Lalit Kala Akademi chief’s powers curbed by Culture Ministry

Subject: History

Section: Art and culture

Context:

In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Culture has curtailed the powers of the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) Chairman, V Nagdas, barring him from taking any “administrative actions”.

More on news:

Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) Chairman, is barred from taking any “administrative actions”, including on matters related to “appointment, recruitment, transfer, disciplinary action and financial decisions”, without consulting the ministry.
The order issued by the ministry on January 8, 2024, addressed to Nagdas, cites his failure to respond to an earlier “complaint” and also alleges non-compliance with the ministry’s “administrative directions”.

About Lalit Kala Academy:

Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Art), New Delhi was inaugurated on 5th August 1954 by the then Minister for Education, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and was registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, on 11th March 1957.
Lalit Kala Akademi, the youngest of the three Akademies founded by Govt. of India, establishes to direct its focus on activities in the field of Visual Arts.
LKA provides scholarships and a fellow program, and sponsors and organizes exhibitions in India and overseas. It publishes a bilingual journal.
It is funded by the Union Ministry of Culture.
Its headquarters are at Ravindra Bhawan, Ferozshah Road, New Delhi.

Other Academies under Ministry of Culture:

Sahitya Academy:

The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954.
Though set up by the Government, the Akademi functions as an autonomous organization.
It was registered as a society on 7 January 1956, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
Akademi gives 24 awards annually to literary works in the languages it has recognized and an equal number of awards to literary translations from and into the languages of India.
Besides the 22 languages enumerated in the Constitution of India, the SahityaAkademi has recognised English and Rajasthani as languages in which its programme may be implemented.
The SahityaAkademi award is the second-highest literary honor by the Government of India, after the Jnanpith award.

Sangeet Natak Academy:

Sangeet Natak Akademi, the apex body in the field of performing arts in the country, was set up in 1953 for the preservation and promotion of the vast intangible heritage of India’s diverse culture expressed in forms of music, dance and drama.
The management of the Akademi vests in its General Council.
The Chairman of the Akademi is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years. The functions of the Akademi are set down in the Academy’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on 11 September 1961.
The registered office of the Akademi is at Rabindra Bhavan, 35 FerozeShah Road, New Delhi. Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India

National School Of Drama:

The National School of Drama is one of the foremost theater training institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India.
It was set up by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as one of its constituent units in 1959.
In 1975, it became an independent entity and was registered as an autonomous organization under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860, fully financed by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.