Category Archives: MOT

According to a study done by the university using data from India and five other countries, using domestic travel bans to control COVID-19 infections may be inadvisable. It found that imposing travel bans can counter-intuitively increase the total spread of coronavirus disease, creating a ‘lose-lose situation’. The national lockdown in the first wave trapped millions of migrants inside big cities like Mumbai that were fast-growing coronavirus hotspots.

Both Kerala Travel Mart Society as well as Hotel Association of India (HAI) have requested the FM to customise the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 3.0 that has been extended to the industry. They have also requested to investigate the anomalies in the operational guidelines and FAQ released by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC), due to which, the scheme itself is being nullified.

Following the orders from the Centre, Tuhin Kanta Pandey (IAS 1987-Batch) has been assigned the additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. Pandey will hold the additional charge from April 26, 2021 to May 13, 2021 i.e. during the period of absence on leave of Pradeep Singh Kharola (IAS 1985-Batch). At present, Pandey is serving as the Secretary, Department of Investment & Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance.  

Speaking on during a webinar conducted by the MoT recently, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism discussed the important of training programmes for students in the hospitality and service industry and how more and more students should be encouraged to participate in these programme in near future by the tourism industry.

Amid hospitals across the country scrambling for medical oxygen due to rising number of Covid-19 cases, an Air India flight brought 318 Philips oxygen concentrators from New York JFK Airport to New Delhi on Monday.  

Addressing a webinar ‘India’s Heritage: Powering Tourism’ organized by Ministry of Tourism on World Heritage Day, Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel, said “We have several ancient sites and temples but they have not received their due they deserve on the global platform. It is essential to bring together our pool of conservationists, archaeologists and historians who can throw light on our heritage on the world platform.”

In its ongoing effort to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry, especially in these times of a pandemic, Ministry of Tourism has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cleartrip and EaseMyTrip. The tourism ministry says that more such MoUs will follow in the near future.

Abhishek Narang, a 2008 IRS-IT officer, was has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Culture for a period of four years. He is currently on ‘compulsory wait’ in the Department of Personnel & Training. Narang will relieve his duties immediately as per instructions to take up his new assignment in the Ministry of Culture office.

In a virtual address at the inauguration of the mega tourism promotion event in Srinagar titled, ‘Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise’ Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Tourism & Culture, said, “The country has seen a five-time hike in tourists in January 2021 compared to January 2020 in Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative will further help to revive tourism in the UT.” He added that tourists started visiting J&K after the abolition of Section 370.

The sixth edition of the Bengal Travel Mart (BTM) will be held from 10th April, 2021 to 12th April 2021 at Mayfair Tea Resort, Siliguri – the gateway to the North Eastern part of India. Bengal Travel Mart is an initiative of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association (EHTTOA), West Bengal Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to showcase tourism in Siliguri, West Bengal.