Category Archives: MOT

Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister (IC), Culture and Minister of State (IC), Tourism, has announced that they have increased the opening hours of 10 historical monuments across the country till 9 pm including Rajarani Temple Complex, Bhubaneswar; Dulhadeo Temple, Khajurao; Sheikh Chilli Tomb, Kurukshetra; Safdarjung & Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi; Group of Monuments at Pattadakkal & 7 Gol Gumbaz, Karnataka; Group of Temples, Markanda, Chamursi, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra; Man Mahal, Varanasi; and Rani-ki-Vav, Patan. Now, these monuments will remain open from sunrise to 9 pm for public. Earlier, these monuments used to open from 9 am to 5.30 pm for general public. Patel said that this decision has been made for the benefit of general public/tourists who can visit and appreciate the beauty of such historical sites for long hours. He also said that apart from these 10 monuments, some other historical monuments are also under consideration for long opening hours for visitors.

Rupinder Brar from Indian Revenue Services (IRS), 1990 batch, will be the new Additional Director General (ADG),  Ministry of Tourism. Before this, Brar was serving as the Commissioner of Income Tax and was posted in Mumbai. She will reportedly assume charge in her new role at MOT in New Delhi from next month. She has replaced Meenakshi Sharma (IAS), who is now the Director General, Ministry of Tourism. According to the latest order by Ministry of Personnel, Brar will be serving as the ADG, Tourism post for the next 5 years, or till further orders, whichever is earlier.  

Ministry of Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 14.10 crores for developing tourist/pilgrim facilities like Community Halls, Toilet Blocks, Cafeteria, Illumination, Sitting Spaces, Drinking Water Facilities, Landscaping etc. at 25 religious sites in Kottayam District under the project “Development of Spiritual Circuit: Kasaragod, Wayanad, Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Mallapuram, Thrichur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Allaphuza, Pathananamithitta, Kollam, Trivandrum in Kerala” sanctioned in year 2018-19:

Ministry of Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme has identified Tirthankar Circuit as one of the fifteen thematic circuits for development in the country. All the sites associated with Jainism are covered under this circuit. The project is under implementation and Ministry has released Rs 26.19 crores for the project. Ministry has sanctioned the project-Development of Tirthankar Circuit: Vaishali-Arrah-Masad-Patna-Rajgir-Pawapuri-Champapuri in Bihar for Rs.52.39 crores in 2016-17. The projects under the above scheme are identified for development in consultation with the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations and are sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable Detailed Project Reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilization of funds released earlier.

Hope Island, located off the coast of Kakinada city in Andhra Pradesh and sanctioned in 2014-15 for development as a world-class coastal and eco-tourism circuit under Ministry of Tourism’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme, has attained physical completion. This was announced by Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Government of India, at a recent address. The project was initially sanctioned for Rs 67.84 crore, with the intention to create a natural getaway hub for the Kakinada-Hope Island-Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary loop for both domestic and international visitors. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance to State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations for development of thematic tourist circuits in the country, with the objective of improving connectivity and infrastructure of tourism destinations to enrich overall tourist experience, enhance livelihood and employment opportunities, and attract domestic as well as foreign tourists to the destinations. The projects for development are identified in consultation with the State Governments/UT Administrations and are sanctioned subject to submission of project proposals, their adherence to relevant scheme guidelines, submission of suitable detailed project reports, availability of funds, and utilisation of funds released earlier.

The National Committee of Ministry of Tourism on Krishna Circuit  has identified 12 destinations for development under Krishna Circuit, namely, Dwarka (Gujarat); Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan), Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha) and the concerned State Governments were advised to submit proposals for these destinations. The projects under the scheme are sanctioned with the objective of improving connectivity and infrastructure of tourism destinations to enrich overall tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.   Overall, 15 thematic circuits have been identified for development including themes covering all the religious/spiritual sites in the country.   The Ministry has also released Rs 70.60 cr and Rs 45.72 cr for the development of tourism infrastructure at places related to Maharashtra in Kurukeshtra and Govind Dev ji temple (Jaipur), Khatu Shyam Ji (Sikar) and Nathdwara (Rajsamand) respectively.

Ministry of Tourism (MOT), has sanctioned Rs 1,400 crore worth projects in the eight northeastern states in the past five years under Swadesh Darshan scheme, revealed Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel. Of Rs 1,400 crore, Rs 896 crore were released for a total of 16 projects, he added. Of this, two projects each were for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. The projects included heritage development of Tezpur-Majuli-Sibsagar in Assam, wildlife tourism in Assam (development of Manas-Probitora-Nameri-Kaziranga-Dibru-Saikhowa), eco-tourism in Mizoram (development of Aizawl-Rawpuichhip-Khawhphawp-Lengpui-Durtlang-Chatlang-Sakawrhmuituaitlang-Muthee-Beratlawng-Tuirial air field-Hmuifang), tribal affairs (two projects) in Nagaland, (development of Mokokchung-Tuensang-Mon and Peren-Kohima-Wokha), and spiritual tourism in Manipur (development of Shri Govindajee Temple, Shri Bijoy Govindajee Temple-Shri Gopinath Temple-Shri Bungshibodon Temple-Shri Kaina Temple). Patel said the Union Home Ministry (MHA) had declared Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim as partly protected area and partly restricted area.

The Ministry of Tourism, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, has sanctioned a total of Rs 380. 12 crore for development of Tribal Circuit across the country, specifically in states like Nagaland, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, revealed by Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism. Around 97.36 crore have been sanctioned for the development of Tribal Circuit Peren- Kohima- Wokha in Nagaland, apart from another one worth Rs 99.67 crore for the Mokokchung–Tuensang-Mon circuit in the same state. In Telangana, Rs 83.88 crore have been sanctioned for the integrated development of Mulugu-Laknavaram-Medavaram-Tadvai- Damaravi –Mallur – Bogatha Waterfalls as Tribal Circuit. On the other hand, Rs 99.21 crore have been sanctioned for the development of Tribal Tourism Circuit in Jashpur-Kunkuri-Mainpat- Ambikapur-Maheshpur -Ratanpur-Kurdar-Sarodadadar Gangrel- Kondagaon –Nathyanawagaon -Jagdalpur Chitrakoot -Tirthgarh in Chhattisgarh.

Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has identified Rural circuit as one of the thematic circuits for infrastructure development, with an objective to develop basic infrastructure for showcasing rural sites and culture of the country to tourists, revealed Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel at the Lok Sabha. He shared that MOT will enhance public infrastructure like tourist parks and tourism clusters in 15 identified circuits across the country. The minister highlighted that the initiative was taken under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. “Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Integrated Development of Theme Based Tourist Circuits is developing tourism infrastructure in 15 identified circuits, across the country, having tourist potential in a planned and prioritised manner,” he said.

According to the recent Economic Survey, Ministry of Finance, outbound tourism has increased in recent years, with the number of departures of Indian nationals from India at 23.94 million in 2017 as against 21.87 million in 2016, with a growth rate of 9.5 per cent in 2017. This was more than double the foreign tourist arrivals in India.