Chief Ministergi Artistesinggi Tengbang (CMAT) — Scheme for Award to Distinguished Artistes

What is Chief Ministergi Artistesinggi Tengbang (CMAT)?

Chief Ministergi Artistesinggi Tengbang (CMAT) is a cash-award scheme run by the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Manipur, through the Directorate of Art & Culture at Palace Compound, Imphal. The Meiteilon name translates roughly as "the Chief Minister's support for artistes", and the full official title of this particular component is CMAT: Scheme for Award to Distinguished Artistes, sometimes shortened on government listings to CMAT-SADA.

CMAT exists to encourage and felicitate artistes working in the field of culture who have already been recognised at the national or international level. According to the scheme guidelines published by the Department of Art and Culture, the awards cover achievements such as winning the Padma Awards, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi Awards including Young Awardee categories, National Film Awards, Zonal Cultural Centre awards, and any national-level competition or international award in art and culture.

The scheme is a Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. Money does not pass through an institution or a cultural society, it goes into the personal bank account of the artiste, or of the group, that the selection committee names.

Key features

• Run by a single state department, Art and Culture, with no central funding component.
• Covers seven broad art fields listed on the form: dance, music, theatre, visual art, literary art, films and other art forms.
• Open to individuals and to registered groups.
• Fixed annual intake of 40 beneficiaries across four award slabs.
• Retrospective claims are not entertained, only current-year achievements.

Who is eligible for the CMAT award?

You can apply if:

• You are a domicile of the state of Manipur.
• You have won a national award in art and culture. The guidelines specifically name Padma Awardees, Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees, Sahitya Akademi Awardees, Lalit Kala Akademi Awardees and Zonal Cultural Centre awardees (including Young Awardee categories), national-level competition winners and National Film Award winners.
• The award was announced or received during the current financial year and current calendar year.
• You are applying as an individual, or on behalf of a group that won a competition.

Age decides your slab rather than your entitlement. Award winners below 40 years are placed in the Young or Junior category; those above 40 years are placed in the Senior category. A group applies under the category matching its members' standing.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not domiciled in Manipur, even if you are an artiste of Manipuri descent living elsewhere.
• Your recognition is only at state or district level and does not fall in the national or international list named in the guidelines.
• The award you are claiming on was received in an earlier year. Awards from past calendar years are not eligible under the current guidelines.
• You cannot produce documentary proof of the award, your age or your Manipur residence.

There is no income ceiling, no caste criterion and no reservation quota written into the CMAT guidelines. Selection is on the strength of the award and the committee's assessment.

How much money does CMAT give?

The Department of Art and Culture fixes four slabs, each paid once in a year:

That totals 40 beneficiaries a year. The maximum a single application can attract is Rs 1,50,000, which goes to a senior competition-winning group. The award money is released to the personal account of the beneficiary or the group through Direct Benefit Transfer, so a working, correctly named bank account matters as much as the artistic credential.

CMAT is a one-time felicitation for a given achievement, not a monthly pension or a recurring stipend. An artiste who wins a fresh qualifying award in a later year can apply again in that year.

What documents are required for CMAT?

Self-attest every photocopy before you attach it. The application form itself asks for your full name or organisation name, date of birth or date of registration, present and permanent address, contact number and email, the name of the award received, your field of specialisation, a note on your contribution, and any national or state recognition.

How to apply for CMAT in Manipur

CMAT is an offline scheme. There is no portal login, no OTP and no online payment. Follow these steps:

1. Watch for the notification. The Department of Art and Culture announces the scheme through print and electronic media and publishes the application format on its website, artnculturemanipur.gov.in.
2. Print the application form for the Scheme for Award to Distinguished Artistes from the department website, or collect a copy from the Directorate.
3. Fill in every mandatory field: tick whether you are applying as an Individual or a Group and as Junior or Senior, then complete the name, date of birth or registration, addresses, contact details, name of award, field of specialisation, contribution note and recognition details.
4. Attach the self-attested documents listed above, including the proof of the national award, proof of age, Aadhaar and bank details.
5. Write a covering letter addressed to the Director (Art & Culture).
6. Submit the complete set at the Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of Manipur, Palace Compound, Imphal, and ask for an acknowledgement of receipt with a date on it.

Keep a photocopy of the whole submission. Since there is no online tracking number, your dated acknowledgement is the only proof that the application reached the Directorate.

How are CMAT applicants selected?

A Screening or Selection Committee constituted by the Government of Manipur scrutinises the applications and draws up the list of artistes for award and felicitation. Applications are matched against the four slabs, so a strong application in an over-subscribed slab can lose out to a weaker one in a slab with vacancies.

The guidelines carry a plain caution: the Department of Art and Culture reserves the right to reject or cancel any application without assigning any reason. There is no statutory appeal written into the scheme.

Why CMAT applications get rejected

• Award is from an earlier year. This is the single most common avoidable mistake, because the scheme is limited to the current financial and calendar year.
• Award is not on the recognised list, a purely state-level or private prize does not qualify.
• No domicile certificate, or a certificate in a name that does not match the award citation.
• Wrong category ticked, for example a 45-year-old applying under Young.
• Bank account not in the applicant's own name, which blocks the DBT release even after selection.
• Incomplete bio-data with no certificates to back the claimed contribution.
• Late submission after the notified window has closed.

Where to get help with a CMAT application

The nodal office for CMAT is the Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of Manipur, Palace Compound, Imphal. Queries about the notification, the form and the status of a submitted application should go to that office, addressed to the Director (Art & Culture). The department's website, artnculturemanipur.gov.in, carries the scheme guidelines and the downloadable application form.

CMAT charges no application fee. No agent, cultural body or middleman can charge you for "getting your name into the CMAT list", and the selection committee is the only authority that decides the award.

How to check your CMAT application status

CMAT has no online portal login, no application ID and no SMS or email tracking system, so there is no digital way to check where your application stands. The only way to follow up is offline, directly with the Directorate of Art & Culture.

1. Keep your dated acknowledgement ready. When you submitted the form at the Directorate, you should have received a stamped or signed receipt with a date. This slip is your only reference point when you follow up, quote the date of submission and the name on the application when you contact the office.
2. Wait for the committee to complete scrutiny before following up. The Screening or Selection Committee reviews all applications received against a notification together, so status enquiries made before the notified submission window closes will not have an answer yet.
3. Visit or call the Directorate of Art & Culture, Palace Compound, Imphal. Since CMAT has no dedicated helpline number published in the guidelines, the Directorate's general office is the point of contact. Ask specifically whether your application has reached the Screening Committee stage or the final award list.
4. Watch for the official announcement. Selected artistes and groups are named in the department's award list, which is typically communicated through the same print and electronic media channels used for the original notification, and may also be published on artnculturemanipur.gov.in. This announcement, not a status portal, is how most applicants first learn they have been selected.
5. Follow up on payment separately once selected. Being named in the award list is not the same as receiving the money. Since CMAT pays through Direct Benefit Transfer, if the credit does not arrive within a reasonable time after the announcement, raise the delay with the Directorate and confirm your bank account details were recorded correctly, since a mismatched or inactive account is a common cause of a stalled transfer even after selection.

If you have not heard anything by the time the next year's notification is issued, treat that as a signal to check with the Directorate rather than assume automatic rejection, since CMAT does not send formal rejection letters to unsuccessful applicants.