NEW DELHI: The ministry of tourism has proposed to review its flagship schemes like Swadesh Darshan launched for infrastructure development at tourism destinations.Based on the review, the government will decide the future course of action aligning with the vision of the –Viksit Bharat 2047, when the country will be celebrating the 100th year of its independence.Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Central agencies assistance schemes intended outcomes will be part of the evaluation conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).These destination development schemes with 100 per cent central financial assistance are operational and have approval till the 15th Finance commission period that is 2025-26. Independent impact assessment is required for continuation of these schemes beyond next financial year.The appraisal exercise will provide recommendations on the continuation of these schemes as per the existing arrangement, they are to be modified or their discontinuation, said officials.As part of the analysis, qualitative and quantitatively impact of the schemes on each destination will be studied on cross-sectional subjects such as indirect employment generation, safety & security, use of information technology (IT).As per the proposal, at least 115 projects including 73 of Swadesh Darshan and 22 of Prashad schemes will be studied.The officials added that the component of the evaluation study requires a detailed assessment of the implementation process of each of the destination development schemes that would help to evaluate whether the intended benefits of the scheme are reaching tourists and local stakeholders on time. “The exercise will assess the mechanism and time taken in each step of the process both administrative and technical involved in the scheme implementation. Also, suggest measures to make the implementation processes robust enabling project implementation in an efficient and timely manner,” said officials.The scheme evaluation will be based on primary data collected for the projects completed till March 2024.The evaluation study will provide strategic insights into reasons for success and failure of program design, institutional arrangements, human resources, political economy and consideration.
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