Tag Archives: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) celebrated the completion of 50 years at a gala event at The Ashok, New Delhi. The event was graced by the presence of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Umang Narula, Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC. The who’s who of the travel and hospitality industry joined the celebrations and raised a toast to ITDC.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture has said that for Uttar Pradesh, the ministry is on the verge of sanctioning an amount of Rs.99.97 crore this year for infrastructure development of Buddhist Circuit covering Saravasti, Kapilvastu, Kushinagar. Outlining the ministry’s investment in tourism infrastructure for development of Buddhist Circuit under its Swadesh Darshan scheme, Sharma stated that an amount of Rs. 132.17 crore have been sanctioned till date. Delivering his opening remarks during the International Buddhist Conclave-2016 in Sarnath, UP, Sharma said, “India is the seat of spiritual tourism and that Government of India & Government of Uttar Pradesh are committed to develop the Buddhist Circuits. Sarnath will be made the hub of Buddhist Tourism in India and efforts will be made to bring in air, rail and road connections from Sarnath to various Buddhist sites in India.” Among those attending the opening ceremony were UP Tourism Minister Om Prakash, Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi, Navneet Sehgal, Principal Secretary, UP Tourism and Commissioner Varanasi, H.E. Assoc. Professor Chavanee Tongroach, Vice Minister of Tourism & Sports, Govt. of the Kingdom of Thailand, Macio Favilla, Executive Director, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Mayor of Varanasi amongst others attended the opening session of the conclave. Zutshi said that this is the first time when the International Buddhist Conclave is being organized in the premises of Sarnath. He further added that India is prepared for developing a transborder Buddhist Circuit across ASEAN & SAARC countries to enhance movement of Buddhist pilgrims in the region from remaining parts of the world. The whole day session included panel discussions on ‘India- The Land of Buddha’ with an objective to showcase India …

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a PSU under Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, on completion of its 50 year of inception on October 1, 2016, launched a logo marking the golden jubilee of ITDC. The logo was unveiled by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture in presence of Vinod Zutshi, Tourism Secretary, and other senior officers of Ministry of Tourism and ITDC. In order to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebrations, various activities have been introduced during the fortnight starting September 24, 2016 till October 8, 2016. Special offers on room tariff and food & beverage outlets in all ITDC hotels, issue of Elite Card to every 50th guest during this period, plantation of 50 saplings each in some hotels of ITDC, painting and slogan competition, lighting of all Delhi based hotels, presenting souvenirs to guests visiting ITDC hotels on 1st October 2016 are certain activities planned during the celebrations.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture will flag off the ‘Swachh Paryatan Run’ from Transport Bhawan to India Gate in New Delhi on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Sept 27. The Minister will also flag the ‘Special Sightseeing Tour of the Monuments and Museum in Delhi arranged for Divyang Children’ organised by India Tourism, New Delhi. Among the other activities organised by India Tourism, New Delhi, the Minister will award rewarding Ministry of Tourism offices, its organisations and also hold a painting competition.

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu met Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism to discuss the issues for promotion of tourism and development of tourist infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. Khandu said that there are many important tourist destinations in Arunachal Pradesh including many religious and pilgrimage tourist places which are to be developed and promoted. He emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh has great tourist potential which needs to be harnessed properly. Dr. Sharma assured the visiting Chief Minister that the Ministry of Tourism wants to help Arunachal Pradesh in promoting tourism, especially high-end tourism preserving natural beauty and eco-system of the State. Many tourism schemes in the State can be promoted with the help of North-East circuit and PRASAD scheme. He said that economic air fare packages will also boost the tourism sector in Arunachal Pradesh.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism has said that the state governments/UTs must declare ‘Selfie Danger Zones’ at tourist sites to prevent any untoward incident. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Sharma said, “Provision of safety to tourists for various activities of tourism including safety-precautionary measures to prevent any un-toward incident including declaring of ‘Selfie Danger Zones’ at tourist sites is the primary responsibility of concerned State Governments/UT Administrations.” However, the state governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra have informed that they have taken measures to create awareness through signages indicating danger zones including selfie danger zones. The Ministry of Tourism also takes up the issue of ensuring safety and security of all tourists, domestic and international, with the State Governments and UT Administrations from time to time, Sharma said.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, has revealed that Rs. 400 crore assistance will be provided by the Centre for developing the airports in Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur and Bareilly. And this would be done within a period of one and a half months. He said that a major effort is underway to operationalise numerous airports in the State of Uttar Pradesh. This is an outcome of a Review meeting that was held earlier in the day which was chaired by Dr. Mahesh Sharma. The meeting was attended by Secretary, Civil Aviation, R.N. Choubey, senior officers of Airports Authority of India, Director, Civil Aviation, Uttar Pradesh Government and District Magistrates of the concerned Districts in Uttar Pradesh. Dr. Sharma also revealed that an airport in Kushinagar will also be developed, for which the State Government had provided 200 crore and the work is being executed by RITES and would be complete with a year. The Minister said that a Committee had been set up, comprising of two senior officers from the Ministry and two officers from the Uttar Pradesh Government. This Committee will study the feasibility of developing no frills airports in Meerut, Faizabad and Moradabad. Dr. Mahesh Sharma also informed that the case of constructing airport in Jewar had been sent to the Ministry of Defence for their NOC. The Minister informed the media that the push for developing airports in small towns was a natural follow up to the Regional Air Connectivity Scheme that had been announced last week.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has introduced a number of passenger friendly initiatives to ease the process of flight cancellation and delays. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister for Civil Aviation, said that his ministry was committed not only to the growth of the airline industry but also to ensure that flying for most Indians becomes a pleasant experience. In keeping with this commitment, he along with Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State, Civil Aviation, presided over a presentation made by DGCA with regard to Passenger Centric Initiatives. In the presentation, the first category of amendments have been made in CARs related to refund of air tickets. The Ministry has proposed that the refund process should be completed within 15 working days in case of domestic travel and 30 working days in case of international travel. It also proposed that in case of cancellation of tickets, statutory taxes and user development fee/airport development fee/passenger service fee shall be refunded. The Ministry has also proposed in this category that under no circumstances cancellation shall be more than the basic fair. In the second category of CARs related to denied boarding, flight cancellation and flight delays, the Ministry has proposed that an amount equal to 200 per cent of booked one way basic fair plus airline fuel charge subject to maximum of Rs 10,000 would be paid to passengers in case airline arranges alternate flight that is to depart after one hour but within 24 hours of the booked scheduled departure. In the third category of CARs relating to facilities to be provided to persons with reduced mobility, airlines shall develop a procedure for making advance request of stretcher and same should be …

The share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India in the International Tourist Arrivals around the world during 2015 was 0.68 per cent. Union Minister of State for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma had said that India is poised to receive one per cent of global tourists in three years. Initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism in the recent past for development and promotion of tourism and attract more tourists in the country are e-Tourist Visa (eTV), publicity and promoting India as a holistic destination in the international markets, participation in travel fairs and exhibitions; organising roadshows, Know India seminars & workshops; organizing and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals; publication of brochures, offering joint advertising and brochure support, and inviting media personalities, tour operators and opinion makers to visit the country under the Hospitality programme of the Ministry. This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Civil Aviation in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

The Government of India (GoI) has granted ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 14 Greenfield airports namely, Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Shimoga, Gulbarga,Hassan and Bijapur in Karnataka; Kannur in Kerala; Pakyong in Sikkim; Datia/Gwalior (Cargo) in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh; Karaikal in Puducherry; and Dholera in Gujarat. Further, the government has laid down Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country. However, it is up to the airlines to provide services to different regions depending on their commercial viability subject to compliance of RDG. This information was given by Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.