The Committee headed by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyer has made various recommendations for structural and functional changes in the existing set up of the Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs). These include restructuring of the Governing Body and Executive Board of the ZCCs; setting up of an Indian Council of Zonal Cultural Centres and a Folk & Tribal Akademi; enhancing of the existing Corpus Fund of the ZCCs; enhancing the remuneration of folk and tribal artistes; revamping the Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme; undertaking cultural propagation primarily in villages, mofussilareas and city slums; organizing Apna Utsav and Yatras to mark the Silver Jubilee of the ZCCs, etc.
Before taking a view on the recommendations of the Committee, the Ministry forwarded the Report to all State Governments, concerned Ministries, Organizations, etc. to seek views and comments of all the stakeholders. The Comments received have been examined. The work relating to Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the ZCCs has already been started. The Opening Ceremony of the Silver Jubilee Celebration was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in the august presence of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, NAC, on 13th April, 2012 at Panchkula. The policy for appointing Directors of the Zonal Cultural Centres has also been revised as per the recommendations made by the Committee. Action on other recommendations is under consideration.
The mandate of the seven Zonal Cultural Centres is to preserve & propagate the traditional folk arts & crafts of the country. They have been implementing the following schemes to preserve and promote traditional art and culture:
i. National Cultural Exchange Programme.
ii. Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme.
iii. Young Talented Artistes Scheme.
iv. Documentation of Vanishing Art Forms.
v. Theatre Rejuvenation Scheme.
vi. Shilpagram Activities.
vii. Loktarang – National Folk Dance Festival and Octave.
