India, Aug. 4 -- The Government of India issued the following news release:
The Ministry of Tourism under the "Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive" (PRASHAD) provides financial assistance to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations for development of tourism infrastructure at identified religious and heritage sites across the country. Since the launch of the Scheme, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 54 projects in 28 States/UTs, the details of which are given in the Annexure-I.
The projects sanctioned under the said scheme are implemented by the State/UT Government concerned. The delay in the completion of projects under the PRASHAD scheme arise from various factors such as delays in the tendering process, limited capacity of the State Implementing Agency, untimely project planning and design, and non-submission of requisite documents.
However, the Ministry of Tourism regularly monitors the progress of project and also encourages respective State Government/ UT Administrations/ Central Agencies to complete the projects in a time bound manner.
The Ministry of Tourism under Swadesh Darshan scheme sanctioned 76 projects under identified thematic circuits for Rs.5290.30 Crore. Further, the Ministry revamped the scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations and sanctioned 52 projects for Rs.2108.87 Crore. The details of these projects are given in the Annexure-II.
The selection of the tourism development projects under the schemes is done in synergy with scheme guidelines and in close consultation with the concerned State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, while taking into account the regional and cultural diversity of India.
Further, a holistic development approach is adopted in identification of destinations/ projects under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme, which includes future tourism potential, connectivity, alignment with sustainable and responsible tourism, etc.
Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 76 projects under different thematic circuits for Rs.5290.30 Crore across the country, including themes such as Rural, Himalayan, Tribal, Eco-tourism, Wildlife, Coastal, Northeast, etc.
The Ministry of Tourism had launched the Dekho Apna Desh initiative in January 2020 for promotion of domestic tourism in the country. Under this initiative, the Ministry promotes tourism destinations and products of India through various activities such as Webinars, Quiz, Pledge, Seminars, Tourism Promotional Events, Fam tours, Website, social media etc.
The Ministry of Tourism has put in place the Scheme of "Capacity Building for Service Providers" (CBSP) to provide education, training and certification to the tourism service providers including small tour operators, local artisans and homestay providers, to up-grade manpower at every strata of tourism industry in order to capitalize the vast tourism potential of the country to the fullest, and provide professional expertise to the local populace as well as create fresh opportunities in the tourism sector.
This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Table Omitted (The document can be viewed at https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2152140 )
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
