London: To facilitate creative connections and cultural exchange between artists of the UK and India, Britain today announced 1.5 million pounds lottery fund scheme. The scheme announced by British Council and Arts Council England titled 'Re-Imagine India' will provide English artists and arts organisations opportunities to develop collaborations and cultural exchanges with their Indian counterparts, the British High Commission in India said. It will give grants of 15,000-100,000 pounds to support projects which promote creative collaborations, showcase the best of UK and Indian arts across a range of art forms and activity and reach beyond England's major cities and India's metropolitan areas. Organisations can apply from January 2015 for smaller sums to develop new ideas and explore different partnerships or for larger grants to realise those project ideas and ambitions. There will be a second round of funding in 2016 and the activities are likely to peak during 2017 to mark the 70th anniversary of Indian independence. In addition to the 1.5m pounds investment by Arts Council England, the British Council has committed 5 million pounds to the Re:Imagine Arts programme which runs from 2013-2017.

"This is a brilliant project, not simply because of the creative links that will be formed but also because it will reach artists and audiences in communities that are sometimes overlooked, but whose passion for culture burns just as brightly as for those in the big cities," UK Secretary of State for Culture, Sajid Javid said during a visit to India. Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Peter Bazalgette said, "I look forward to seeing the fruits of this five-year programme grow and prosper long into the future. This programme is an exciting opportunity for artists and cultural organisations to exchange ideas and influences and to make new work together. The British Council is delighted to be working with Arts Council England to provide this opportunity for new artistic collaborations between India and the UK," Director Arts, British Council, Graham Sheffield said. "Both our countries have vibrant creative sectors and we hope that these grants, alongside our ongoing Re-Imagine programme, will lead to new links between artists, institutions and businesses in both our countries," he said.