Ministry of Tourism (India)

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Ministry of Tourism
Branch of Government of India
Ministry of Tourism
Agency overview
Formed1967
JurisdictionGovernment of India
HeadquartersMinistry of Tourism
Transport Bhawan
Sansad Marg
New Delhi,110011
New Delhi
Annual budget2,150 crore (US$270 million) (2018–19 est.)[1]
Ministers responsible
Websitetourism.gov.in

The Ministry of Tourism, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for the formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to the development and promotion of tourism in India. It facilitates the Indian department of tourism. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Tourism (India) held by G. Kishan Reddy.

India stole the limelight at the World Tourism Mart 2011 in London by winning two global awards - World's Leading Destination and World's Leading Tourist Board, Incredible India.[2]

History

The potential for tourism in India was first recognized with the setting up of a Tourist Traffic Committee, an ad-hoc body, in 1948, to suggest ways and means to promote tourism in India. Based on its recommendations, a tourist traffic branch was set up the following year, with regional offices in Delhi and Mumbai, and in 1951, in Kolkata and Chennai. A separate department of tourism under the government was first created on 1 March 1958, that was put under the ambit of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. It was headed by a Director General in the rank of joint secretary. Simultaneously, Tourism Development Council, an advisory body, was constituted and was chaired by the minister in charge of tourism.[3]

After a fall in the number of tourists entering India in 1961 from the preceding year, the government constituted a committee headed by Lakshmi Kant Jha, then secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Ministry of Finance, to find and examine the reasons. The committee attributed it to the Chinese aggression in the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War that year. Subsequently, as per the committee's recommendations, visa norms were liberalized, and the India Tourism Development Corporation was established in 1966 as a functional agency of the Department of Tourism. Further, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi convened a conference in October that year, the deliberations of which resulted in the creation of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. Karan Singh was appointed the first minister.[3]

Despite his skills as an orator and scholarly knowledge in the Sanskrit language, Singh failed to take tourism on a growing path during the initial years, owing mostly to failure in getting funds for the promotion and infrastructure of tourism. He subsequently persuaded Air India to get their officers involved in promotion of tourism to India. Region-wise targets for arrivals were given and Air India chiefs were given powers to oversee the working of overseas tourist offices of India; 'Operation Europe' for the said region was later extended to other areas. Air India's failure to take this forward owing to losses in revenue "collision" of "egos of tourist officers" led to slump in the growth of tourism. Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi later took charge of the ministry before quitting in favour of other ministers who, Pran Nath Seth in Successful Tourism wrote, "felt that the tourism portfolio was a demotion", as Civil Aviation was separated from the ministry. During this time, the Tourism was tied with Commerce Ministry, and later under V. P. Singh's ministry, in 1991 with Agriculture,[4] when it was headed by Chaudhary Devi Lal. It was again tied with Civil Aviation that year, headed by Madhavrao Scindia, before the Deve Gowda government in 1996 attached it with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.[4] Tourism was then combined with culture portfolio when it was headed by Jagmohan. The latter was separated in 2002 and an independent ministry for tourism has been active since.[3]

Organisation

Statutory Professional Bodies

Autonomous Bodies

Central Public Sector Undertakings

Campaigns

Incredible India

In 2022, The Ministry of Tourism's joint secretary Chandu Burusu IAS collaborated with Ogilvy & Mather to create the Incredible India marketing initiative, aiming to promote India's image as a high-end tourist destination.[5]

Incredible India 2.0 was launched on September 27, 2017, by President Ram Nath Kovind, on the occasion of World Tourism Day.[6]

Cleanliness Index

Union Tourism Ministry is planning to introduce "Cleanliness Index" for all cities in India. This index will declare the best performers which will motivate other cities to work on this aspect of their appeal. The methodology has been already formulated and will be implemented in 6 cities on a pilot basis.[7]

Tourism campaign at ITB Berlin

In 2011, Indian tourism department had launched a major tourism campaign at the ITB Berlin (the world's largest travel trade show) under the guidance of Mr Sanjay Kothari and Mr Anand Kumar and Mr M.N. Javed.[8]

Cabinet Ministers

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
1 Karan Singh
(born 1931)
MP for Udhampur
16 March
1967
18 March
1971
4 years, 2 days Indian National Congress Indira II Indira Gandhi
18 March
1971
9 November
1973
Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) Indira III
2 Raj Bahadur
(1912–1990)
MP for Bharatpur
9 November
1973
22 December
1976
3 years, 43 days
3 Kotha Raghuramaiah
(1912–1979)
MP for Guntur
23 December
1976
24 March
1977
91 days
4 Purushottam Kaushik
(1930–2017)
MP for Raipur
26 March
1977
15 July
1979
2 years, 111 days Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
(1896–1995)
MP for Surat

(Prime Minister)
15 July
1979
28 July
1979
13 days
5 Mohammad Shafi Qureshi
(1928–2016)
MP for Anantnag
30 July
1979
14 January
1980
168 days Janata Party (Secular) Charan Singh Charan Singh
6 Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
(1927–2015)
MP for Cuttack
14 January
1980
7 June
1980
145 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
7 Anant Sharma
(1919–1988)
Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar
8 June
1980
2 September
1982
2 years, 86 days
Minister of Tourism
8 Khurshed Alam Khan
(1919–2013)
MP for Farrukhabad

(MoS, I/C)
2 September
1982
14 February
1983
165 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
(8) Khurshed Alam Khan
(1919–2013)
MP for Farrukhabad

(MoS, I/C)
14 February
1983
31 October
1984
1 year, 316 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
4 November
1984
31 December
1984
Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–1991)
MP for Amethi

(Prime Minister)
31 December
1984
25 September
1985
268 days Rajiv II
Minister of Tourism
9 H. K. L. Bhagat
(1921–2005)
MP for East Delhi
25 September
1985
12 May
1986
229 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
10 Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
(1936–2016)
Rajya Sabha MP for Jammu and Kashmir
12 May
1986
15 July
1987
1 year, 64 days
Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–1991)
MP for Amethi

(Prime Minister)
15 July
1987
28 July
1987
13 days
11 Jagdish Tytler
(born 1944)
MP for Delhi Sadar

(MoS, I/C)
28 July
1987
14 February
1988
201 days
12 Mohsina Kidwai
(born 1932)
MP for Meerut
14 February
1988
25 June
1988
132 days
Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism
13 Shivraj Patil
(born 1935)
MP for Latur

(MoS, I/C)
25 June
1988
2 December
1989
1 year, 160 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
Minister of Tourism
V. P. Singh
(1931–2008)
MP for Fatehpur

(Prime Minister)
2 December
1989
5 December
1989
3 days Janata Dal Vishwanath V. P. Singh
14 Arun Nehru
(1944–2013)
MP for Bilhaur
6 December
1989
10 November
1990
339 days
Chandra Shekhar
(1927–2007)
MP for Ballia

(Prime Minister)
10 November
1990
21 November
1990
11 days Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
15 Chaudhary Devi Lal
(1915–2001)
MP for Sikar

(Deputy Prime Minister)
21 November
1990
21 June
1991
212 days
Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism
16 Madhavrao Scindia
(1945–2001)
MP for Gwalior
21 June
1991
9 January
1993
1 year, 202 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
17 Ghulam Nabi Azad
(born 1949)
Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra
9 January
1993
16 May
1996
3 years, 128 days
18 V. Dhananjay Kumar
(1951–2019)
MP for Mangalore
1 May
1996
16 May
1996
16 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee I Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Tourism
19 C. M. Ibrahim
(born 1948)
Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka
1 June
1996
29 June
1996
28 days Janata Dal Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda
20 Srikant Kumar Jena
(born 1950)
MP for Kendrapara
29 June
1996
21 April
1997
296 days
21 April
1997
19 March
1998
Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral
21 Madan Lal Khurana
(1936–2018)
MP for Delhi Sadar
19 March
1998
30 January
1999
317 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
22 Ananth Kumar
(1959–2018)
MP for Bangalore South
30 January
1999
13 October
1999
256 days
23 Uma Bharti
(born 1959)
MP for Bhopal

(MoS, I/C)
13 October
1999
2 February
2000
112 days Vajpayee III
(22) Ananth Kumar
(1959–2018)
MP for Bangalore South
2 February
2000
27 May
2000
115 days
Minister of Tourism and Culture
(22) Ananth Kumar
(1959–2018)
MP for Bangalore South
27 May
2000
1 September
2001
1 year, 97 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Tourism
24 Jagmohan
(1927–2021)
MP for New Delhi
1 September
2001
18 November
2001
78 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Tourism and Culture
(24) Jagmohan
(1927–2021)
MP for New Delhi
18 November
2001
22 May
2004
2 years, 186 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Tourism
25 Renuka Chowdhury
(born 1954)
MP for Khammam

(MoS, I/C)
23 May
2004
29 January
2006
1 year, 251 days Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
26 Ambika Soni
(born 1942)
Rajya Sabha MP for Punjab
29 January
2006
22 May
2009
3 years, 113 days
27 Selja Kumari
(born 1962)
MP for Ambala
28 May
2009
19 January
2011
1 year, 236 days Manmohan II
28 Subodh Kant Sahay
(born 1951)
MP for Ranchi
19 January
2011
27 October
2012
1 year, 282 days
29 K. Chiranjeevi
(born 1955)
Rajya Sabha MP for Andhra Pradesh

(MoS, I/C)
28 October
2012
26 May
2014
1 year, 210 days
30 Shripad Naik
(born 1952)
MP for North Goa

(MoS, I/C)
27 May
2014
9 November
2014
166 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
31 Mahesh Sharma
(born 1959)
MP for Gautam Buddh Nagar

(MoS, I/C)
9 November
2014
3 September
2017
2 years, 298 days
32 Alphons Kannanthanam
(born 1953)
Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan
3 September
2017
30 May
2019
1 year, 269 days
33 Prahlad Singh Patel
(born 1960)
MP for Damoh

(MoS, I/C)
31 May
2019
7 July
2021
2 years, 37 days Modi II
34 G. Kishan Reddy
(born 1964)
MP for Secunderabad
7 July
2021
Incumbent 2 years, 266 days

Ministers of State

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation
1 Sarojini Mahishi
(1927–2015)
MP for Dharwad North
2 May
1971
9 November
1973
2 years, 191 days Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) Indira III Indira Gandhi
2 Surendra Pal Singh
(1917–2009)
MP for Bulandshahr
10 October
1974
23 December
1976
2 years, 74 days
Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation
3 P. Ankineedu Prasada Rao
(1929–1997)
MP for Bapatla
4 August
1979
14 January
1980
163 days Indian National Congress (Urs) Charan Singh Charan Singh
4 Kartik Oraon
(1924–1981)
MP for Lohardaga
14 January
1980
8 June
1980
146 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
5 Chandulal Chandrakar
(1920–1995)
MP for Durg
8 June
1980
15 January
1982
1 year, 221 days
6 Khurshed Alam Khan
(1919–2013)
MP for Farrukhabad
15 January
1982
2 September
1982
230 days
Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation
7 Ashok Gehlot
(born 1951)
MP for Jodhpur
31 December
1984
25 August
1985
237 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
Minister of State for Tourism
8 Ghulam Nabi Azad
(born 1949)
MP for Washim
25 September
1985
12 May
1986
229 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
9 Santosh Mohan Dev
(1934–2017)
MP for Silchar
12 May
1986
28 July
1987
1 year, 278 days
10 Giridhar Gamang
(born 1943)
MP for Koraput
14 February
1988
25 June
1988
132 days
Minister of State for Tourism
11 Usha Sinha
(born 1946)
MP for Vaishali
21 November
1990
10 April
1991
140 days Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism
12 M. O. H. Farook
(1937–2012)
MP for Pondicherry

(Civil Aviation, from 2 July 1992)
21 June
1991
17 January
1993
1 year, 210 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
13 Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder
(1943–2006)
MP for Gurdaspur

(Tourism)
2 July
1992
16 May
1996
3 years, 319 days
14 G. Y. Krishnan
(1929–2001)
Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka

(Civil Aviation)
15 September
1995
16 May
1996
244 days
Minister of State for Tourism
15 Omak Apang
(born 1971)
MP for Arunachal West
20 March
1998
13 October
1999
1 year, 207 days Arunachal Congress Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of State for Tourism and Culture
16 Vinod Khanna
(1946–2017)
MP for Gurdaspur
1 July
2002
29 January
2003
212 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
17 Bhavna Chikhalia
(1955–2013)
MP for Junagadh
29 January
2003
22 May
2004
1 year, 114 days
Minister of State for Tourism
18 Kanti Singh
(born 1957)
MP for Arrah
6 April
2008
22 May
2009
1 year, 46 days Rashtriya Janata Dal Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
19 Sultan Ahmed
(1953–2017)
MP for Uluberia
28 May
2009
22 September
2012
3 years, 117 days All India Trinamool Congress Manmohan II
Minister of State for Tourism
20 Shripad Naik
(born 1952)
MP for North Goa
7 July
2021
Incumbent 2 years, 266 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi II Narendra Modi
21 Ajay Bhatt
(born 1961)
MP for Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar

Deputy Ministers

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation
1 Sarojini Mahishi
(1927–2015)
MP for Dharwad North
18 March
1971
2 May
1971
45 days Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) Indira III Indira Gandhi
2 Virbhadra Singh
(1934–2021)
MP for Mandi
31 December
1976
24 March
1977
83 days
Deputy Minister for Tourism
3 Ashok Gehlot
(born 1951)
MP for Jodhpur
2 September
1982
14 February
1983
165 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation
4 Ashok Gehlot
(born 1951)
MP for Jodhpur
14 February
1983
7 February
1984
358 days Indian National Congress (Indira) Indira IV Indira Gandhi

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Budget data" (PDF). www.indiabudget.gov.in. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. ^ "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Seth, Prem Nath (2006). Successful Tourism: Volume I: Fundamentals of Tourism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 214–217. ISBN 9788120731998. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b Seth, Pran Nath; Bhat, Sushma Seth (2003). An Introduction To Travel And Tourism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 64. ISBN 9788120724822. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Incredible India Campaign". Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. ^ "President launches Incredible India 2.0 Campaign; 'Adopt a Heritage' Project". The Hindu: Business Line. 27 September 2017.
  7. ^ Retrieved from 'The Hindu' on 20 September 2014
  8. ^ PTI. "India launches tourism campaign at ITB Berlin". @businessline. Retrieved 23 June 2019.

External links