Page 33 - NIS English January 16-31
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If we, 125 Crore Indians, decide that we have to give BUDDHIST
importance to our tourism sector, we can attract the CIRCUIT
world. We can draw a very large number of tourists to
our side. Through this we can provide new employment
opportunities to several million young people in India. Be
it the government, institutions, society, citizens – we all
have to come together to make this happen. Come, let’s 4One of the most ambitious schemes of
make an endeavour in this direction the Government is the development of
Buddhist Circuit. It has been identified
as one of the 15 thematic circuits for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mann Ki Baat, development under Swadesh Darshan
Scheme
March 27, 2016 4Through this, Government’s objective is
to showcase journey of Gautam Buddha
through the various phases of his life to
employment of the youth, to build an image of India in the tourists
the world and to tell the world what India is capable of. 4The Government has sanctioned five
projects for Rs 355.26 Crore under the
It is time you decide that before 2022, when India will be
Buddhist Circuit theme covering the
celebrating the 75th Year of its Independence, we take our
States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya
families to at least 15 tourist destinations in the country.” Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh
Even during the Howdy Modi programme held in
Houston, Texas, the PM had appealed to the expatriate
community there to inspire at least five families of foreign
SWADESH
origin to visit India.
The Government with its resolve for Self-Reliant India SWADE SH
DARSHAN
is focusing on this sector and efforts are yielding results DARSHAN
too. As per a report of World Economic Forum on Travel
and Tourism Competitiveness 2019, India ranked 34 out
of 140 countries by improving its ranking by 6 places over
the 2017 report. India has good air transport infrastructure
(ranked 33rd) and a reasonable ground and port
The scheme launched during 2014-15
infrastructure (ranked 28th). The Central Government is focuses on integrated growth of theme-
adding 100 new airports in the country under the ‘Udaan’ based tourist circuits by building required
scheme. Initiatives like this will also provide boost to infrastructure so that it can harness the
tourism industry. potential of the region and can create
In terms of GDP, tourism sector comes in the top 10 employment opportunities for the people
category. It is also the biggest source of foreign investment there. Fifteen thematic circuits have
been identified for development, namely:
in the country. According to latest data, tourism industry
North East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit,
is responsible for around 13 per cent employment in the
Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit,
country. Around 10 Crore people get employment directly
Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal
or indirectly through this industry. According to a report by Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural
FICCI, the Indian tourism industry will grow to be worth Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana
$35 Trillion by 2029. The Government came out with Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Tirthankar
various initiatives to augment tourism infrastructure in the Circuit and Sufi Circuit. An amount of Rs
country. The two most crucial schemes which have the 6,035.70 Crore has been sanctioned for
potential to improve socio-economic scenario of the region 77 projects
New India Samachar 31
