sightseeing
In 2020, the Indian tourism sector accounted for 39 million jobs, or 8 percent of the total employment in the country. This was despite the devastating impact of Covid-19. The pandemic cut domestic tourist movement by nearly 70 percent and foreign tourist arrivals declined by 91 percent. In 2019, travel and tourism contributed about 7 per cent to India’s GDP. Foreign exchange earnings grew at a CAGR of 7 per cent from 2016 to 2019. But COVID-19 brought the tourism and hospitality industry to a standstill.
cover story , challenges ahead
While the stimulus package to revive the Covid-hit economy covered tourism and hospitality, the tourism ministry took several specific steps, from credit guarantees to framing of operational guidelines, to facilitate the revival of tourism. The Ministry is also continuing its flagship programs for promotion of tourism. It provides financial assistance to state governments under the schemes ‘Swadesh Darshan’, ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality, Heritage Promotion Campaign (PRASHAD)’, and ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Development of Tourism Infrastructure’. States also get funds for organizing fairs and events under the Hospitality (DPPH) scheme including domestic promotion and publicity. But since tourism is a state subject, the real revival of this sector depends on the efficient execution of these plans by the states.
culture
The Ministry of Culture is to preserve India’s cultural heritage and promote art and culture through archaeological sites, museums and public libraries; promotion and dissemination of the performing arts; Buddhist and Tibetan Studies; International cultural relations and creation of cultural complexes. The budgetary allocation for the Ministry’s flagship Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana, through which financial assistance is given to cultural organizations and individuals, has increased from Rs 122 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 186 crore in this financial year. In addition to 6,011 existing beneficiaries, 1,800 new artists were provided pension and medical assistance last year. For the past one year, the ministry has been campaigning under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2021 as a countdown to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. While the country has been busy debating the religious origins of various monuments, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has added 17 new ones to its list of protected monuments and sites, taking the total number to nearly 4,000. By 2020-21, seven regional cultural centers under the ministry—headquartered in Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur—had revived 193 vanishing art forms.
North Eastern Region Development
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) is responsible for planning, execution and monitoring of development plans in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, with a mandate to accelerate social activities. Economic development of the region. The Ministry was given a massive thrust this year in the form of the new scheme of Pradhan Mantri Development Initiative (PM-Divine) for the Northeast with an initial allocation of Rs 1500 crore in the Union Budget 2022-23. There has been a massive expansion of infrastructure projects in the Northeast in recent years. More than 20 projects are in various stages of planning, approval and execution for about 2,000 km of railway lines. Work is also underway on a road network of about 4,016 km, while 3,099 km of roads have been constructed in the last five years. Under the North Eastern Council, 215 infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,267.4 crore were approved between 2016-17 and 2020-21. Of these, 15 projects have been completed and work on 200 is underway.
