Tourism ministry revamps its Swadesh Darshan scheme, aims for sustainable infra

The Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with an aim to develop sustainable and responsible infrastructure at destinations, said Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy. Giving a written reply in Rajya Sabha to a question by DMK MP M Mohamed Abdulla, Reddy added that the guidelines for SD2.0 have been circulated to the stakeholders.

The Ministry of Tourism, under its schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive), provides financial assistance to states and Union Territories for the development of tourism infrastructure. The projects under this scheme are sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of detailed project reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilisation of funds released previously, the minister stated in his reply.

The government had launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014-15 for integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits — Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Northeast Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Sufi Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit, Wildlife Circuit and Tribal Circuit. As of March 2022, 76 projects have been sanctioned across 15 circuits under this scheme at a cost of Rs 5,445 crore.