Lok Sabha Question No. 136 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-04
Subject: Development of New Tourism Destinations in West Bengal
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.136

## ANSWERED ON 04.12.2023

## DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN WEST BENGAL

## 136.  SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the  specific  measures  implemented  by  the  Government  to enhance  the  tourism sector with the aim  of generating employment  opportunities  within  the  industry  during  post COVID period;
- (b) the details of the initiatives undertaken by the Government in the  post  COVID  period  to  alleviate  the  substantial  losses experienced by the tourism industries;
- (c) whether any new tourism destinations have been developed in West  Bengal  over  the  past  two  years  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) the  sector-wise  details  on  the  employment  generated  by  the tourism sector in India over the last two years?

## ANSWER

(SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM

(a) to (d): Ministry of Tourism has taken several measures to give boost  to  tourism  sector  and  in  turn  increase  its  contribution  to country's economy and generate employment opportunities through tourism as per details given below:

- i. Development  of  tourism  related  infrastructure  through projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.    The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  revamped  its Swadesh  Darshan  Scheme  as  Swadesh  Darshan  2.0 (SD2.0)  with  the  objective  to  develop  sustainable  and responsible destinations following a tourist & destination centric approach.
- ii. Development  of  tourism  related  infrastructure  through projects sanctioned under the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme.
- iii. Dekho Apna Desh initiative launched with the objective to encourage citizens to travel within the country.
- iv. Thematic tourism like wellness tourism, culinary tourism, rural, eco-tourism etc., amongst other niche subjects are vigorously  promoted  so  as  to  expand  the  scope  of
5. tourism into other sectors as well.
- v. Providing  facility  of  e-Visa  for  5  sub-categories  i.e.,  eTourist  visa,  e-Business  visa,  e-Medical  visa,  e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa for the nationals of 167 countries.
- vi. E-Visa has been further liberalized and the visa fee has been substantially reduced.
- vii. Lowering  of  GST  on  hotels  rooms  with  tariffs  of ₹1,001 to ₹7,500/night  to  12%;  those  above  ₹7,501  to  18%  to increase India's competitiveness as a tourism destination.
9. Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with Ministry of Civil Aviation  under  their RCS-UDAN  Scheme.  As  on  date,  53 tourism routes have been operationalized to improve air
- viii. connectivity to tourist destinations.
- ix. Ministry of Tourism is running Pan-India Incredible India Tourist  Facilitator  (IITF)  Certification  Program,  a  digital initiative that aims at creating an Online learning platform  with  the  objective  of  creating  a  pool  of  well trained and professional Tourist Facilitators/Guides across the country and generating employment opportunities at local level.
- x. Conducting Programmes under the 'Capacity Building for Service Providers' (CBSP) Scheme to train and up-grade manpower to provide better service standards.
- xi. Under the CBSP scheme, Ministry of Tourism conducts a programme  namely  'Entrepreneurship  Programme  (EP)' with the objective of facilitating micro and small business  start-ups.  The  target  for  the  programme  are those  who  are  8th class  pass  and  the  age  above  18 years.

As  per  estimation  in  accordance  with  3 rd   Tourism  Satellite Account (TSA), the contribution of  tourism  in  total  employment  of the country for year 2020-21 and 2021-22 are:

|                                       | 2020-21   | 2021-22   |
|---------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| Share in jobs (in %)                  | 12.91     | 12.66     |
| Direct (%)                            | 5.63      | 5.52      |
| Indirect (%)                          | 7.28      | 7.14      |
| Direct + Indirect jobs due to tourism | 68.07     | 70.04     |
| (in million)                          |           |           |

Source: The above estimates have been updated using 3 rd  TSA and National Account Statistics 2023.

The details  of  the  various  relief  measures  announced  by  the Government  for  redeveloping  post-COVID  tourism  sector  of  the country is given at Annexure-I.

The details of projects sanctioned under the 'Swadesh Darshan'  and  'National  Mission  on  Pilgrimage  Rejuvenation  and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)' Schemes in the State of West Bengal is given at Annexure-II.

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## ANNEXURE-I

STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.136 ANSWERED ON 04.12.2023 REGARDING  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NEW  TOURISM  DESTINATIONS  IN

WEST BENGAL BY SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED.

The  following  are  the  various  relief  measures  announced  by  the Government  for  redeveloping  post-COVID  tourism  sector  of  the country:

- The Government announced Atmanirbhar Bharat Package vide which  Rs.3.00  lakh  crore  collateral  free  automatic  loan  was made  available  for  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises (MSMEs).  The  loan  will  have  4-  year  tenure  and  12-month
- i. moratorium.
- ii. Under Atmanirbhar Bharat package, Provident Fund contribution  of  both  employer  and  employee  was  reduced  to 10%  each  from  existing  12%  each  for  all  establishments covered by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for three months.
- iii. Return filing deferred for three months with no penal interest for companies up to Rs.5.00 Crore, rest @ 9% penal interest.
- iv. The Government waived off PF contribution for three months for  organisations  with  less  than  100  pax  and  90%  of  their employees earn below Rs.15000.
- v. Deferment  of  Tax  Collected  at  Source  (TCS)  up  to  October
- 2020.
- vi. The Central government also gave relief from various regulatory compliances under Income Tax Act, companies Act and Goods and Service Tax (GST) Act for varying period in the wake  of  COVID-19  crisis  to  ensure  business  continuity  and survival.
- vii. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme  (ECLGS) was launched in May, 2020 as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to support eligible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and business enterprises in meeting their operational  liabilities  and  restarting  their  businesses.  Under the scheme, 100% credit guarantee is extended to the lending institutions for  loans  extended by them under the scheme to eligible  borrowers.  The  admissible  guarantee  limit  under  the
- scheme has been increased from Rs. 4.5 lakh crore to Rs. 5 lakh crore, with the additional guarantee cover of Rs. 50,000 crore  earmarked  exclusively  for  the  Hospitality  and  related
- enterprises including Civil Aviation sector.
- viii. On  28th June  2021,  the  Government  announced  a  stimulus package  to  boost  diverse  sectors  of  economy  affected  by COVID-19  pandemic  and  provide  impetus  for  growth  and employment measures. The package comprises a total of 17 measures in three broad categories, which included 'Economic relief from Pandemic, with special focus on health and reviving travel  and  tourism  sectors'  and  'Impetus  for  Growth  and employment'.
- ix. Ministry  of  Tourism  launched  'Loan  Guarantee  Scheme  for COVID  Affected  Tourism  Service  Sector  (LGSCATSS)',  which aims  at extending  collateral free loan to the distressed tourism  sector  to  help  them  discharge  their  liabilities  and restart  their  business  affected  due  to  Covid-19  pandemic under  this  scheme,  collateral  free  Loan  up  to  Rs.10.00  lakh each  may  be  availed  by  Ministry  of  Tourism  approved  Tour operator/Travel  Agents/Tourist  Transport  Operators and up  to Rs.1.00 lakh each may be availed by RLGs/IITGs approved by Ministry  of  Tourism  and  Tourist  Guides  approved  by  State Government/UT Administration.
- x. With  a  view  to  prepare  for  a  post-COVID  19  revival,  the Ministry has formulated and issued detailed operational guidelines for COVID safety and hygiene for hotels, restaurants,  B&Bs/Homestays  and  Tourism  Service  Providers on 08.06.2020 to facilitate smooth resumption of business.
- xi. An initiative called SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness  &  Training  for  Hospitality  Industry)  has  been developed  for  effective  implementation  of  Guidelines/SOPs issued with reference to COVID-19  and  beyond  for  safe operations of Hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and other units.
- xii. With an aim to incentivize stakeholders in the  Tourism industry, the Guidelines for the scheme of Market Development Assistance (MDA) for providing financial support to  stakeholders  for  the  promotion  of  Domestic  Tourism  have been modified to enhance the scope and reach of the scheme, so  as  to  provide  maximum  benefits  to  the  stakeholders. Additional promotional activities have been incorporated including online promotions and the extent of financial
- assistance permissible has been enhanced. The Guidelines of the Marketing Development Assistance Programme under the Overseas Promotion and Publicity Scheme has been modified to  enhance  the  scope  and  reach  of  the  scheme,  so  as  to provide maximum benefits to the stakeholders in the tourism industry.
- xiii. For  the  purpose  of  restarting  inbound  tourism  and  attracting foreign tourists in the country, Government of India extended first 5 lakh visas to the foreign tourists from potential tourism markets, free of cost. The benefit of free of charge visa will be available only once per tourist during the issuance of the first 5 lakh tourist visas.
- xiv. Owing to the situation which arose out of COVID19 pandemic, Ministry of Tourism in consultation with Ministry of Health  &  Family  Welfare  issues  guidelines/directions  to  the Tourism  Stakeholders,  Hotels  and  Restaurants  to  facilitate smooth resumption of business.
- xv. Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  restored  e-Tourist  Visa  for  foreign nationals of 167 countries as on date.

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## ANNEXURE-II

STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.136 ANSWERED ON 04.12.2023 REGARDING  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NEW  TOURISM  DESTINATIONS  IN WEST BENGAL BY SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | State       | Circuit / Sanction Year   | Name of the Project                                                                                              |   Amount Sanctioned |
|-----------|-------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|         1 | West Bengal | Coastal Circuit 2015-16   | Development of Beach Circuit: Udaipur- Digha- Shankarpur- Tajpur- Mandarmani- Fraserganj- Bakkhlai- Henry Island |               67.99 |

## PRASHAD Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | State       | Project Name              | Sanction Year   |   Approved Cost |
|-----------|-------------|---------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|         1 | West Bengal | Development of Belur Math | 2016-17         |           30.03 |

Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.      | State        | Name of Projects                                    | Central Agency   | Amount Sanctioned   |
|--------------|--------------|-----------------------------------------------------|------------------|---------------------|
| Year 2017-18 | Year 2017-18 | Year 2017-18                                        | Year 2017-18     |                     |
| 1.           | West Bengal  | Joint Development of Rampurhat Railway Station      | M/o Railways     | 3.48                |
| 2.           | West Bengal  | Joint Development of Tarakeshwar Railway Station    | M/o Railways     | 3.87                |
| Year 2019-20 | Year 2019-20 | Year 2019-20                                        | Year 2019-20     |                     |
| 3.           | West Bengal  | Joint Development of New Jalpaiguri Railway Station | M/o Railways     | 4.55                |

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