Budget: 1,840.77 cr allocated to tourism ministry

The government today allocated Rs 1,840.77 crore to the tourism ministry in the budget for the next fiscal, including Rs 959.91 crore for the Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around specific themes (Swadesh Darshan scheme).
The ministry would be receiving a little over Rs 250 crore more in the 2017-18 fiscal as compared to the ongoing financial year for which it was allocated Rs 1,590.32 crore, according to the budget document.
Besides, another Rs 100 crore have been allocated for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
Significantly, as much as Rs 412 crore have been provided for promotion and publicity of tourism ministry's various programmes and scemes in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today.

Under Swadesh Darshan, 13 thematic circuits have been identified for development, namely North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
On the other hand, as many as 13 cities-- namely Ajmer, Amritsar, Amravati, Dwarka, Gaya, Kamakhaya, Kanchipuram, Kedarnath, Mathura, Patna, Puri, Varanasi and Velankanni -- have been identified for development under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) by the Ministry of Tourism.