Ministry of Culture

Culture plays an important role in the development agenda of any nation. It represents a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices. Culture and creativity manifest themselves in almost all economic, social and other activities. A country as diverse as India is symbolized by the plurality of its culture. The mandate of the Ministry of Culture revolves around the functions like preservation and conservation of our cultural heritage and promotion of all forms of art and culture, both tangible and intangible. The Ministry’s task is to develop and sustain ways and means through which the creative and aesthetic sensibilities of the people remain active and dynamic. The functional spectrum of this Ministry is wide, ranging from generating cultural awareness at grassroots level to promoting cultural exchanges at international level. In order to achieve these objectives, the Ministry undertakes various activities that flow from subjects allocated under the Govt. of India’s Allocation of Business Rules.

IGNCA

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, established in memory of Smt. Indira Gandhi, is visualised as a centre encompassing the study and experience of all the arts – each form with its own integrity, yet within a dimension of mutual interdependence, interrelated with nature, social structure and cosmology.

This view of the arts, integrated with, and essential to the larger matrix of human culture, is predicated upon Smt. Gandhi’s recognition of the role of the arts as essential to the integral quality of person, at home with himself and society. It partakes of the holistic worldview so powerfully articulated throughout Indian tradition, and emphasized by modern Indian leaders from Mahatma Gandhi to Rabindranath Tagore.

The arts are here understood to comprise the fields of creative and critical literature, written and oral; the visual arts, ranging from architecture, sculpture, painting and graphics to general material culture, photography and film; the performing arts of music, dance and theatre in their broadest connotation; and all else in fairs, festivals and lifestyle that has an artistic dimension. In its initial stages the Centre will focus attention on India; it will later expand its horizons to other civilizations and cultures. Through diverse programmes of research, publication, training, creative activities and performance, the IGNCA seeks to place the arts within the context of the natural and human environment. The fundamental approach of the Centre is all its work will be both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary.

CSC SPV

CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle, has been set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT under the Companies Act, 1956 to oversee the implementation of the CSC scheme. CSC Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV) provides a centralized collaborative framework for delivery of services to citizens through CSCs, besides ensuring systemic viability and sustainability of the Scheme.

The Common Services Centers provide the last mile access to various e-governance services through digital connectivity to translate the dream of Digital India into a reality. A pan-India network, CSCs offer access to e-services, delivering essential government and public utility services, social welfare schemes, financial inclusion services, health care and agriculture services, apart from a host of B2C services. CSCs have also been trying to bridge the gaps in digital literacy and skills of rural citizens through a range of literacy initiatives focused on digital, financial and legal literacy and e-learning and skill development courses.

CSCs contribute to Government’s mandate of a digitally, socially and financially inclusive society by improving access to governance and services in rural and remote areas. The growing bouquet of services offered through partnerships with Government departments and private entities have transformed CSCs into hubs of economic activity, encouraging rural entrepreneurship and empowering communities in rural areas.

Through collaborative framework, the objective of CSC is to integrate the twin goals of entrepreneurship and social services, into a sustainable business model for achieving rapid socio-economic change in rural India.