Tag Archives: Government of India

KR Naidu, Civil Aviation Minister, GoI said, “India is strongly moving towards building its own plane in the coming few years with the help of industry stakeholders. Major global aerospace players are showing willingness to join hands with India in developing the aircraft.”

Manisha Saxena, Director General of Tourism, Government of India said, “To bridge the gap between overseas and domestic promotions in the field of tourism, the overall budget for tourism has been increased”. It is only the distribution between domestic and international that has changed, she added.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan, a book launch of Novella titled ‘Healing Strings’ by Manmohan Sadana, Ex-Joint Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India was done recently. The chief guest of the occasion was Koji Yoshida, Counsellor, Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, who launched the book along with other prominent dignitaries. Talking of his book, Sadana, said, “My book will serve as a great tool to build a stronger connection and also to promote tourism between different countries.”

As the news of international borders and reinstating of e-visa has been announced, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has appointed tourism officers in 20 Indian missions abroad in a bid to boost overseas marketing and promotions. These officers were already posted in embassies in the countries where promotions will take place, revealed Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, Government of India, recently chaired a review meeting on eSamikSha platform with Ministry of Tourism officials. Also present were Arvind Singh, Secretary – Tourism and Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General – Tourism. eSamikSha is a digital governance platform for easy, instant and secure exchange of information. The portal has a flexi dashboard which provides officials the facility of customisation based on priority or requirements. It has a single-window communication channel linked with three layered robust tracking through Dashboard, Notification, email/SMS alerts.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance minister, Government of India, has announced financial support to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides/travel and tourism stakeholders through the loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors. The scheme will cover 10,700 regional level tourist guides recognised by ministry of tourism and those recognised by state governments. It will also cover travel and tourism stakeholders (TTS) recognised by Ministry of tourism. Loans will be provided with 100 per cent guarantee up to Rs 10 lakh for TTS and Rs 1 lakh for tourist guides licensed at regional or state level. She also said that the first five lakh tourist visas that will be issued – once issuance is restarted – for free. These announcements are part of eight measures declared by the centre as relief for the COVID-hit national economy.

Pan-India domestic tourism revival initiative has been introduced in the form of India City Walks Festival™ (ICWF™). It is supported by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India). This initiative is in line with the ‘Vocal for Local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ missions of Hon’ble Prime Minister. The focus of India City Walks Festival™ is on heritage, monuments, history, tradition and city sightseeing destinations for walks, storytelling sessions, events, and experiences both on-ground and virtual. The Festival is the initiative of India City Walks (ICW®), three-time National Award recipient and Hall of Fame award recipient operating under parent company City Explorers Private Limited. The India City Walks Festival™ is being organised, and on-boarding of locals is ongoing to register as Hosts. It begins with the curtain raiser walks (virtual and on-ground) in Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Gwalior, Chandigarh, Agra and Varanasi. In February 2021, successful training and events took place in the state of Uttarakhand with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. More events in India City Walks Festival™ are lined up for March and April, 2021. India City Walks Festival™ (ICWF™) aims to take people on a journey of exploration around cities of India to reveal iconic locations and little-known facts and best-kept secrets. Join the biggest heritage and cultural festival of all times to celebrate your city and your neighbourhood. To register, fill the Google form: https://cutt.ly/submit-entry For more information, check https://www.indiacitywalks.com/festival/ or get in touch at +91 9899692790 | indiacitywalksfestival@gmail.com

The Karnataka State Cabinet has approved the proposal to accord ‘Industry’ status to hotels and resorts classified or approved by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in Karnataka. The decision is expected to boost recovery of the hospitality sector through various benefits, including applicability of industrial tariff for electricity and property taxes.

 A delegation of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), led by association President Pronab Sarkar, recently met Arvind Singh, the new Secretary – Tourism, Government of India. IATO welcomed him and took the opportunity to discuss some of the issues that have been plaguing the tourism sector, such as SEIS, MDA, etc. Secretary Singh assured the delegation of his intervention and positive action.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Government of India, said that his department is willing to look at single-window clearances for the hotel industry. He was addressing the hotelier and restaurant community across India via a live webinar conducted by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). “Yes, we will look at single-window clearances for licenses and simple online approvals. This can also take care of bureaucracy and corruption,” he said. The minister also responded well to the request for curbing illegal, unlicensed accommodation units in the country, especially those that are listed on OTAs. He said, “We will get this legally examined. There must be an element of registration or licensing that should be brought in for record-keeping purposes. Otherwise there is a risk of health and security. We must examine the legal implications.” The FHRAI team will now draw up specific and substantial ideas and revert to the minister.