SWADESH DHARSHAN SCHEME - GOVERNMENT SCHEME
News: Beypore
boat to figure in project report for Swadesh Darshan project
What's in the news?
● The
Kerala Tourism department is likely to highlight Beypore ‘Uru’, the wooden
dhows handcrafted by artisans and carpenters, and the water sports there in the
detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the Centre for the Swadesh
Darshan 2.0 project.
Key takeaways:
● Beypore and Kumarakom
are the only two tourism destinations from Kerala to be included in the second
phase of the project.
● Beypore
was reportedly included in the project considering its historic importance as a port town, its global fame for the Uru and the
beautiful seashore, which could boost its tourism sector in a big way.
● The
scheme is envisioned to synergise with
other schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill India, and Make in India with
the idea of positioning the tourism sector as a major engine for job creation,
the driving force for economic growth, building synergy with various sectors to
enable tourism to realize its potential.
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:
● Fifteen states
are part of the first phase which include Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
● Two
destinations have been identified from each of the 15 states.
● 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.
● 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.
● 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.
● The
destination division as adventure tourism, beach tourism, wellness tourism, Eco-tourism
and several other categories would help segregate the tourists as per their
preference.
Go back to basics:
Tourism and Indian Economy:
● According
to the Ministry, domestic tourist visits in 2021 were around 677 million and in
2022 (data available till date) is 572 million.
● According
to the third Tourism Satellite Account for 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20, the
contribution of tourism to the employment of the country is 14.78%, 14.87 % and
15.34 % respectively.
● The
total jobs generated by tourism are 72.69 million (2017-18), 75.85 million
(2018-19) and 79.86 million (2019-20).
Swadesh Darshan Scheme:
● The
Swadesh Darshan Scheme was launched by the Centre in 2014-15 for the integrated
development of theme-based tourist
circuits.
● 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.
● Some
of the prominent circuits launched under this were the Buddhist tourist circle,
Ambedkar Tourist Circle and the North-East Tourist Circle.