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In order to market its tourism offerings better, the government will project different aspects of India to different countries.
This is being done with the help of Indian missions abroad.
For 20 of India’s major source markets, which include the US, UK, Thailand, Canada, China, Oman and Russia, the missions have been tasked with chalking out specific marketing plans customised as per the profile of tourists from the respective country.
For instance, India will pitch itself as a destination for culture and history to the French, while adventure tourism and the Buddhist circuit may be marketed to Thailand. In the case of Russians, the need is to expand the spectrum of tourism beyond Goa and Kerala.
Earlier this week, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, along with officials from the Tourism Ministry, held a virtual meeting with Ambassadors and Tourism Officers from some of these missions, wherein specific marketing plans were presented.
There is a realisation that the one-size-fits-all approach to promoting India as a tourist destination to foreigners does not yield great results. So, the idea is to market the tourist offerings in a more customised manner.
For instance, in the case of French travellers coming to India, it was observed that more than 70 per cent of them go online to check out a destination before they travel, and most of them also write blogs and reviews after their visits.
Only those with an extremely satisfactory experience express themselves as ambassadors of a destination,” as per a presentation submitted to the ministers by the Indian Mission in Paris.
Mangrove mission helps Sunderbans resident fight storms, cyclones and unemployment (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The river bank adjacent to Dakshin Durgapur Ferry Ghat, off Mousuni Island in Namkhana block, South 24 Parganas district, is lined with two-foot-long mangrove trees.
Locals employed by the district administration are responsible for taking care of the trees, which were planted in 2020 and 2021 as part of the ‘Mission Mangrove’ initiative of the West Bengal government to protect the large area of Sundarbans from adverse effects of tropical cyclones.
We lost our homes in cyclone Amphan (2020). We spent days in a cyclone shelter and later, we were told by the district administration to plant these trees, which would help reduce the impact of such storms in future.
We are hoping that this effort would bear fruit,” said Gangaram Mondal, a resident of Radhanagar village in Namkhana block.
In May 2020, when super cyclone Amphan hit the coast of Sundarbans, wreaking havoc in the region, the mangroves played a big role in protecting the life and livelihood of millions of people by acting as a bio-shield and protecting the embankments.
It was found that wherever the mangroves were deforested, lost and destroyed, the embankments were breached and saline waters inundated agricultural land and ponds causing further damage to the fragile terrain.
It was then that ‘Mangrove Mission’ was conceived for eco-restoration of the area and also to protect the city of Kolkata from the wrath of cyclonic storms.
The South 24 Parganas district administration began a robust planning effectively implement the initiative. “The entire programme was undertaken by the district MGNREGA Cell and administration of South 24 Parganas and implemented by the forest department, involving local communities, especially women.
Economy
India may gain from lower inflation if prices stay low (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Justifying the rate hikes being undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Governor Shaktikanta Das said the real interest rates have just turned positive after being in the negative territory for the last three years and that the RBI’s rate actions have been in line with its objective of maintaining price stability, as has been “mandated under the law.
Das further said that negative real interest rates — a situation where the inflation rate is higher than the nominal interest rate — for a prolonged period of time can create instability in the financial system.
Please keep in mind that interest rates have just moved into positive territory. We have had negative interest rates for the last three years and the continuation of negative interest rates for far too long can create financial instability in the financial system, so the interest rates have just now moved into the positive territory.
Negative interest rates for a long time have a lot of risks which have to be avoided when asked whether the rate hikes by the RBI are affecting home loan EMIs and demand by homebuyers.
He was speaking after the conclusion of the RBI’s customary post-budget Board meeting in Delhi which was attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
G-20 tourists can use UPI at select Indian airports: How? (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted all inbound travellers from the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries and non-resident Indians to access Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for their merchant payments (P2M) at select airports while they are in the country.
According to the RBI, banks and non-banks authorised to issue prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) can issue rupee-denominated full-KYC PPIs to foreign nationals and NRIs visiting India.
Such PPIs can also be issued in co-branding arrangement with entities authorised to deal in foreign exchange under FEMA.
The PPIs can be issued in the form of wallets linked to UPI — like Google Pay and PhonePe — and can be used for merchant payments (P2M) only.
Loading and reloading of such PPIs will be against receipt of foreign exchange by cash or through any payment instrument.
To start with, this facility will be extended to travellers from the G-20 countries, arriving at select international airports. Going forward, this facility will be enabled across all other entry points in the country.
The G-20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US.