On December 3, 2019 the Ministry of Tourism with a focus to develop and promote tourism in the North Eastern (NE) region, has sanctioned 18 projects under the Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) Schemes for the entire NE region for Rs 1456 crore.
Key Points:
i.Various activities have been undertaken for promoting tourism in NE region. They include
- Release of television(TV) campaigns on Doordarshan and private channels in the country.
- Production of publicity material, creative TV commercials /promotional films on the NE region.
- The North East region is the theme of the India Pavilion set up by the Ministry at the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) which is to be held in 2020 in New Delhi. In addition to it, complementary space is provided to the NE States for their participation in the India Pavilion.
- The ministry organises International Tourism Mart in the NE region annually to highlight the highlighting the tourism potential of the region.
ii.Projects sanctioned to Assam:
- Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme (2015-16), Rs. 76.54 crores have been sanctioned for development of Wildlife Circuit of Manas,Probitora, Nameri, Kaziranga, Dibru, Saikhowa.
- Under Swadesh Darshan scheme (2016-17), Rs. 45.29crores have been sanctioned for the development of heritage circuit such as Tezpur, Majuli, Sibsagar.
- Under the Prasad scheme (2015-16) Rs. 22.02 crores have been sanctioned for development of Kamakhya Temple and Pilgrimage Destination in and around Guwahati, Assam.
- The Ministry has also identified Kaziranga as one of the 17 sites for development in the country under the Development of Iconic Tourist site scheme.
iii.Prasad scheme: The scheme was launched in 2015 by the tourism ministry to focus on identifying and developing the pilgrim sites across the country to enrich the religious tourism experience.
iv.Swadesh Darshan scheme: Swadesh Darshan scheme is envisioned to synergise with other Government of India schemes like, Skill India, Make in India etc. with the idea of positioning the tourism sector as a major engine for job creation, driving force for economic growth, building synergy with various sectors to enable tourism to realise its potential.
About tourism ministry:
Founded- 1967.
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Minister of State (MoS- independent charge)- Shri Prahlad Singh Patel (Constituency- Damoh, Madhya Pradesh).
