises exhibitions of works of art from other countries. sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the various Cultural Exchange Programmes accords recognition to art institutions/association s and extends financial assistance to these bodies as well scholarships to deserving young artists Akademi brings out monographs on the works of Indian contemporary artists in Hindi and English bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English), Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). multi-colour reproductions of contemporary paintings and graphics from time to time. SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indias National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, The National Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, named Sangeet Natak Akademi, was the first of these entities to be established by a resolution of the Ministry of Education building up a unified structure of support for the practice of music, dance and drama The great masters of the performing arts have been elected as Fellows of the Akademi financial assistance The Akademis Gallery of Musical Instruments has a collection of more than 600 instruments of prominence In 1959 the Akademi established the National School of drama and in 1964 the Kathak Kendra, both being based in Delhi. The Akademis other projects of national importance are in Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala Chhau dance of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal began cultural contacts between various regions in India

PERFORMING ARTS
THEATRE Folk theatre There are also professional theatres, mainly city-oriented. Besides, India has a rich tradition of puppet theatre SAHITYA AKADEMI Sahitya Akademi is the Indian National Academy of Letters meant to promote the cause of Indian literature The Akademi has recognised 24 languages. The three fellowships by Sahitya Akademi are:1. Sahitya Akademi Honorary Fellowhip

2. Anand Fellowship 3. Premchand Fellowship Sahitya Akademi Honorary Fellowship is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a writer This honour is reserved for the 'immortals of literature' and limited to twenty-one only at any given time. Anand Fellowship offered to scholars from Asian Countries to pursue literary projects of their choice. Premchand given to scholars doing research on Indian literature or to creative writers from the countries of the SAARC region other than India. It has three journals, Indian Literature (bi-monthly in English), Samkaleena Bharatiya Sahitya (bi-monthly in Hindi) and Samskrita Pratibha (half-yearly in Sanskrit) Akademi also introduced a new series of programmes entitled Sur Sahitya NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA one of the foremost theatre institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959. Later in 1975, it became an autonomous organisation, objective of NSD is to train students in all aspects of theatre, including theatre history, production, scene design, costume design, lighting,make-up, etc. The training course at NSD is of three years duration. The Diploma of NSD is recognised by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to M.A. Degree The NSD has made a significant contribution in promoting childrens theatre. School has organised National Theatre Festival for Children christened Jashne Bachpan every year. The first ever National Theatre Festival christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav publication of textbooks

MAHILA SAMAKHYA SCHEME Mahila Samakhya Scheme was started in 1989 to translate the goals enshrined in the NPE into a concrete programme for theeducation and empowerment of women in rural areas particularly those from socially and economically marginalized groups. recognizes the centrality ofeducation in empowering women to achieve equality. Mahila Sanghas or women's collectives at the village level provide the women a space to meet, reflect, ask questions and articulate their thoughts The Mahila Sanghas have brought about a change in the outlook of rural women The programme has also focused on awareness of the need to educate the children, especially girls, to give the equal status and opportunities The projected budgetary outlay for the 11th Plan is _ 210 crore. NATIONAL BAL BHAVAN National Bal Bhavan is an autonomous organisation fully funded by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of School Education and Literacy. Since its inception in 1956, it is a creativity resource centre for children in the age group of 5-16 years. today there are 124 State Bal Bhavans and 70 Bal Bhavan Kendras affiliated to National Bal Bhavan. Through affiliated Bal Bhavans and Bal Kendras, National Bal Bhavan reaches out to school drop-outs, children of socially and economically backward class, street children and also the special children. Several schools of Delhi have also taken up the membership of National Bal Bhavan and this joint and consolidated effort of nonformal institution has indeed made creative enhancement of children a grand success. integrated growth of the child by involving them in various activities in a tension free environment Some of the special attractions of the National Bal Bhavan are Mini Train, Mini Zoo, Fish Corner, Science Park, Funny Mirrors and Culture Craft Village.

The workshop of NTRC also aims to make both teaching and learning a joyful experience for teachers and students respectively. The Bal Shree Scheme'is that creativity is a human potential that directly relates to self-expression and self-development. This scheme seeks to identify creative children within the age group of 5-16 years in four identified areas ofcreativity, i.e. creative art, creative performance, creative scientific innovations, and creative writing. National Bal Bhavan organises several Local, National and International Programmes, viz. Workshops, Trekking Programmes, Talk Shows, Camps, National Bal Bhavan also deputes its children from different parts of India to various countries under the Cultural Exchange Programmes and these children act as young ambassadors of the subcontinent's socio-cultural ethos. member children participate in International Painting Competition on the themes that are of global concern. NATIONAL POPULATION EDUCATION PROJECT Project was launched in April 1980 with the overarching objective of institutionalizing population education in the school education and teacher education systems Up to 2002, this was implemented as externally aided Project which was fully funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 10th Five Year Plan with a more focused objective of integrating the elements of reconceptualised framework of population education in school curriculum. NPEP was implemented as an integral part of Adolescence Education Programme, launched by Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2005 in collaboration with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPEN SCHOOLING (NIOS) Initiated as a project in 1979 The NIOS, with international recognition and presence, provides access to sustainable and learner-centric quality school education, through open and distance learning and ensures convergence of open schooling organisations, national integration The NIOS formerly National Open School, with approximately 1.6 million learners on roll, has emerged as the largest Open schooling organization in the world. provides opportunities to interested learners by making available various courses/programmes through open and distance learning mode. From the Academic year 2007-08, NIOS has introduced the facility of online admission. NIOS was also able to provide payment gateway facility for online admissions to learners and is the first educational institution at school level in India to achieve this landmark. Launch of Saakshar Bharat launching of National Literacy Mission (NLM) in 1988 government will recast the National Literacy Mission as a National Mission for Female Literacy to make every woman literate in the next five years". literacy is a pre-requisite for socio-economic development, the National Literacy Mission has been recast as "SAAKSHAR BHARAT" with prime focus on female literacy. adults in the age group of 15 and beyond though its primary focus will be on women. Basic Literacy, Post literacy and continuing Education programmes will now form a continuum, rather than sequential segments. Lok Shiksha Kendras (Adult Education Centres) (AECs), will be set up to coordinate and manage all programmes, within their territorial jurisdiction. The Mission has four broad objectives, namely: i. Impact functional literacy and numeracy to non-literate and non-numerate adults. ii. Enable the neo-literate adults specially younger adults to continue their learning beyond basic literacy and acquire equivalency to formal educational system.

iii. Impart non and neo-literates relevant skill development programmes to improve their earning and living conditions. iv. Promote a learning society by providing opportunities to neo literate adults and other potential learners for continuing education. The principal target of the mission is to impart functional literacy to 70 million adults in the age group of 15 years and beyond. In its first phase, that is during the 11th Plan period (31 March 2012) the Saakshar Bharat programme will remain confined to districts with adult female literacy rate of 50 per cent or less as per 2001 Census. Out of the 11th Plan outlay _ 5257 crore have been allocated for the scheme of Adult Education and Skill Development, i.e. Saakshar Bharat. Jan Shikshan Sansthans Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) are established to provide vocational training to nonliterate, neo-literate, as well as school dropouts by identifying skills as would have a market in the region of their establishment. They are categorized into Category 'A', 'B' and 'C' and are entitled to an annual grant upto _ 40 lakh, _ 35 lakh and _ 30 lakh respectively. 394 vocational courses in Cutting and Tailoring, Beauty Culture and Health Care, Fashion Design, Electrical and Electronics, Automobiles Repairs priority is given to women, SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and other economically weaker sections. Saakshar Bharat: Enhancing Opportunities for Lifelong Learning achieving the goal of a fully literate society engaged in lifelong learning through:Use of ICT, Media and innovatively designed cultural and library based activities in specially designed Continuing Education Programmes. Jan Shikshan Sansthans to be institutionally networked with the Adult Education Centres in the villages for imparting vocational training programmes.