The Wonder of India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s newly launched mega tourism projects are a mega boost to the industry
Last week, during his trip to Kashmir Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 52 tourism sector projects worth over Rs 1400 crore under Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD Schemes.
The projects aim to develop tourism infrastructure and promote pilgrimage and heritage sites across India. The launch events were carried out at all 52 destinations simultaneously.
Additionally, the PM launched campaigns like Chalo India Global Diaspora Campaign and Dekho Apna Desh People’s Choice 2024 to promote tourism.
Nine infrastructure projects that were unveiled are worth INR 469 Crore and the launch of 43 projects valued at INR 963 Crore, all under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism’s Swadesh Darshan (Domestic Tourism) and PRASHAD (Spiritual/Religious Tourism) initiatives. These projects executed in coordination with state governments, union territories, and local authorities, spanned diverse tourism destinations.
Among the highlights were the inauguration of three PRASHAD Scheme projects in Hazratbal (Srinagar), Jogulamba (Telangana), and Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh), focusing on pilgrim facilitation centers, ghat development, and other amenities. These projects are worth Rs 129.35 Cr.
Some of the major interventions developed in the projects include Pilgrim facilitation centre, Ghat Development, Façade illumination, Sound & Light show, Parking, Queue complex, Safety & security infrastructure etc.
Besides, 14 projects across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana worth Rs 320.8 Cr. were also launched to further develop hitherto untouched pilgrimage and heritage sites.
In a bid to foster inclusive development and community participation, the Prime Minister announced the launch of three new campaigns:
Dekho Apna Desh (See Your Country) People’s Choice 2024: A nationwide poll to identify the most preferred tourist attractions across five categories, enabling citizens to engage with the Ministry of Tourism in shaping India’s tourism landscapes.
Through this Nation-wide poll, the Ministry of Tourism aims to engage with citizens to identify most preferred tourist attractions and understand tourist perceptions across 5 tourism categories – Spiritual, Cultural & Heritage, Nature & Wildlife, Adventure, and any other category. The polling portal would be available for people to exercise their choices at https://innovateindia.mygov.in/dekho-apna-desh/. It is an effort to identify attractions and destinations for development in mission mode, contributing to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047.
Chalo India Global (Lets Go to India) Diaspora Campaign: Encouraging Indian diaspora members to promote tourism by inviting non-Indian friends to visit India annually, fostering cultural exchange and promoting India as a global tourist destination.
The campaign has been launched in the spirit of Jan Bhagidari for an Atulya and Viksit Bharat and on the basis of the clarion call of the Prime Minister requesting the Indian diaspora members to encourage 5 non-Indian friends to travel to India every year. The website https://www.chaloindia.com/ will inspire and encourage people living in other countries to visit India.
Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD): A scheme aimed at developing sustainable tourism destinations through competition and strategic alignment with India’s tourism priorities.
Here, the objectives are to develop sustainable and responsible destinations providing end-to-end experience. The Scheme intends to develop destinations through competition, convergence and strategic alignment with India’s tourism priorities. The Ministry of Tourism has selected 42 destinations under various tourism themes across 25 States/UTs for development under the scheme.
It may be noted that the Ministry of Tourism had launched ‘Swadesh Darshan’ Scheme in 2014-15 and provided financial assistance to the State Governments/ UT Administration/Central Agencies for development of tourism infrastructure in the country. The brief objective of the scheme was to position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation following community-based development and pro-poor tourism approach.
Since the inception of the scheme, 76 Projects have been sanctioned by the Ministry across 31 States/Union territories with a total capital outlay of ₹ 5294.1 Crore. Under the scheme, 6 projects in the States of Bihar, Meghalaya and Rajasthan amounting to ₹ 339.59 Crores were inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India in Srinagar.
Additionally, the Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme in the form of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 with the mission to create a robust framework for integrated development of tourism destinations in partnership with the States/ UTs and local governments for promoting sustainable and responsible tourism in the country. The Ministry has notified 57 destinations from 32 States and Union Territories for development under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme.
Under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme, the Ministry has sanctioned 29 tourist experiences in 17 States/UTs amounting to ₹ 644.44 Crore till date.
Notably, Prime Minister Modi has requested the tourists to spend at least 5-10% of their total budget in purchasing local items from local communities of the tourist destinations. During his address to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he stated that he would like Jammu and Kashmir to be one of the most celebrated wedding destinations of the country. The PM reiterated the campaign “I Do” and urged people to come to the land of Jammu & Kashmir for their wedding ceremonies and celebrations.
Incidentally, Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed record growth in past years. In 2023 more than 2 crore tourists were recorded and record growth is seen at Amarnath and Vaishnodevi Yatra.
