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Selja inaugurates Ladakh Festival at LEH (J&K)
The Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja today inaugurated fortnight long Ladakh Festival at LEH (J&K). Minister for Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir Shri Nawang Rigzin and Chairman/ CEC, LAHDC Shri Chering Dorjay also graced the occasion. Speaking at the inaugural function at Polo ground, Kumari Selja said the festival will help further in showcasing its culture, heritage and way of life, depicting different ethnic race all over Ladakh. She said, colourful Ladakh Festival ,which is now becoming an important event in the tourism calendar of the country, very soon will also attract tourist from all over the globe.
Here is the full text of Minister's speech:
"Worldwide, tourism has emerged as a key player in development strategies. Appropriately leveraged, the tourism sector has high potential for delivering sustainable growth with equity while ensuring economic progress. As per projections of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for 2008, the contribution of tourism to world GDP and employment were at 9.9% and 8.4% respectively. As per Tourism Satellite Accounting , tourism's contribution to GDP and employment in
Tourism in
The Modern day tourist is traveling with an objective of experiencing the local culture and heritage and not just limiting to the conservative sightseeing trips. Therefore it is imperative that the destinations also gear up to this fact and diversify their products so as to allow the tourist to experience the real customs and heritage of the local communities. The destinations that do not gear up to this fact are in danger of letting the " Destination Fatigue" setting in and such destinations that do not upgrade their products are in danger of losing out in attracting repeat visitors. I am glad that the special festivals like the one opening today here will allow the tourists to experience the real culture of the region.
Ladakh has been center of the flourishing trade route from West Asia to
Adventure tourism is another product that has potential for growth. For experiencing different forms of adventure tourism from rock climbing, river rafting, para gliding, mountaineering etc , the Ladakh Region is ideally suited for Adventure tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned several projects to states and encouraged dialogue between the Adventure Tour Operators' Association and State Governments. Richly endowed to encourage mountaineering, hiking, river rafting and major forms of Adventure sports, Ladakh could well position itself in the forefront of this sector. I may mention here that apart from Tented Accommodation the Ministry of Tourism has recently announced guidelines for Caravan and
Another tourism product being promoted by the Ministry of Tourism is Responsible Tourism. In the backdrop of global concerns over climate change, it becomes imperative for us to ensure that growth in tourism is sensitive to environmental concerns. Tourism products must be assessed in terms of their impact on the environment and not just on their economic viability. This is the focus of Rural tourism schemes of the Ministry of Tourism and its objective is inclusive growth. Rural tourism involves communities right from the planning and development stage to ensure growth with equity. The success of on-going rural tourism projects is indicative of the fact that it is replicable and sustainable while at the same time ensuring that the community benefits along with the tourist who has an unique rural experience.
The volume of domestic tourism in
I am told that from the year 1974 when Ladhakh, was thrown open for the foreign and domestic tourists, the number of foreign tourists was just 500 which has now crossed 35, 000 during the year 2008!. . However, the popularity of this place has gone up so much even within the country that the domestic tourists have overtaken the foreign tourists though both have been increasing at the consistent rate. As per the figures given to me by the state, during the current season, 21, 467 foreign tourists and 37, 870 domestic tourists had already visited Ladakh by 15.8.2009. The state government, the local population and all those involved in this process deserve credit for this unique achievement.
With a view to meet the challenge of the inflow of tourists in Leh and Ladakh which is bound to increase, the state must put more thrust on the infrastructure development at the important, existing and potential tourist sites. There will be need for more public amenities like toilets, budget accommodation, parking facilities etc. The Ministry of Tourism has a scheme called Infrastructure Development of destinations and circuits under which the financial support is provided these purposes. I am happy to tell you that Ministry of Tourism had sanctioned Rs. 4. 97 crore during the year 2005-06 for the destination development of Ladakh region. A project for the development of Tourist facilities in and around Leh was also sanctioned during 2006-07 for Rs. 4.59 crore. Both the projects are still in the various stages of implementation which should be expedited.
With an eye to train the local youth for providing trained and skilled manpower to the hotel and hospitality industry in Ladakh region, Ministry of Tourism had also sanctioned one Food Craft Institute at Leh and Rs. 2 crore was released to the state. The state government is requested to speed up the implementation keeping in view the future demand.
We shall welcome more such proposals which meet the guidelines of the specific scheme of the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry is keen to assist the state government in exploiting, exploring and promoting the tourism in the region and to see that the sector is in its full glory.
I wish the Festival all success and congratulate the organizers for putting us this spectacular events which I am sure will be enjoyed by thousands of tourists who will be here for next 15 days. I call upon the organizers that such events need to promoted well in advance internationally so as to reach out to tourists globally."
The Ladakh festival which is on till 15th September 2009 has many attractions. It includes Polo-Match, Music Concerts, Chans (Mask Dance), Motorbike/Cycle expedition to Khardung-la (YHAI), Thanka Exhibition, Archery, Tsomori-ri Festival, River Rafting, Nubra Festival and Folk Songs.
AD/DB /spandey
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Central Assistance to Four States under NLRMP
The Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned Rs.80.2678 crores as 1st Installment to the State Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalya and
Ten districts of Madhya Pradesh viz. Bhind, Dhar, Guna, Morena, Rajgarh, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Shajapur and Tikamgarh are to receive Rs.40.1618 crore (75%) of the Total amount of Rs. 53.5491 crore sanctioned to take up and implement the Centrally sponsored National Land Record Management Programme (NLRMP) during the current financial year.
Three districts in Kerala namely, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Mallapuram have been granted Central Assistance of Rs.5.5374 crore for implementing the NLRMP in the State during the current financial year. This is 3/4th of the total Central grant of Rs. 7.3831 crore.
The East Garo Hills and Ri Bhoi districts in Meghalaya will be getting Rs.1.9232 crore as Central Grant (75% of total amount of Rs. 2.5643 crore as Central Share) for the effective implementation of NLRMP during 2009-10.
For West Bengal Nine districts, viz-Birbhum, Darjiling, Hoogly, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Purulia, Dakshin Dinajpur and Uttar Dinajpur an amount of Rs.32.6454 crore has been granted for NLRMP works. The total Grant earmarked as Central Assistance for the state during the current financial year (2009-10) is 43.5271 crore.
The sanctioned grant is to be spent on taking up computerization of Land Records including inter connectivity among revenue offices, survey/resurvey and computerization of registration process/ offices and modern record rooms.
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Opening remarks of PM at Planning Commission meeting
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, chaired the Full Planning Commission meeting in
"I have great pleasure in welcoming all of you to this first meeting of the Planning Commission since our Government took over.
The agenda for the meeting includes two important subjects. The first is an assessment of the economic situation in the country. This is relevant not only because we are starting the second term of the UPA Government but also because we are exactly at the mid point of the XI Five Year Plan. We have been through a difficult year because of the global economic downturn which is only now coming to an end with a slow return to normalcy in the months that lie ahead. The country has also seen a poor monsoon. I felt it would be useful for the Planning Commission to present its assessment of the overall economic situation to the Minister Members of the Commission.
The second item on the agenda is a presentation of the status of implementation of the Integrated Energy Policy. Energy is vital for our economic growth and this is the area where we are a deficit economy. We import over 70% of our petroleum energy needs and are also moving to a deficit position in coal. Rational energy policies are also critical for rational responses to the threat of climate change. This is a new compulsion and we need to assess whether we are on track in critical aspects of our energy policy. In our situation each energy sub-sector is the domain of a different Ministry. This has often meant a non-symmetric policy stance – the principles being adopted to determine policy in one sector are not the same as in another. The Integrated Energy Policy document that was approved by the Cabinet in December 2008 contained a number of recommendations covering different sub-sectors. I thought it would be useful for the Planning Commission to present an assessment of how these recommendations have been implemented.
I hope we can have a fruitful discussion on the agenda before us. I now request the Deputy Chairman to initiate the discussion."
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Sports Ministry grants Rs. 110 crore to Kerala Government for conduct of National Games
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has approved grant of Rs. 110 crore to the Government of Kerala for the conduct of 35th National Games. The grant sanctioned by the Ministry would be utilized towards upgradation of existing sports infrastructure, laying and development of playing surfaces and procurement of sports equipments, conduct of National Games including opening and closing ceremonies. These games would be the last major domestic event before Commonwealth Games, 2010 and would be a curtain raiser to CWG 2010 and it would be the basis of selecting the national teams that would represent the country at CWG 2010.
It may be recalled that Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has allotted 35th National Games to State of
RM/AS /spandey
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President's greetings on the occasion of Onam
The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her message on the occasion of Onam, which is being celebrated tomorrow, has said: -
"On the joyous occasion of Onam, I extend my warmest greetings to everyone especially to all my brothers and sisters in Kerala.
May this auspicious harvest festival, which underlines the importance of agriculture in our country, inspire us to work for the progress and prosperity of our nation and to promote harmony and compassion in our country."
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Biometric Attendance Control System installed in Home Ministry
As a systems improvement initiative, a Biometric Attendance Control System has been installed in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Web-based system consists of 15 machines installed at various gates in three buildings where offices of MHA are housed, namely – North Block, Jaisalmer House and Lok Nayak Bhawan. The system was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister Shri P.Chidambaram here this morning and became operational immediately thereafter. Under this system, all officers/officials of the Ministry will be registering their arrivals in the morning and departure for the day.
OK/KS /spandey
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