India 2018

82 India 2018
North East
The North East region of India is being promoted by the Ministry of Tourism
through several media campaigns. A one month television campaign promoting
North East on Doordarshan network was launched in 2016 and the second phase
was launched in 2016. The Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Discovery
Channel has produced documentary series 'Go North East' on the eight states
of North East. For creation of tourism infrastructure, the Ministry of Tourism
has two major plan schemes viz. Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Development
of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits and PRASAD- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and
Spiritual Augmentation Drive for development of tourism infrastructure in the
country including historical places and heritage cities.
Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Swadesh Darshan scheme has a vision to develop theme based tourist circuits
on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an
integrated manner by synergizing efforts to focus on needs and concerns of all
stakeholders to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment
opportunities. Under the scheme thirteen thematic circuits have been identified
for development, namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan
Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco
Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and
Heritage Circuit.
PRASAD Scheme
Under PRASAD scheme, 25 sites of religious significance have been identified
for development namely Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab),
Ajmer (Rajasthan), Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Badrinath (Uttarakhand), Dwarka
(Gujarat), Deoghar (Jharkhand), Belur (West Bengal), Gaya (Bihar) , Guruvayoor
(Kerala), Hazratbal (Jammu & Kashmir), Kamakhya (Assam), Kanchipuram
(Tamil Nadu), Katra (Jammu & Kashmir), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Mathura
(Uttar Pradesh), Patna (Bihar), Puri (Odisha), Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh),
Somnath (Gujarat), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra),
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Vellankani (Tamil
Nadu).
Swachh Paryatan Mobile App
"Swachh Paryatan Mobile App" operated by the Ministry of Tourism for 25
Adarsh Smarak Monuments has been also made available for Windows Phones
and iPhone. Earlier it was available for Android Phones only. This mobile app
is being monitored by the Project Monitoring Unit of Swachh Bharat Mission in
Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has launched an initiative for
providing pre-loaded Sim Cards to foreign tourists arriving in India on e-Visa.
This initiative was launched in 2017 in association with Bharat Sanchar Nigam