Culture Fellowship Statistics: Senior and Junior Fellows by Year
· 1 min read · 2 official sources
The Ministry of Culture supported 980 senior and junior fellows with Rs 13.62 crore in 2022-23, according to its ten-year achievement report. Up to 400 new fellowships are awarded in a batch year. Year-wise numbers of fellows and money released from 2014-15 to 2022-23 are below.
Scheme for Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the Fields of Culture: key numbers
Infographic
Fellows supported by year, 2014-15 to 2022-23
Number of fellows supported and amount released under the Scheme for the award of fellowship to outstanding persons in the field of culture, from the Ministry of Culture's ten-year achievement report.
| Year | Fellows supported | Amount released (Rs crore) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 745 | 6.41 |
| 2015-16 | 1,238 | 11.43 |
| 2016-17 | 1,073 | 8.62 |
| 2017-18 | 920 | 8.76 |
| 2018-19 | 1,029 | 9.92 |
| 2019-20 | 976 | 8.32 |
| 2020-21 | 982 | 8.88 |
| 2021-22 | 1,001 | 16.34 |
| 2022-23 | 980 | 13.62 |
Source: culture.gov.in, as on 31 March 2023
How a culture fellowship is awarded
What the numbers show
The Ministry of Culture gives senior and junior fellowships to artists and scholars to carry out a project in a cultural field. Its ten-year achievement report shows 980 fellows supported in 2022-23, with Rs 13.62 crore released. Up to 400 new fellowships, 200 junior and 200 senior, are awarded in each batch year. Since a fellowship can run for two years, two batches overlap in most years, which is why the yearly count of fellows is close to 1,000.
The trend since 2014-15
The number of fellows supported has stayed close to 1,000 a year since 2015-16, when it peaked at 1,238. Money released was steady at around Rs 8 to 10 crore a year until 2020-21, then rose to Rs 16.34 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 13.62 crore in 2022-23, without a matching rise in the number of fellows. The report does not explain the jump.
Part of a wider scheme
The fellowship is one of three parts of the Ministry's Scheme of Scholarship and Fellowship for Promotion of Art and Culture. The others are scholarships to young artists aged 18 to 25 and the Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research, which is much smaller.
What the figures do not tell you
The report gives totals only. It does not split senior from junior fellows, show how many fellows came from each state or cultural field, or say how many applications were received. It also does not show how many fellows completed their projects on time.
Where to check
Applications and results are handled by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) on behalf of the Ministry. The Ministry's website carries the scheme guidelines and its achievement reports.
Frequently asked questions
How many culture fellowships are given each year?
Up to 400 fellowships, 200 junior and 200 senior, are awarded in a batch year. Because each fellowship runs for up to two years, the number of fellows supported in a financial year is higher: 980 in 2022-23.
How much does the government spend on culture fellowships?
Rs 13.62 crore was released in 2022-23 and Rs 16.34 crore in 2021-22, according to the Ministry of Culture's ten-year achievement report. Spending was between Rs 6.41 crore and Rs 11.43 crore a year from 2014-15 to 2020-21.
Which year had the most fellows?
2015-16, when 1,238 fellows were supported. In the most recent year shown, 2022-23, the number was 980.
What is the age limit for junior and senior fellowships?
Junior fellowships are for persons aged 25 to 40 years and senior fellowships for those above 40, as stated in the Ministry's report.
Are there figures after 2022-23?
The Ministry's ten-year achievement report, covering the period up to March 2024, gives year-wise figures up to 2022-23. Later year-wise figures have not been published in the same form.
Eligibility, documents and how to apply: Scheme for Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the Fields of Culture full guide
Charts, data files and the infographic are free to download, share and embed with a link back to this page.
Sources
This guide was checked against these official pages:
- culture.gov.in (culture.gov.in/files/inline-documents/10_year_achievement_MoC_till_March_2024.pd)
- ccrtindia.gov.in (ccrtindia.gov.in/scholarship-fellowship/fellowship-2/)