What happened

The Ministry of Culture promotes Indian culture abroad through bilateral and multilateral cultural cooperation instruments and through programme administration under the Global Engagement Scheme (GES). The Ministry’s approach includes concluding and implementing Cultural Agreements and Cultural Exchange Programmes, signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on cultural cooperation, coordinating India’s participation in multilateral cultural forums such as G20, BRICS, SCO, and SAARC, and organising Festivals of India abroad under the GES. GES also provides Grants-in-Aid to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies through Indian Missions abroad for promoting Indian art, culture, and cultural exchanges. The GES has been revised and continued for FY 2026–27 to 2030–31 with an outlay of Rs. 299.94 crore and includes sub-schemes for International Cultural Exchange Programme, Project Mausam, Brihattar Bharat, Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), and Diverse Cultural Traditions of India.

Background and earlier position

Earlier, the Global Engagement Scheme (GES) supported cultural outreach abroad, including Festivals of India and grant-based support through Indian Missions. The Rajya Sabha written reply provides a five-year budget-to-expense pattern for the scheme, showing both planned allocations and actual expenditure for FY 2021–22 through FY 2025–26. The Ministry’s international cultural role also runs alongside ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations), an organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs, which undertakes cultural activities through Indian Missions and cultural centres abroad, including teaching yoga, Indian classical and folk dance, vocal and instrumental music, Indian languages, and other cultural disciplines.

What changed now

The key change reported by the Ministry of Culture is the revision and continuation of the Global Engagement Scheme (GES) for the period FY 2026–27 to 2030–31, with a stated total outlay of Rs. 299.94 crore. The scheme’s design is further specified through five sub-schemes that cover international cultural exchange and thematic focus areas linked to intangible cultural heritage and diverse cultural traditions. The written reply also re-emphasises coordination across multilateral platforms to strengthen cultural relations and expand India’s cultural outreach.

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