Swadesh Darshan revamped to create jobs, preserve local cultural: Centre

Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme with an objective to create jobs, including self-employment for local communities, preserve and enhance local cultural and natural resources

The Ministry of Tourism has now revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme with an objective to create jobs, including self-employment for local communities, and preserve and enhance the local cultural and natural resources, the government has said.

The ministry under this scheme provides financial assistance to state governments or Union Territory administrations or central agencies for development of tourism infrastructure in the country.

The projects under this scheme are sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable detailed project reports (DPR), adherence to scheme guidelines and utilisation of funds released earlier, among others.

The government under its Swadesh Darshan Scheme (SDS) has sanctioned 10 projects under the theme of Coastal Circuit, the ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry of Tourism has now revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) in order to develop sustainable and responsible destination centric approach with objectives such as enhancing contribution of tourism to local economies; creating jobs including self-employment for local communities; and enhancing skills of local youth in tourism and hospitality.

Other objectives include increasing private sector investment in tourism and hospitality; and preserving and enhancing local cultural and natural resources, officials said.

"In order to harness the potential of cruise tourism in the country, a task force has been constituted with secretary (tourism) as the chairman and secretary (shipping) as the co-chairman. The task force consists of representatives from the ports, ministries of health, home Affairs, external affairs, customs, CISF, coastal states, among others. The 13th meeting of the Task Force on Cruise Tourism was held on 27.04.2022," it added.

The first Incredible India International Cruise Conference was held on May 14-15, 2022 in Mumbai. It was the first cruise conference to bring all stakeholders together.

Further, the Ministry of Tourism undertakes various promotional activities in the international and domestic markets to promote tourism products of the country, including coastal tourism in a holistic manner. This includes release of media campaigns under Incredible India' brand-line, promotional events and social media promotions. The Ministry of Tourism is promoting Coastal Tourism through its website, it said.

This information was given by Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Monday, the statement said.