The government should occasionally grant thousands of crores of rupees to Air India for its functioning as withdrawal of flights from profitable routes and unresolved issues relating to its merger do not augur well for the carrier, a parliamentary committee has said.
Supporting death penalty for hijackers, a parliamentary committee has said capital punishment must be awarded to conspirators and abettors whose actions result in death of hostages or security personnel. At the same time, it raised questions as to whether opportunities for any negotiation or settlement to save lives would be foreclosed if the hijackers knew they would in any case get capital punishment for the offence.
Sidhu was the Congress' star campaigner and addressed over 70 public meetings in 17 days ahead of elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.
The annual Amarnath yatra began on Tuesday amid tight security as the first batch of 2,096 devotees left Jammu base camp for pilgrimage to the 13,500 meter-high cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas.
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday under a tight security cover, with the first batch of 1,272 pilgrims leaving the Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,338-metres.A cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying the devotees under tight security was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora from the Amarnath base camp at Bagwatinagar Yatri Niwas at approximately 5 am. Security is being provided by the Central Reserve Police Force
The committee looked into the merger of the two airlines and its impact on the domestic aviation industry.
Famed for their proficiency in delivering lunch-boxes, Mumbai Dabbawalas will again make Maharashtra proud while representing the state in the Republic Day parade at the national capital. "We would display uninterrupted service of Dabbawalas on the Republic Day parade in Delhi," Secretary for Tourism and Culture Anand Kulkarni told PTI.
On Saturday, Amarinder Singh had accepted Sidhu's "one-line" resignation and forwarded it to Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore who conveyed his acceptance of the same.
The global meltdown, coupled with economic recession and the terror incidents, has hit the tourism industry adversely. While there is a fall of foreign tourist arrival, hotel bookings are also witnessing many cancellations. Besides rationalisation of luxury tax, ministry has also sought seamless movement of vehicles meant for tourists.
Navjot Sidhu has been given power and new and renewable energy sources, and his tourism and cultural affairs portfolio has been given to Charanjit Singh Channi.
Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni is happy she could manage to bring the relics of Mahatma Gandhi back to India.Soni, a powerful leader of the Congress owing to her proximity to party president Sonia Gandhi, claimed that United Breweries chairman Vijay Mallaya had been selected to bid on the items.
An Egyptian antique and conservation expert arrived in Hyderabad to give a new life to a 4,500 year old mummy at the Andhra Pradesh State Museum, as the time and weather have taken a huge toll on its figure.
"Had the government agreed to this proposal of the AAI, the (modernisation of) Mumbai and Delhi airports would have been completed by this time," the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said in its latest report. While opposing privatisation, the report said the AAI proposal, which promised to revamp the two facilities in a much shorter time, was "turned down for unknown reasons."
Around five million foreign tourists had visited India in 2007 which was a big jump from the 3.92 million tourists during the previous year, Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said. Around 400 million domestic tourists had also traveled across different parts of the country during 2007.
Rapid urbanisation, multi-storeyed buildings and development projects have led to disappearance of 35 Centrally-protected monuments and sites across the country.
India ranked 42nd in international tourists arrivals in 2006, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. India recorded foreign tourist arrivals of 4.45 million. The top four countries of the world in terms of international tourist arrivals were France (79.1 million), Spain (58.5 million), USA (51.1 million) and China (49.6 million), she said. India was achieving a consistent high growth rate of 13.3%, 13.5% and 12.4% in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively.
On July 25, Pranab Mukherjee will leave Rashtrapati Bhavan and move into 10 Rajaji Marg in Lutyens' Delhi.
"The message of the Friendship Year has been that our millennium friendship needs to be actively harnessed for realising the full potential of our bilateral relations."
In a bid to promote tourism, India may allow issuance of visa on arrival, sometime in 2009. Infrastructure for such a provision is also likely to be ready only by next year, when the airports in Delhi and Mumbai will be upgraded. About 5 million tourists came to India last year (2007) against 4.45 million in 2006. The foreign exchange earnings from tourists are estimated at about $12 billion in 2007 against about $9 billion last year.
It is now mandated that a state party can submit only two nominations per year for World Heritage Sites, of which one site has to be a natural site, and has put an annual limitation of 45 nominations per year.
While Delhi topped the list among states in terms of foreign tourist arrivals, Andhra Pradesh received the maximum number of domestic tourists during 2005.
As compared to India, Italy has 41 and France has 30 world heritage sites, she said. The minister said India has submitted a tentative list proposing 19 cultural and natural sites for their future inclusion in the world heritage list.
Majority of the tourists coming to India have rated their visit as either "most satisfying" or "satisfying", according to an international passenger survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism.
India's earnings from foreign tourists has almost doubled between 2002 and 2005.
Indian Oil Corporation will fund restoration of the Sun temple at Konark in Orissa, Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni said on Tuesday.
Immigration Bureau figures put Nepalis at the bottom of the country-wise tourist arrival list, with 72,031 people visiting India from the neighbouring Himalayan Kingdom.
Kalam was staying at the 10 Rajaji Marg residence after his eventful term as President ended in 2007.
Despite registering a growth in the number of foreign tourists, India continues to lag behind other neighbouring countries, including China, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, in terms of tourist arrivals.
'What we are saying is we must have investment, but in a manner and in areas where you need the capital or technology upgrade.'
At a function in Delhi where Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan on Friday presented the National Tourism Awards for 2003, Kerala was adjudged the best state for tourism-related programmes.
The government is considering a proposal to set up a Tourism Promotion Office in Israel to promote cultural and tourism co-operation between the two countries
Opposing the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, the Left MPs have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "stall" the move and consider the "alternative proposal" for the purpose submitted by airport employees.
BSP members repeatedly stormed the well demanding immediate dismissal of Jagmohan for 'misleading' the nation on the Taj Heritage Corridor Project issue.
Faulting the procedure adopted by the government for divestment of the controversial Mumbai Centaur Hotel property, a Parliamentary Standing Committee has demanded a thorough probe by the Central Vigilance Commission into the deal.
Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan has invited international entrepreneurs to invest in Indian travel and tourism, citing vast opportunities and the government priority to developing the multi-crore sector.
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