About
To create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries, with particular emphasis on cultural relations and educational opportunities in India.
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, operating in India since 1948 (with presence dating to 1937). In India, it is the UK's primary channel for arts and culture collaboration, running grant schemes that fund collaborative projects between Indian and British artists, organisations and festivals across theatre, dance, film, literature, music, visual arts and crafts. Its Connections Through Culture (CTC) grant programme awarded over £741,000 across 84 collaborations in 11 Asia Pacific countries in 2024. India-specific programmes have included the UK-India Year of Culture (2017), the India-UK Together 2022 programme (Rs 25 million in grants for collaborative arts projects), the Festivals for the Future programme, and the Crafting Futures craft residency programme with Delhi Craft Council. The British Council has offices in eight Indian cities and operates across arts, education and English language.
The British Council's presence in India predates Indian independence, with activities beginning in 1937 and formal establishment in 1948. For over seven decades, it has been the primary institutional channel for UK-India cultural exchange across the arts. Its evolution from a colonial-era cultural diplomacy body to a bilateral cultural partner has tracked the changing relationship between the two countries. The UK-India Year of Culture in 2017 -- marking India's 70th anniversary of independence -- was its most ambitious India programme, involving 350+ events across India and the UK. The Connections Through Culture grants programme has since become its most significant ongoing arts funding mechanism, enabling collaborations that could not otherwise occur -- from Deaf-led music events to digital art residencies, international theatre productions and climate-action creative projects.
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
Annual grant scheme supporting UK-India artistic collaboration. 2024: £741,000+ awarded across 84 collaborations in 11 Asia Pacific countries. Covers India-Wales and India-Northern Ireland strands.
Programme supporting Indian festivals and festival professionals to connect with UK counterparts and develop international programming.
Residency and collaboration programme for Indian and UK craft practitioners, including artisan-in-residence at Arts University Plymouth and partnerships with Delhi Craft Council.
2017 bilateral cultural programme marking 70 years of Indian independence. 350+ events across India and the UK.
Rs 25 million in grants for collaborative arts projects between Indian and British arts organisations and festivals.
The British Council's significance for India's cultural ecosystem is as the primary institutional gateway to UK collaboration, funding and international exposure for Indian artists and organisations. Its grants -- while not large by government or corporate standards -- are significant for arts organisations because they specifically fund international collaboration rather than domestic programming, opening connections that create long-term relationships. For performing arts organisations, the Festivals for the Future programme and the CTC grants have been consistent pathways to international touring and co-production.
[Atlas Perspective] CultureAtlas profiles the British Council as a foundational institution in India's international cultural exchange ecosystem. Its 75+ year presence, multi-city network and consistent arts funding position it as the most established foreign cultural institute in the Atlas corpus, ahead of the Goethe-Institut and other bilateral cultural organisations. Its Connections Through Culture programme represents genuinely transformative funding for the scale of Indian arts organisations that receive it. CultureAtlas notes that the British Council's India programme has increasingly focused on themes -- climate, inclusion, diversity -- that connect UK-India cultural exchange to global contemporary conversations rather than purely bilateral cultural promotion.