TravTalk India Online Magazine
A two-day conference of tourism and culture ministers of North Eastern States was recently held in Guwahati, Assam, where G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, addressed the inaugural session.
Nisha Verma
The aim of the conference was to discuss development of tourism and issues related to connectivity in the North Eastern Region. “Tourism can be a game changer that can bring socio-economic change in the nation especially in NE region,” said G Kishan Reddy.
He also said that under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, MOT has sanctioned 16 projects in the North Eastern region. “The Ministry is giving special emphasis on developing infrastructure, ground capacity and skills in Northeast region. MOT is also providing branding and marketing assistance to the northeast region through its various schemes and flagship initiatives. Under the PRASHAD schemes, the ministry has sanctioned number of projects in the region. Approximately Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned for these projects,” he informed.
Regarding initiatives under DoNER ministry, in the budget of 2021-22, the budget allocation to North eastern states is Rs 68,020 crore. Reddy urged all the state governments in the region to submit viable proposals so that the full amount allocated across various ministries can be successfully utilised.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM of Assam, said that holistic approach is required for the development of tourism sector in NE zone. Overall, the North East as a brand has to be promoted and connectivity and infrastructure facilities need to be developed, he added.
An MoU between Ministry of Tourism and IRCTC was also signed at the event for cooperation in promoting domestic tourism and development of new tourism products.
