News: The Centre is planning to develop tourist sites around major temples in Andhra Pradesh under the PRASHAD scheme.
About PRASHAD scheme
- The full form of the PRASAD scheme is ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’.
- It is a Central Sector Scheme.
- It was launched in the year 2014-2015 with the objective of integrated development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations.
- Launched by: Ministry of Tourism.
- Aim: To integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.
- Focus: This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience.
- Funding: It intends to utilize voluntary contributions through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to strengthen the long-term sustainability of its projects.
- Components of the scheme:
- Infrastructure Development: Development of tourism infrastructure at pilgrimage sites, including basic amenities, last-mile connectivity, lighting, parking, and other facilities for visitor convenience and safety.
- Integrated Tourism Development of Heritage City: Focuses on improving civic infrastructure in heritage cities.
- Capacity and Skill Development & Knowledge Management: Supports special courses and short-term training programs to address skill gaps, promotes local indigenous art and crafts, and ensures documentation and preservation of tourism knowledge.
- Online Presence: Development of GIS-based portals, mobile applications, dashboards, and project monitoring systems to deliver tourism services, enable bookings, track progress, and support data analytics and reporting.
- Information, Education, and Communication activities (IEC): IEC activities to promote awareness and outreach for the development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
