MINISTRIES OF TOURISM & CULTURE’S INITIATIVES MARK GOOD GOVERNANCE DAY

To mark the celebration of Good Governance Day, the following new initiatives have been launched today by the Union Minister of State for Culture (I/C), Tourism (I/C) and Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma:

Initiatives of Ministry of Tourism

a.   Swachh Bharat   Swachh Smarak E poster:   Taking a cue from  “Swachh Bharat”,   this is an  initiative to see a cleaner India for protecting and preserving the sanctity of monuments of national heritage. To aid this, Ministry of Tourism has launched a special poster with Prime Minister’s message requesting the tourists and the people of the nation to wholeheartedly engage themselves in the cleanliness of their surroundings and help create a Swachh Bharat, Swachh Smarak.

b. Welcome Cards: India is known universally for its hospitality. Going a step further, the Ministry of Tourism launched the  special welcome cards that will be handed to all the tourists, landing at our 9 International airports where Tourist Visa on Arrival  Enabled with Electronic Travel Authorization facility is operational. This card will carry the information of the local India Tourism office along with online and offline contact information which the tourists can use in case of any queries.  The main idea behind this being to make the experience of exploring the country hassle free.

c.  Calendar 2015: The much acclaimed and sought after “ Incredible India” Calendar 2015 turns back the pages of history and showcases some of the country`s greatest architectural marvels as they were years before. The evocative pictures tell us about our illustrious past and remind us of our responsibility to preserve it for the generations to come.

d. Launch of Booklet on “Badte Kadam”, a Hunar Se Rozgar Tak (HSRT) initiative: In order to allow participation of the private sector in the HSRT initiative on a higher scale, higher   so as to enhance the programme’s reach and delivery, it has been decided to allow the following agencies/organisations to implement the programme:

(i)  Industrial units, associations of industries and professional / skill developing agencies with proven credentials; and

(ii) Hospitality Institutes approved by the AICTE / National Skill Development Authority / State Governments / Union Territory Administrations. 

e. Swachh Bharat Swachh Pakwan (Hunar Zaika): The street food vendors constitute a significant percentage of the hospitality service providers, are part of the Indian milieu through the ages and have a pan India presence. This program is aimed at upgrading  the  skills and hygiene standards of Street Food Vendors, so that they become a distinctive aspect of the Indian tourism. The Ministry of Tourism is partnering with the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) for the specific purpose of orientation, skill testing and certification of the vendors.

(f): Incredible India Helpline:  On a pilot basis, the Ministry of Tourism has set up the ‘Incredible India Help Line’ to be operated in-house to address and guide the tourists during any emergency which may include medical, crime natural calamities or on being stranded.  This service will be available as toll free on telephone 1800111363 or on a short code 1363.

(g) : Mega Project- Destination Development of Gwalior :     Gwalior is abundant in natural resources and forests, but lacks tourism facilities required to open new vistas of tourism in the state and facilitate local artisans in sustainable development of their skills for their livelihood. The State Govt. had therefore proposed a Mega Destination Development Plan for development of tourism in areas which are least developed.

The project for an estimated amount of Rs. 24.93 cr has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism.

Initiatives of Ministry of Culture 

(i)                  Launching of Web based E-Ticketing :

To facilitate visitors to the monuments in getting better access, the facility of E-ticketing has been launched.  This facility will  be available at some of the monument which are frequently visited by a large number of tourists.  In the first phase, the facility for E-ticketing  for Taj Mahal, Agra and Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi is available from 25.12.2014.

 (ii)          25 Model Monuments (Adarsh Smarak):

ASI has identified following 25 monuments to be included under Model Monuments from among the 3680 monuments & sites of national importance under its protection:-

These monuments would be provided necessary tourist facilities including wi-fi, security, signages, encroachment free area, interpretation centres showing short films about the importance of onuments and signboards of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan mentioning the slogan ‘Swachh Smarak: Swachh Bharat’.  

(iii)         Braille Book on Delhi Monuments:

The Archaeological Survey of India has produced a Braille Book on the monuments of Delhi.  This book will be of great assistance to the visually challenged to read about the monuments of Delhi.