Budget 2020: Tourism industry to get INR 2500 crore budget boost

Source: indiatimes.com

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget speech on Saturday, announced a number of steps to renovate and set up museums to boost tourism in the country.

The Finance Minister announced the development of on-site museums at five archaeological sites in the states of Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Assam, Gujarat, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. In her second Union Budget, she further stated that the on-site museums would be developed at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu, Rakhigarhi in Haryana, Sivasagar in Assam, Dholavira in Gujarat, and Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh. She also mentioned setting up of a tribal museum in Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand.

The Minister also announced the proposal of setting up an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture. While presenting the Budget for 2020-21, she announced that INR 2500 crore will be allocated to the Ministry of Tourism and that INR 3150 crore will be allocated to the Ministry of Culture.

Last month, the Prime Minister announced renovation of the Indian Museum in Kolkata, which is the oldest in the country. Referring to this, the Finance Minister stated that in the historic Old Mint building in Kolkata, a museum on Numismatics and Trade will also be located. While announcing government’s support for setting up a tribal museum in Ranchi, she added four more museums from across the country will be taken up for re-curation and renovation so that a world-class experience can be offered to visitors.