Major boost to tourism: Five new on-site museums, ₹2,500 cr funds

NEW DELHI: Announcing a marginal increase in the allocation of the ministry of culture, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said five archaeological sites will be developed as “iconic sites” with museums. A deemed varsity of museology and archaeology was announced, too.

These include Harappan-era sites Rakhigarhi in Haryana and Dholavira in Gujarat; Assam’s Sivasagar, where remnants of the Ahom kingdom, are to be found; Tamil Nadu’s seventh century urn-burial site Adichanallur; and Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh mentioned in epic Mahabharata.

Sitharaman also proposed the setting up of an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation with the status of a deemed university under the Ministry of Culture. Presenting the budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman said ₹3,150 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Culture and ₹2,500 crore for the Ministry of Tourism.

She also proposed the setting up of a tribal museum in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

“Acquisition of knowledge in disciplines such as museology and archaeology are essential for collecting and analysing scientific evidence of such findings and for dissemination through high quality museums,” Sitharaman said. The ministry’s allocation saw a marginal increase of 3.5% from ₹ 3042.35 crore last year to ₹3149.86 crore this year.

Pronob Sarkar, present of the Indian Association of Your Operators, an Apex body with over 1600 your operator bodies as members welcomed the increased allocation for both the tourism ministry and the ministry of culture said that new national circuits are needed at the moment.

“India can have a competitive edge if we know how to market some of our unseen destinations well, especially if we focus on personalising the India experience for the international tourist. We are in need of better infrastructure in several areas with potential,” said Sarkar.