Performing Arts Cockpit · Classical Music · AIR audition guidelines 2024

Hindustani Classical Music — AIR grades, ragas, training ladder & scholarships

Recognised by Sangeet Natak Akademi · Prasar Bharati (All India Radio) ·Akademi, Ministry, Prasar Bharati & ICCR files only ·Last checked 16 Oct 2026

For a Hindustani vocalist or instrumentalist, the clearest official benchmark is All India Radio's music audition: what it tests, which ragas and talas it accepts, what it charges and how an artiste climbs from B to Top grade. This page adds the Gandharva exam levels, Kathak Kendra's music courses, the Sangeet Natak Akademi honours, ICCR empanelment, scholarships, fellowships and what broadcasting actually pays.

📍 See The Journey / Full Roadmap AIR Music Audition guidelines (PDF) sangeetnatak.gov.in

AIR grades: B · B-High · A · Top, awarded by expert boards [1]
Fresher audition fee: ₹1,298 incl. GST (SC/ST ₹1,003) [1]
Top grade: Only after 10 years in A grade [1]
Young-artiste scholarship: ₹5,000 a month for 2 years · age 18–25 [12]

01 Core rules, lineages & raga–tala frameworks

What AIR auditions in Hindustani music — and how it judges

Vocal: Khayal, Dhrupad / Dhamar, Haveli Sangeet, and light classical vocal — Thumri, Dadra, Tappa, Kajari and Raag Pradhan.
Instrumental: any of the 42 instruments on AIR's approved list, from sitar, sarod, surbahar, rabab, sarangi, esraj, dilruba, santoor, flute and shehnai to tabla, pakhawaj and harmonium. [1]

Hindustani audition format (vocal / instrumental, excluding percussion) [1]

Hindustani audition format (vocal / instrumental, excluding percussion)
Level	What you perform	Duration
Fresh and B → B-High	Two ragas — one morning/afternoon, one evening/night — one of your choice and one the station picks from your list of 25	30 min (2 × 15)
B-High → A	Three items: two ragas of your choice (one of each time band) + one of the station's choice from your list	60 min (30 + 10 + 20)
Percussion, fresh and B → B-High	Two solo talas (your choice + station's) from your list of 10, plus accompaniment (Masitkhani and Razakhani, vilambit and drut)	45 min
Light classical, fresh / B → B-High	Thumri 15 min, Dadra 10 min, Kajri / Chaiti / Tappa 5 min	30 min

Swar (melody): raga swarup — the grammar of the raga — purity of raga and of tradition (gharana); voice or tonal quality and pitch alignment; developing the raga in its entirety; aesthetics and style.
Taal (rhythm): command of laya and tempo; systematic improvisation in a percussion solo; variety of patterns across talas; for percussionists, accompaniment with understanding, grace and finesse.
Sahitya (composition): purity of the text with bhava and correct pronunciation; performing the composition — or, for instruments, the gat — in its entirety and developing it with musical phrasing.
No reverb, echo or other effects on audition recordings; recordings made outside the AIR studio are not accepted. [1]

AIR's list of ragas for Dhrupad, Khayal and instrumental auditions runs to 60 ragas (from Bilaskhani Todi, Malkauns, Bhairav, Yaman, Darbari and Bihag to Vrindabani Sarang and Kausi Kanhra), with 13 more for Thumri/Dadra. Percussion talas on the list: Teentaal, Jhaptaal, Roopak, Adachautaal, Savari (15 beats), Dhamar, Chautaal, Sooltaal, Laxmitaal, Teevra and Ektaal. [1]

AIR's assessment names purity of 'tradition (gharana)' as a criterion, but no Government file lists or ranks Hindustani gharanas — so this page does not. A guru's gharana is a teaching lineage; the audition judges what you actually sing or play.

02 Institutional & national recognition

AIR grading, Akademi honours and ICCR

Who grades a classical musician at All India Radio [1]

Who grades a classical musician at All India Radio
Board	Where	Role in classical music
Local Audition Board (LAB)	Every AIR station	Live preliminary screening; successful candidates are recorded and sent on
Central Audition Board (CAB)	Directorate General, AIR, New Delhi	Grades every fresh case and every upgrade from B up to Top

A B-grade artiste must be upgraded within 5 years or is removed from the list; if the CAB keeps you at B, the 5 years restart from the result date.
For B-High, A and Top artistes, a station that sees a decline in quality can send a recent recording to the CAB, which may reduce or withhold bookings.
The decisions of LAB, RAB and CAB are final; the Director General, AIR settles disputes. [1]

Sangeet Natak Akademi honours (Hindustani vocal and instrumental are named music categories) [6][7]

Sangeet Natak Akademi honours (Hindustani vocal and instrumental are named music categories)
Honour	Who is considered	What it carries
Akademi Ratna (Fellow)	Ordinarily age 50+; at most 40 living Fellows	₹3 lakh, citation, angavastram, tamrapatra; medical cover up to ₹1.5 lakh a year
Akademi Puraskar (Award)	Ordinarily age 35+; 12 awards a year in the music field	₹1 lakh, citation, angavastram, tamrapatra; medical cover up to ₹1 lakh a year
Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar	Up to age 40; at most 33 a year, 8 of them in music	₹25,000 and a tamrapatra; invitation to perform at the Akademi's festival

ICCR empanels artists aged 18 and above in Hindustani vocal and instrumental music, with applications open all year and expert committees meeting annually.
Its genre-wise list (updated 25 Nov 2025) shows each artist's current category — Outstanding, Established or Proficient. [9][10]

03 Professional portfolios & age benchmarks

What each step costs, and the age limits

AIR music audition fees (audition fee + ₹100 form fee + 18% GST) [1]

AIR music audition fees (audition fee + ₹100 form fee + 18% GST)
Category	Total	SC/ST (25% off the audition fee)
Fresher	₹1,298	₹1,003
Any upgrade (B → B-High, B-High → A)	₹2,478	₹1,888
A → Top	₹6,018	₹4,543
Folk / tribal fresher	Nil	Nil
Divyaang, senior citizens, AIR / Doordarshan staff artists	Nil	Nil

There is no waiting period to re-audition or seek an upgrade — except Top: you need 10 years in A grade, and after a failed Top attempt you wait a year.
A classical fresher who fails at the CAB gets one exemption from the LAB screening if they reapply within a year.
If your discipline is not available at your home station, apply at the nearest station that has it; no TA/DA for the audition, but TA/DA is paid for a booked broadcast. [1]

Central scholarships and fellowships open to musicians [11][13][12]

Central scholarships and fellowships open to musicians
Scheme	Age	Amount	Term
CCRT Cultural Talent Search Scholarship	10–14	₹3,600 a year + guru/institution tuition reimbursed up to ₹9,000 a year	2 years at a time, renewable up to the first degree or age 20; 650 new awards a year
Scholarship to Young Artistes	18–25, with at least 5 years under a guru or institution	₹5,000 a month	2 years; up to 400 a batch
Junior Fellowship	25–40	₹10,000 a month	2 years, research project; 200 a batch
Senior Fellowship	Above 40	₹20,000 a month	2 years; 200 a batch

M.Mus / B.Mus and BPA / MPA are university degrees; Gandharva titles such as Visharad and Alankar are the Mandal's own examinations. Margdarshan found no Government file setting out their equivalence to degrees, so ask the university or employer in writing before relying on one in place of the other.

04 Grassroots-to-maestro pipeline

From the first lesson to Top grade

The full Hindustani Music roadmap has its own page

Every step from first teacher to the national stage, the detailed route, the age-by-age ladder, with sources.

📍 See The Journey / Full Roadmap

05 Top elite academies & universities

Where to train — verified 2026-27 details

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi — founded 1939 by Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya, headed by Pandit Madhup Mudgal, affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai.
Subjects: Hindustani vocal, and sitar, flute, tabla and harmonium; separate girls' and boys' vocal classes from age 15, instruments from 11, children's vocal at 11 to 14+ (ages as on 1 May 2026).
Audition: a 1-minute song of any kind for vocal; viva only for instruments (no instrument needed).
Classes: 1 hour, 3 days a week (children's vocal 45 minutes); 75% attendance compulsory; certificates only after 2 years' training.
2026-27 fees: form ₹500, admission ₹5,000, tuition and instrument fee ₹3,000 a month (Indian nationals), cash only; for the 2026 batch the Mandal's exams are taken privately at other centres. [3]

Kathak Kendra (SNA), New Delhi — music courses for accompanists [4][5]

Kathak Kendra (SNA), New Delhi — music courses for accompanists
Course	Age (1 June 2026)	Qualification	Fee
Certificate — tabla, pakhawaj, sarangi or vocal (1 year)	19–21	Class XII passed	₹400 a month
Diploma Special — tabla, pakhawaj, sarangi or vocal (3 years)	20–25	Graduate	₹650 a month

Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Lucknow is a major Hindustani music university, but its official website could not be reached when Margdarshan checked (16 Oct 2026), so no fees, seats or dates are quoted. Take them only from the university's own notice.

06 Instrumentation expenses & who bears the cost

What Hindustani music training costs — and who pays

At an AIR audition the station provides tanpura and tabla/pakhawaj accompaniment; if you bring your own accompanists they must hold at least B-High grade, and AIR pays them nothing.
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya's monthly ₹3,000 is a combined tuition and instrument fee; students pay for any damage to its instruments. [1][3]

Guru's fees, ages 10–14: CCRT reimburses actual tuition up to ₹9,000 a year.
Ages 18–25: the young-artiste scholarship pays ₹5,000 a month for advanced training.
Touring abroad: for a 'Festival of India', the Government bears all expenditure on deputing the artist.
Institutions: SNA grants-in-aid (₹30,000–₹1,00,000) do not pay for buying or repairing musical instruments. [11][13][14][8]

A sitar, sarod, tanpura or a pair of tablas is the family's biggest single cost, and no Government file publishes prices — so Margdarshan prints none. Learn first on the institute's instrument, buy only with your guru, and budget for strings, skins and tuning as running costs.

07 Earning channels & government-job reality

What broadcasting pays — and the government-job reality

AIR basic fee per booking by grade — AIR Mumbai's annual list of music artistes, as on 1 Jan 2020 [2]

AIR basic fee per booking by grade — AIR Mumbai's annual list of music artistes, as on 1 Jan 2020
Grade	Basic fee shown
Top	₹11,000
A	₹7,400
B-High	₹3,000
B	₹1,700

These are the figures printed in one station's 2020 list — the latest grade-wise fee list Margdarshan could find on Prasar Bharati's site. Ask your station for the current rate before you rely on it. A grade is not a salary: bookings depend on the station, and the boards can reduce booking frequency.

Guru's Repertory grant: ₹15,000 a month.
Junior / Senior Fellowship: ₹10,000 / ₹20,000 a month for 2 years.
Festival engagements through the Zonal Cultural Centres' Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs (14 since November 2015).
Veteran Artists: up to ₹6,000 a month at 60+ with annual income up to ₹72,000.
Prize money: SNA Yuva ₹25,000, Akademi Puraskar ₹1 lakh, Akademi Ratna ₹3 lakh. [12][7][6]

There is no 'cultural quota' in the central sports-quota rules — DoPT's qualifying list covers games and sports only. Government income for a musician comes from open teaching posts, graded broadcasts and festival engagements, and the schemes above. [15]

08 Red flags & honest warnings

Before you pay anyone

Nobody can 'arrange' an AIR grade — classical grades are given only by the Central Audition Board, and its decision is final.
Recordings for an audition are made at the AIR studio; a privately produced recording is not accepted.
An unused B grade lapses after 5 years without an upgrade — plan the next audition early.
Akademi honours are by nomination only — no one can sell you an 'SNA award application'.
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi says it has no other branch — anyone selling admission to a 'branch' is not part of it. [1][7][3]

Riyaz builds a career, but strain does not: vocalists should treat lasting hoarseness, and instrumentalists lasting wrist or finger pain, as a reason to see a doctor.

09 Official sources & verification

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this Education Margdarshan page is taken from an All India Radio, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture or ICCR file below, or from an academy's own 2026-27 notice (used only for that academy). Fees, grades and scheme amounts change — open the current file before you apply or pay. Read on 16 October 2026.

Prasar Bharati / DG All India Radio — Guidelines on the Music Audition System (2024) (opens in a new tab) Grades, boards, audition formats, approved instruments, raga and tala lists, assessment, fees, waiting periods · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
All India Radio, Mumbai — Annual list of music artistes (casual/staff) as on 1 Jan 2020 (opens in a new tab) Grade-wise basic fee printed against each classical artiste · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi — Prospectus 2026-27 (opens in a new tab) History, ABGMVM levels, admission ages, audition, rules, fees · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Kathak Kendra — Admission, session 2026-27 (opens in a new tab) Certificate and Diploma Special music course ages and qualifications · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Kathak Kendra — Fee Structure (opens in a new tab) Monthly fees for the tabla / pakhawaj / sarangi / vocal courses · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Sangeet Natak Akademi — Guidelines for SNA Fellowship & Award (opens in a new tab) Akademi Ratna and Puraskar purse, music categories, age · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Sangeet Natak Akademi — Guidelines for Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (opens in a new tab) Age up to 40, 33 awards (8 in music), ₹25,000, nominators · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
Sangeet Natak Akademi — Grants-in-aid to cultural institutions (opens in a new tab) ₹30,000–₹1,00,000 grants; no money for instruments · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
ICCR — Empanelment of Artists/Groups: Introduction (opens in a new tab) Age 18+, Hindustani vocal and instrumental, year-round applications · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
ICCR — Genre-wise list of empanelled artists (updated 25 Nov 2025) (opens in a new tab) Current categories Outstanding / Established / Proficient · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
CCRT (Ministry of Culture) — Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme (opens in a new tab) Age 10–14, ₹3,600 a year + tuition up to ₹9,000, 650 awards, renewal to age 20 · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
PIB — Financial assistance to traditional artists, folk artists and cultural institutions (Lok Sabha, 16 Mar 2026) (opens in a new tab) Repertory grant, scholarships, fellowships, Veteran Artists, Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
PIB — Financial Grant Scheme for Young Artists (Lok Sabha, 10 Mar 2025) (opens in a new tab) ₹5,000 a month, ages 18–25, 5 years' prior training, Indian classical music a recognised field · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
PIB — Financial Assistance Schemes for Traditional Artists (Rajya Sabha, 27 Mar 2025) (opens in a new tab) Global Engagement Scheme — Government bears Festival of India expenditure · Last checked 16 Oct 2026
DoPT — Instructions on Recruitment/Promotion for Sportspersons (18 Nov 2022) (opens in a new tab) Qualifying list is games and sports only — no performing arts · Last checked 16 Oct 2026

Spotted something out of date? Email margdarshan07support10@gmail.com with the official link and Education Margdarshan will update it.