LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3692
TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019
ENHANCING OF CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
3692. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is enhancing the cultural diplomacy worldwide through various Indian cultural activities, heritage culture and in recent scenario the ancient Yoga;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the list of countries where these centres are functional; and
(d) the details of the staff already working and the recruitment procedures?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) & (b) Yes, Indian Council for Cultural Relations has been engaged in enhancement of India’s cultural profile worldwide through its activities in various fields including inter-alia, teaching of Yoga, Dance, Music and Hindi abroad; sponsoring visits of
performing art groups; organizing Indian festivals abroad; hosting foreign cultural groups; organizing/supporting conferences/seminars/workshops in various fields including Yoga & Ayurveda; supporting Chairs of Indian Studies in various foreign universities;
offering scholarships to foreign students to study in India; hosting eminent academicians/distinguished visitors in India; promotion of Hindi; gifting of busts/statues of Mahatma Gandhi and other national heroes; exchanging visual art exhibitions; celebration
of International Day of Yoga.
(c) ICCR runs 37 Indian Cultural Centres (ICCs) in 35 Countries located in Kabul, Sydney, Dhaka, Thimphu, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Prague, Cairo, Suva, Berlin, Georgetown, Budapest, Jakarta, Bali, Tehran, Tokyo, Nur Sultan, Kuala Lumpur, Male, Port Louis, Mexico
City, Yangon, Kathmandu, The Hague, Moscow, Durban, Johannesburg, Seoul, Colombo, Paramaribo, Dushanbe, Dar-e-salaam, Bangkok, Port of Spain, London, Tashkent and Hanoi. ICCR also extends support to the Indian Cultural Centres in Valladolid (Spain) and Busan(Republic
of Korea) functioning on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
(d) Currently, 134 India-based teachers are deployed in Indian Missions/Posts/ICCs teaching Indian Dance, Music, Hindi and Yoga. Their selection is done through open advertisement.
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