Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• 27 Jul 2022

For Prelims: Swadesh Darshan scheme, PRASAD, Atmanirbhar Bharat

For Mains: Atmanirbhar Bharat, Tourism Sector

Why in News?

Recently, 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.

What is Swadesh Darshan Scheme?

• About:
  • It was launched 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.
  • It is 100% centrally funded and efforts are made to achieve convergence with other schemes of Central and State Governments and also to leverage the voluntary funding available for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Central Public Sector Undertakings and Corporate Sector.
• Significance:
  • Under the schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive), the Ministry of Tourism 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.
• Objectives:
  • To position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation;
  • Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner;
  • Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods in the identified regions;
  • Enhancing the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit/destinations;
  • Follow community-based development and pro-poor tourism approach;
  • Creating awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for them in terms of increased sources of income, improved living standards and overall development of the area.
  • To make full use of the potential and advantages in terms of available infrastructure, national culture and characteristic strong points of each and every region throughout the country by development of theme-based circuits.
  • Development of tourist facilitation services to enhance visitor experience/satisfaction.

What is Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0?

• With the mantra of ‘vocal for local’, the revamped scheme namely Swadesh Darshan 2.0 seeks to attain “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” by realizing India’s full potential as a tourism destination.
• Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is not an incremental change but a generational shift to evolve Swadesh Darshan Scheme as a holistic mission to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations.
• It will encourage the development of benchmarks and standards for generic and theme-specific development of tourism destinations and the States will follow the benchmarks and standards while planning and developing the projects.
• Following major themes have been identified for tourism under the Scheme.
  • Culture and Heritage
  • Adventure Tourism
  • Eco-Tourism
  • Wellness Tourism
  • MICE Tourism
  • Rural Tourism
  • Beach Tourism
  • Cruises – Ocean & Inland.

Source: IE