Concession in Railway Travel (Tamil Nadu Artistes and Art Troupes)

What is the railway travel concession for Tamil Nadu artistes?

Concession in Railway Travel is a facilitation scheme of the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, operated through the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram. The scheme addresses a plain practical problem: a drama troupe or a folk arts group invited to perform in another district or another state spends more on travel than it earns from the performance.

The department's Policy Note for 2025-26 lists among the Manram's activities the task of recommending the travel fare concession in train and government buses to drama artistes and art troupes for performing in outstations. The Manram's scheme list on the Department of Art and Culture's website carries the same head as "Train / Government Bus travel concession" for drama artistes conducting programmes.

The key point for anyone using this scheme is the division of roles. Tamil Nadu issues the certificate; Indian Railways gives the concession. The Manram recommends and certifies that the traveller is a recognised artiste or troupe travelling to perform. The fare reduction itself is granted by the Railways under its own concession rules for artistes, which allow a concession of up to 75 per cent in second class and sleeper class, with lower percentages in air-conditioned classes. Because the concession is a railway concession, it is applied at the time of booking on production of the certificate, and cannot be claimed as a refund afterwards.

The artist identification card is the other half of the system. The department records that identification cards were issued to artistes to obtain financial assistance from the Government, to get priority to perform cultural programmes organised by the Government, and to avail travel concession. So far 86,050 identification cards have been issued to the artistes.

Who is eligible for the concession certificate, and who is not eligible?

You can seek the certificate if:

• You are an artiste registered with the Department of Art and Culture, ideally holding the artist identification card.
• You practise a performing art within the Manram's remit; Eyal, Isai, Natakam, Natyam, Isai Natakam, folk arts and related fields.
• You are travelling to perform outstation, that is, to a venue outside your own place, on an invitation from a sabha, institution, temple, association or government body.
• You are travelling individually or as a troupe. The scheme names both, and a troupe travelling together is the typical case.

You cannot claim the concession if:

• You are travelling for a private or personal purpose rather than a performance. The certificate is tied to a specific outstation programme, and a general request without a named performance is not eligible.
• You have no invitation or confirmation from the organiser at the destination. Railway concession rules for artistes contemplate certification supported by the civil authorities or the organisers at the place of performance.
• You are a painter or sculptor travelling with work. This concession is framed around performing artistes; a fine artist should look instead to the Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu's exhibition grants of Rs 25,000 for a one-man show and Rs 50,000 per group for a group show, which are meant to cover the costs of mounting an exhibition.
• You are asking for the concession after the journey. Railway concessions are given at booking.

How to apply for the railway travel concession

1. Register with the Department of Art and Culture and obtain the artist identification card. The department has issued 86,050 cards, and the card is the department's own record that you are a practising artiste entitled to travel concession.
2. Secure the performance invitation. Obtain a letter from the sabha, institution, association or organiser at the outstation venue confirming the programme, the date and the number of artistes travelling.
3. Apply to the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram for a concession certificate. State the artiste's or troupe's name, the art form, the destination, the date of the performance, the dates of travel and the number of persons travelling. Attach the invitation, the identification card copy, Aadhaar and, for a troupe, the list of members.
4. Collect the concession certificate issued by the Manram. This is the document the scheme description refers to when it says a concession certificate will be issued by the Manram.
5. Book at the railway counter with the certificate. Concessional tickets for artistes are issued at the booking counter, not through ordinary online booking. Carry the certificate, photo identity for each traveller and the invitation.
6. Travel with the papers. Keep the certificate and identity proof with you for the journey, since concessional tickets are checked.
7. For bus travel, use the same certificate route with the Manram for the recommendation for concession on Government buses.

Apply early. A certificate that arrives after the tickets have been bought is of no use, because the concession cannot be applied retrospectively.

What documents are required?

What other travel support do Tamil Nadu artistes get?

• Kalaimamani awardees travel free on state buses. As announced on the floor of the Assembly during the Demand for 2024-25, Rs 1.008 crore has been sanctioned per year for free travel on Tamil Nadu Government Transport Corporation buses to Kalaimamani awardees, with free travel for one assistant accompanying an awardee who has completed 60 years of age. This is a separate, stronger benefit than the concession certificate, and it attaches to the award rather than to the journey.
• Government bus fare concession on the Manram's recommendation, on the same footing as the train concession, for drama artistes and art troupes performing outstation.
• Priority to perform in government programmes for identification card holders, which in practice is how many artistes get invited to outstation programmes in the first place.

What else the Manram does for troupes

An artiste applying for a travel concession is usually also eligible for the Manram's other support, and it is worth applying for these in the same visit:

• Production grants for new dramas and dance dramas — Rs 1.50 lakh for producing and staging a new Tamil drama or dance drama. In 2024-25, assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh each was presented for 5 new dramas and 5 new dance dramas, a total of Rs 15 lakh.
• Instruments and costumes for folk artistes: Rs 10,000 each to 500 folk artistes and troupes for purchasing musical instruments and costumes.
• Encouragement grants for budding artistes in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, which have gone to 1,993 beneficiaries.
• Monthly assistance of Rs 3,000 to aged indigent artistes.
• One-time family maintenance of Rs 25,000 to the families of deceased renowned artistes; 496 families have been assisted, and in 2024-25 the amount was presented to the legal heirs of 20 deceased artistes.

Why certificates are refused or go unused

• Applied too late. The commonest failure. The certificate has to be in hand before the tickets are booked.
• No invitation from the organiser. A request that does not name a real performance at a real venue on a real date cannot be certified.
• Not registered as an artiste. Without the identification card or a departmental record, the Manram has no basis to certify standing.
• Booked online. Concessional railway tickets for artistes are issued at the counter on production of documents.
• Troupe list mismatched. The names travelling must match the names certified, or the concession is refused at checking.

Where to ask and where to complain

• State level: the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, which issues the concession certificate, at the Department of Art and Culture.
• Department: the Department of Art and Culture at artandculture.tn.gov.in.
• District level: the District Art Society at your district collectorate, headed by the District Collector, for registration and for local support.
• Railways: the concession itself is granted under Indian Railways rules, so questions about the percentage in a particular class belong at the railway booking office.

No fee is charged by the Manram for the concession certificate, and no agent is needed to obtain one.

How to check your application status

There is no online portal or tracking number for this scheme. The concession certificate is issued directly by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram after it reviews the application, and the way to check on it is to follow up with the office that is processing it, not to log in anywhere.

• Call or visit the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram directly. Since the Manram sits within the Department of Art and Culture, use the department's listed contact channel at artandculture.tn.gov.in/contact-us and ask specifically for the status of your concession certificate application, quoting the date you applied and the performance date you named in it.
• Go through the District Art Society if you applied there. Artistes who registered or routed their application through the District Collectorate's District Art Society can ask that office to check with the Manram on the certificate's progress, since the district office is the usual first point of contact for registered artistes outside Chennai.
• Follow up in person if the performance date is close. Because the certificate has to be in hand before tickets are booked, a phone or written follow-up that gets no response within a few days should be escalated to an in-person visit rather than left to a second waiting period; there is no automatic reminder system, so applicants carry the responsibility of chasing a slow reply themselves.
• Confirm the certificate's details before travel, not after. When the certificate is finally issued, check that the names, the destination, and the travel dates on it match the tickets to be booked. A certificate under review is not the same as a certificate ready for use, and only the physical document in hand is proof that the application has been cleared.
• Do not expect an SMS or email update. The scheme runs on paper applications and departmental correspondence; treat silence as a reason to call again, not as a sign that the request is quietly progressing.