SWADESH
DARSHAN SCHEME – GOVERNMENT SCHEME
News: Why Bihar govt’s Rs 72-cr plan to
develop ‘Sita birthplace’ has sparked a controversy
What's
in the news?
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The Bihar government’s plan for Sitamarhi
comes even though it features in the Centre’s list of 15 tourism-cum-religious
places on the Ramayana Circuit, which is one of the 15 thematic circuits
identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of the Union
Ministry of Tourism.
Key
takeaways:
●
The projects under the scheme are
identified in consultation with the state governments or Union Territory
administrations.
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The state government’s plan includes the
setting up of a parikrama path (a path to circumambulate the temple) with a
roof and sandstone pillars.
Swadesh
Darshan 2.0:
Features:
●
The government recently revamped the
scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) to develop sustainable and responsible
destinations with a tourist and
destination centric approach.
●
The scheme has been revamped with the
mantra of “vocal for local” aimed at
targeting domestic tourists.
Selected
states:
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Fifteen
states are part of the first phase which include Madhya
Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
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Two destinations have been identified from
each of the 15 states.
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Some of the prominent places identified
are Jhansi and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Gwalior, Chitrakoot and Khajuraho in
Madhya Pradesh and Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra.
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The initiative is being taken as part of
the first phase of the ‘Swadesh Darshan 2’ which will be kicked off from
January.
Funding:
●
The Swadesh Darshan scheme is 100% centrally funded (i.e. Central
Sector Scheme).
Significance
of Swadesh Darshan 2:
●
The revamped scheme would be launched
which seeks to enhance the contribution of tourism to local economies.
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It aims to create jobs including
self-employment for local communities, to enhance the skills of local youth in
tourism and hospitality, to increase private sector investment in tourism and
hospitality and to preserve and enhance local cultural and natural resources.
●
The
scheme made the state government as well as the local government as
stakeholders.
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The destination division as adventure
tourism, beach tourism, wellness tourism, cco-tourism and several other
categories would help segregate the tourists as per their preference.
Go
back to basics:
Swadesh
Darshan Scheme:
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The Swadesh Darshan Scheme was launched by
the Centre in 2014-15 for the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits.
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Under the scheme, the Ministry of Tourism provides financial assistance to State
governments, Union Territory Administrations or Central Agencies for
development of tourism infrastructure in the country.
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Some of the prominent circuits launched
under this were the Buddhist tourist circle, Ambedkar Tourist Circle and the
North-East Tourist Circle.