Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR): about the organisation

Indian Council for Cultural Relations

50+ Years of ICCR

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About the ICCR

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, was established in 1950. The objectives of the Council, as defined in its Memorandum of Association, are :

to participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes relating to India’s external cultural relations
to promote cultural exchange with other countries and peoples
to promote and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries
to establish and develop relations with national and international organisations in the field of culture

The Council, with its Headquarters in Azad Bhavan, New Delhi, carries out this mandate of cultural diplomacy through a wide spectrum of activities which include:

A. Programmes Wing:

exchanges of visits by scholars, academicians, opinion-makers, artists & writers
facilitation of the organisation of and participation in seminars and symposia abroad
exchanges of visits by performing arts groups
exchanges of exhibitions
commissioning of busts and statues of Indian leaders for installation abroad
presentation abroad of informatics, audio-visual material, books on India & Indian musical instruments
active collaboration in the operations of some Foreign Cultural Centres in India ( e.g. nine of the thirteen British Libraries in India --- the ones outside the four metropolitan cities --- are run jointly by the ICCR and the British Council )

B. Administration & Education Wing

administering of scholarship schemes for foreign students for studies in India
assisting organisation of and participation in seminars and symposia in India
maintaining the Council’s Regional Offices in India and its Cultural Centres abroad
establishing & maintaining Chairs & Professorships for Indian Studies in Universities abroadaal Centres abroad
administering the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding
organising the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture
conducting the Maulana Azad Essay Competition
publications

The Council

>The Council has regional offices in : Bangalore, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai & Thiruvananthapuram.

>The Council has Cultural Centres abroad in : Georgetown, Paramaribo, Port Louis, Jakarta, Moscow, Berlin, Cairo, London, Tashkent, Almaty, Johannesburg, Durban, Port of Spain & Colombo (in order of establishment)

>The Programmes Wing of the Council can be accessed at two WebSites :

http://iccr.tripod.com : since December 1997

http://education.vsnl.com/iccr : since January 1999
>Information about studying in India and the more than 700 scholarships under various schemes offered annually by the Council is also accessible on the Internet at : this site maintained by the Ministry of External Affairs. You could e-mail DDG(A) for more information, if required.

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