Tourism to stay in state list

The government has decided not to add tourism to the Concurrent List, allowing it to remain with state governments. If added, the move would have provided a much needed impetus to the sector in terms of resources, said tourism industry experts.

But Minister of State for Tourism Renuka Chowdhary has a different view. "There is synergy between the Centre and state governments now. Not much value-addition can be done by moving tourism to the Concurrent List," she told Business Standard.

Last December, she had spoken about including the sector in the list for a more comprehensive development of tourism.

She said state governments, irrespective of political differences, were now becoming aware of tourism being a revenue- and employment-generating sector, and were taking steps to promote it.

About initiatives taken by her ministry, she said Delhi might soon see women taxi drivers at airports. This step was being taken for the safety of foreign women tourists, she said.

This would also generate employment and empower Indian women, she added. Chowdhary further said training, procurement of commercial licenses and funds for tourist vehicles would be handled by the ministry of tourism.

In addition, the taxis will be GSM-enabled so that they can be tracked by satellite.

Taking the brand of "Incredible India" further, she said plans were afoot to have high-quality Indian handicraft souvenirs for sale at leading international stores abroad. In addition, there was a plan to float a souvenir line across major tourist destinations in India.

Chowdhary said more thrust would be given to pilgrimage tourism with special emphasis on developing Buddhist "circuits" in 16 states. Uttar Pradesh has already been allocated Rs 620 crore to develop this area of tourism. This includes the Rs 38 crore sanctioned by JBIC (Japan Bank for International Co-operation) for infrastructure development.

She said the decision on a new ITDC chairman-cum-managing-director would be taken by a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary BK Chaturvedi.