Swadesh Darshan, PRASAD and HRIDAY schemes

For development of tourism infrastructure in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has introduced two new schemes in 2014-15 

PRASAD - Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive 

12 cities have been identified for development initially

• To know about all these places Click Here
• Facilities for women and senior citizens, accessibility and last mile connectivity, conservation of areas and documentation of heritage sites are some of the focus areas of HRIDAY and PRASAD

Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits. 

• Spiritual Circuit has been identified as theme circuit for development. 
• Main Circuits
• The North-East India Circuit
• The Buddhist Circuit
• The Himalayan Circuit
• The Coastal Circuit (including Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep)
• The Krishna Circuit
• The main places to be covered under Buddhist circuit are:

• What is the rationale of this scheme?

Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme by Ministry of Urban Development

For the 12 cities under the scheme in the first phase, namely; Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh); Gaya (Bihar); Dwarka (Gujarat), Badami(Karnataka); Puri (Odisha), Amritsar (Punjab); Ajmer(Rajasthan); Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu); Vellankani(Tamil Nadu); Warangal (Telangana); Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh); and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).

• Aim
• to preserve and revitalise soul of the heritage city to reflect the city’s unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment in mission mode
• Revitalisation of urban infrastructure for areas around heritage assets 
• These initiatives shall include development of water supply, sanitation, drainage, waste management, approach roads, footpaths, street lights, tourist conveniences, electricity wiring, landscaping and such citizen services.
• The criterion for selection of these cities is their rich heritage and cultural history.

Ajmer

Ajmer, formerly written Ajmere, is a city (and the administrative headquarters) in Ajmer District

Amaravati

Amaravati is a city located in Guntur district in India’s eastern state of Andhra Pradesh. 

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in northwestern India and the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab

Badami

Badami is a city located in Bagalkot district in India’s southern state of Karnataka.

Dwaraka

Dwaraka is a city located in Devbhoomi Dwarka district in India’s western state of Gujarat. 

Gaya

Gaya is a city in eastern India and the administrative headquarters of Gaya district in the state of Bihar. 

Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram city is situated in the south India and is also the administrative headquarters of the district of Kanchipuram

Mathura

Mathura is a city in northern India and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the state of Uttar

Puri

The coastal town Puri, situated at a distance of about 60 kms south of state capital Bhubneswar

Varanasi

Varanasi city is situated in the north India and is also the administrative headquarters of the district of Varanasi

Velankanni

Velankanni, also known as Vailankanni, is a city located in Nagapattinam district in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. 

Warangal is a city in south-eastern India and the administrative headquarters of Warangal district in the state of Telangana.