India, Aug. 11 -- The Government of India issued the following news release:
To ensure the quality of services and experience for different classes of both domestic and international tourists, Ministry of Tourism, under its voluntary scheme of Incredible India Homestay Establishments classifies fully operational rooms of homestay facilities in the country including rural and tribal areas. Homestays are classified under two categories- Gold Category and Silver Category based on the extant Guidelines issued by the Ministry. There is no financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Tourism under this scheme.
The Government also approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan for improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, and development of 1000 homestays is a part of the scheme. The States/UTs can avail assistance of a maximum of Rs.5 Crore for implementing 5-10 homestays per village in a village cluster of 5-6 villages, subject to eligibility as per the Guidelines issued on 01.07.2025.
Additionally, the Government of India also announced collateral free institutional credit of Mudra Loans for Homestays in the Budget Announcement for 2025-26 to assist and encourage setting up of homestays across the country, including rural and tribal areas.
The details of the number of rural Homestay facilities registered on the National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry (NIDHI) portal under the "One Nation, One Registration" initiative, State-Wise and year-wise are placed at ANNEXURE.
The function of NIDHI platform is to gather data on registered and classified/approved units under the voluntary scheme of classification only and not a booking platform. The data regarding the number of tourism or occupancy days is not reflected on the platform.
This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
