The Ministry of Tourism launched its Swadesh Darshan scheme (SDS) in 2014-15 with the idea to develop thematic tourism circuits in the country. The Ministry carried out a detailed review of the scheme and identified the following areas for improvement:
- Broad basing of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee
- State level institutional structure for the scheme
- Strategic selection of destinations
- Detailed benchmarking and gap analysis of destination
- Focus on both hard and soft interventions
- Strengthen for project implementation and monitoring
- Operation and maintenance on sustainable basis
- Promotion & marketing of destinations
- Impact assessment
The Swadesh Darshan scheme was revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the aim to develop sustainable tourism destinations with tourist and destination centric approach.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India has submitted its report on the performance audit of Swadesh Darshan scheme (Report No.17 of 2023). The report has been divided into different chapters covering formulation of the scheme, financial management, implementation of the scheme, monitoring and impact assessment etc. In order to address the gaps, the Ministry of Tourism has taken various steps including formulation of State Perspective Plans, template for DPR preparation, adoption of destination centric approach, online submission of project proposals, regular review of sanctioned projects at different levels, emphasis on operation and management of projects, flow of funds through treasury single account (TSA) model etc.
The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 76 projects under Swadesh Darshan, 52 projects under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 and 36 projects under Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD), a sub-scheme of Swadesh Darshan projects and the details of these projects are annexed.
Swadesh Darshan scheme envisages development of tourism amenities and overall enhancement of tourism experiences at the destinations. No specific study has been undertaken to measure the tourist inflow as a direct result of Swadesh Darshan scheme. However, details of the international tourism arrivals and domestic tourist visits in the country in last 3 years is as under:
| Year | Domestic Tourist Visits(in millions) | International Tourism Arrivals(in millions) |
| 2022 | 1731.01 | 6.44 |
| 2023 | 2510.71 | 9.51 |
| 2024 | 2947.63 | 9.95 |
This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
