Governance
Context: Recently, the President of India inaugurated PRASAD project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.
About PRASAD Project:
- The scheme was launched in the year 2014-2015.
- It comes under the Ministry of Tourism.
- This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience.
- It aims to integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.
- The Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to state governments under the Prasad scheme to promote tourism at pilgrim sites.
- The Central Government will cover 100% of the costs under this program.
- For improved sustainability, it also includes a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
- Cities Identified Under PRASAD Scheme:
- Amritsar (Punjab).
- Kedarnath (Uttarakhand).
- Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
- Ajmer (Rajasthan).
- Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
- Gaya (Bihar).
- Kamakhya (Assam).
- Dwaraka (Gujarat).
- Puri (Odisha).
- Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh).
- Kanchipuram(Tamil Nadu).
- Velankanni (Tamil Nadu).
Source: The Hindu
