15 thematic tourists circuits identified: govt

Fifteen thematic tourist circuits have been identified by the government for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Patel also said that two schemes are being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism for the promotion of tourism in Fatehpur Sikri which include domestic promotion and publicity for promotion of domestic tourism and restructured scheme to promote Indian tourism in overseas markets.

"Buddhist circuit is one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan- Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourism Circuits Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism," he said during Question Hour. All sites in the country related to Buddhism including Kapilvastu are covered under the Buddhist circuit for development, he said.

Patel said projects for development under this scheme are identified in consultation with state governments and union territory administrations and are sanctioned subject to the submission of detailed project reports and their adherence to scheme guidelines, availability of funds and submission of utilisation certificates for funds released earlier.