Tag Archives: Government of India

NITI Aayog and MoCA discuss strengthening operations & augmenting recovery with aviation industry

The Empowered Group 6 (EG 6) constituted by Government of India and chaired by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, held a meeting with business leaders from the aviation industry and Ministry of Civil Aviation to discuss possibilities for strengthening operations and augmenting the recovery of the aviation sector under the new normal. The meeting was also attended by Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), which covers the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the National Pension System; and representatives of airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia, Vistara and Air India.

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MOT puts forth industry requests to Finance Ministry to avoid losses: Rupinder Brar

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has revealed that they have put forth the industry representation and requests in front of the Finance Minister, so that they can work towards reducing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on businesses. “The industry stakeholders need working capital and they are looking at interventions either from the banking sector in easing out of norms, or they will be looking at support through reduction of taxes. These are the things that would leave money in the hands of the industry as of now. We would be carrying out or taking with us the representation of the industry and the thrust would be that the industry needs to survive so that job losses do not happen. I would refer to the honourable PM’s speech to the nation, where he has himself mentioned that we should make sure that we don’t stop wages of anyone. Hence, all the efforts of the Ministry of Finance would be to ensure that no such job losses happen in the tourism and hospitality sectors.”

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MoT bags PATA Gold Award for Marketing – Primary Government Destination

Winners of the 2019 PATA Grand and Gold Awards were recently revealed by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). It has been announced that Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, will be presented the PATA Gold Award 2019 for Marketing – Primary Government Destination for its ‘Find the Incredible You’ campaign. The awards will be handed over at the 2019 PATA Gold Awards Dinner and Award Presentation in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, during PATA Travel Mart 2019. This year’s awards attracted 197 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide, and winners were selected by an independent judging committee. Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, said, “On behalf of PATA, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the 2019 Grand and Gold Award winners, as well as all of this year’s participants for their submissions. I look forward to celebrating the accomplishment of this year’s winners who truly represent the values of the Association in working towards a more responsible travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.”

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Cabinet approves India-Saudi Arabia MoU to strengthen tourism ties

The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. The main objectives of the MoU are to exchange information and expertise in legislations in the tourism development, hotels, resorts and tourist accommodation facilities, tourism data and statistics, exhibition events and other tourism activities in States of the Parties, tourism development, planning and investment; introduce tourism investment opportunities available in the States of the Parties; encourage mutual tourism investment in tourism projects; encourage organising joint tourism events; participate in exhibitions, conferences and seminars held in the States of the Parties thus contributing to tourism development and crystalising a joint tourism vision. India and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed a strong diplomatic and long economic relationship. Saudi Arabia is one of the potential tourist generating market for India from Middle East. The signing of MoU with Saudi Arabia will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this source market.

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MoCA and AAI launch mobile application for Global Aviation Summit 2019

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India, has launched the official mobile application ‘GAS 2019’, for Global Aviation Summit 2019, to be held on January 15-16, 2019 at Grand Hyatt Mumbai.  The application was launched in the presence of Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA); Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI); Dr Shefali Juneja, Joint Secretary, MoCA and other officials of the AAI. Available on play store and iOS, GAS 2019 provides a holistic glimpse of the summit and can be used to access latest updates about the mega event. The application enables users to interact with the co-delegates and speakers. It would be an excellent platform for networking through personal and group chats. With the who’s who of the global aviation fraternity set to grace the event, the summit is a promising platform for constructive discussions, collaborations and meeting of minds to explore the future of global aviation. The esteemed guest-list for the summit includes Transport & Civil Aviation ministers from Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Jamaica, Civil Aviation authorities and Directorate Generals of Civil Aviation (DGCAs) from 22 countries. The future of aviation – drones and seaplanes, airport privatisation, digital travel and holistic development of global aviation ecosystem are the key areas to push the envelope both on regulations and on industry structure. This platform will enable the industry leaders to prepare a policy roadmap that will certainly provide a strong impetus to all players in the aviation ecosystem. The summit will entail B2G, B2B and G2G meetings.    

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New Tourism Secretary, Yogendra Tripathi addresses IATO members

Yogendra Tripathi, the newly-appointed Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, marked his presence at the special luncheon organised by Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) to bid farewell to Rashmi Verma, Former Secretary, Tourism on her superannuation from the post. Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO, thanked Verma for her support and welcomed Tripathi on behalf of the association. Addressing the members, Tripathi said that he is aware of the contributions of his predecessor for the industry and is hopeful to take the industry voice to the government in the same manner. “There are always unresolved issues, as well as new problems and agendas for the industry. I believe that the Tourism Secretary is nothing but an advocate for the tourism industry. Apart from what we do indirectly, what we do directly is primarily promotional, which is also supporting the industry one way or the other. It is our job to support the industry, and we will continue to do that,” he added.

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Vinod Zutshi inaugurates International Conference on Rural Tourism Development in Delhi

Vinod Zutshi, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Nagesh Singh, Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, inaugurated the three-day International Conference on Rurality, Ruralism and Rural Tourism – Challenges and Coping Strategies at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Organised by the Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Jamia Millia Islamia, the ongoing conference is being attended by delegates from eminent tourism institutes from India and 25 other countries. “Rural tourism is at a nascent stage but there is a lot of scope and potential to promote rural destinations in India. It is an untapped market and we need to identify more and more destinations across the country,” said Zutshi during the conference sponsored by Ministry of Tourism. MP Bezbaruah, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; S K Misra, Chairman, Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development and Ex-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Sujit Banerjee, Secretary General ,WTTC India attended the event while Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Government of Delhi is set to preside over the valedictory function. This conference will help bring various stakeholders on a single platform to discuss future tourism trends, ideas, implications and methodologies, theoretical and practical approaches for rural tourism development. The objective is to discuss the contemporary research in the area of rural tourism. The event will showcase rural life, art, culture, and heritage at rural locations and in villages, which have core competence in art and craft. Handloom, textiles, and also an asset base in the natural environment.

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Tourism Secretary, Rashmi Verma, inaugurates India pavilion at WTM London 2018

The India pavilion at World Travel Market 2018 in London was packed with activities for the trade and consumers alike. Addressing a press conference, Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, enlisted the achievements of the Ministry. Accompanying Verma were Pramod Kumar Singh, Tourism Minister, Bihar; Vellamandi N Natarajan, Tourism Minister, Tamil Nadu; Aashima Mehrotra, Director, Ministry of Tourism and Charanjeet Singh, Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK. Verma highlighted, “Last year has been a very good year for India tourism with a growth of about 14 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals and about 19 per cent in terms of foreign receipts, much more than the global growth of 6.8 per cent. We also crossed the 10 million mark for the first time. This was possible because of our adoption of the multi-pronged strategy. We focus hugely on creating world-class infrastructure in and around our tourist sites.” She pointed out, “Incredible India 2.0 campaign is more thematic in nature. Looking at the needs and demands of major markets like the US and the UK, we have made some thematic films on niche products like adventure, yoga, Ayurveda, etc. This campaign focuses heavily on social media besides print and electronic media. We are hopeful that through this new Incredible India campaign we will be able to encourage people to revisit india, stay longer and experience the various products we have on offer.” The MOT also recently concluded two new events — India Tourism Mart (ITM) and Paryatan Parv —to create awareness about India both internationally and domestically. “More than 250 foreign buyers participated at the first-ever ITM. Buddhist Conclave was also held to showcase various Buddhist destinations in India.” The key initiative of introduction …

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Govt announces free of cost renewal of damaged passports in Kerala floods

Providing relief to residents of flood-affected Kerala, Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, has announced the free of cost renewal of all passports damaged in the Kerala floods. “There are unprecedented floods in Kerala causing huge damage. We have decided that as the situation becomes normal, passports damaged on account of floods shall be replaced free of charge. Please contact the concerned Passport Kendras,” announced Swaraj on Twitter.

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