Ministry of Tourism Schemes
Swadesh Darshan:
- The Swadesh Darshan Scheme is a central Sector Scheme was for integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the country.
- It is to develop theme-based tourist circuits on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.
- Under the scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development – North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
- The first project under the Scheme was inaugurated in Manipur.
- The project covers two sites i.e. Kangla Fort and Khongjom.
- First Tribal circuit under the scheme was inaugurated in Chhattisgarh and this is the second project under the scheme.
- Tourism Ministry has sanctioned Rs. 460.74 Crore for Five Ongoing ̳Eco Circuit‘ Projects.
- The five eco circuit projects are in the states of Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
- Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project was recently sanctioned under this Scheme.
- It will be focusing on the development of water-based thematic cruise experiences in North Kerala.
- The thematic cruises will be developed in Valapattanam and Kuppam River
- The completion of the projects sanctioned under the scheme would result in increased tourist inflow thereby creating employment opportunities for the local community.
| SWADESH DHARSHAN | PRASAD SCHEME |
| Swadesh dharshan is a theme based tourist circuit‘s development scheme. | The scheme is a National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) under Ministry of Tourism. |
| Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the following thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tirtankar circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Sufi circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. | Under the PRASAD scheme thirteen sites have been identified for development, namely: Amritsar, Ajmer, Dwaraka, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Amaravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Kedarnath, Kamakhya and Patna. |
| In the ̳Spiritual Circuit‘ identified under the Swadesh Darshan scheme; the thrust is on development of particular thematic circuit consisting of various religious/spiritual destinations in a State and Union Territory. | Under the ̳PRASAD‘ scheme the focus is on development and beautification of the identified pilgrimage destinations |
Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive:
- It is to identify and develop pilgrimage tourist destination on the principles of high tourist visits, competetiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.
- Under the PRASAD scheme thirteen sites have been identified for development, namely: Amritsar, Ajmer, Dwaraka, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Amaravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Kedarnath, Kamakhya and Patna.
- Under the ̳PRASAD‘ scheme the focus is on development and beautification of the identified pilgrimage destinations.
- Whereas, in the ̳Spiritual Circuit‘ identified under the SwadeshDarshan scheme, the thrust is on development of particular thematic circuit consisting of various religious/spiritual destinations in a State and Union Territory. Note – HRIDAY includes 12 Cities covering all PRASAD sites except Kedarnath, Kamakhya and Patna.Instead it includes Warangal, and Badami. HRIDAY comes under the Ministry of Urban Development.
Important Schemes in India in Tamil
Adopt a Heritage Project:
- It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India.
- It entails encouraging students, public sector and private organisations to participate more actively in the maintenance of Indian heritage.
- Under the scheme, government invites public sector companies, private sector firms as well as individuals, to develop selected monuments and heritage and tourist sites across India.
- Selected firms and individuals will be appointed as ―Monument Mitras‖ for the development of tourist amenities in the selected heritage sites for an initial period of 5 years.
- The sites/monument for this scheme will be selected on the basis of tourist footfall and visibility.
- The Monument Mitras are selected by the ―oversight and vision committee‖, co-chaired by the TourismSecretary and the Culture Secretary.
- There is no financial bid involved and the corporate sector is expected to use corporate social responsibility(CSR) funds for the upkeep of the site.
- The Monument Mitras, in turn, will get limited visibility on the site premises and on the Incredible Indiawebsite.
- The oversight committee also has the power to terminate a memorandum of understanding in case of noncompliance or non-performance. So far, 31 agencies or Monument Mitras have been approved to adopt 95 monuments/tourist sites.
- MoUs has been signed for adopting Mt. Stok Kangri (in Ladakh), Trail to Gaumukh, (in Uttarakhand), Red Fort (in Delhi) and the Gandikota Fort (in Andhra Pradesh).
Paryatan Parv 2018:
- Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments is organizing the second edition of ―Paryatan Parv‖.
- Paryatan Parv is being organized with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of ―Tourism for All‖.
- The three components of Paryatan Parv, are:
- Dekho Apna Desh: To encourage Indians to visit their own country.
- Tourism for All: Tourism Events at sites across all States in the country are being organised.
- Tourism & Governance: Interactive Sessions & Workshops with Stakeholders on varied themes will be organised across the Country.
Incredible India 2.0 Campaign:
- President of India launched Incredible India 2.0 campaign and ―Adopt a Heritage‖ project on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
- The campaign will focus on developing at least 10 cities where the spirituality quotient, medical and wellness potential will be promoted.
- At present cities from UP — Ayodhya, Agra, Mathura, Varanasi-Sarnath, and Gorakhpur, Haryana – Kurukshetra, Assam – Guwahati, and Tamil Nadu – Kanyakumari have been identified for developing tourist circuits.
- The tourism ministry has set itself a target of completing this exercise of developing cities by October 2018.
- Adopt a Heritage‖ project entails encouraging students, public sector and private organisations to participate more actively in the maintenance of Indian heritage.
