Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0)

About the scheme-

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme is a Central Sector scheme launched in 2014-15 by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India for the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits.
• The Ministry of Tourism under this scheme provides central financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations/Central Agencies etc. for development of tourism infrastructure in the country.
• Ministry has revamped this scheme to develop sustainable and responsible destinations with tourist & destination centric approach and has shared the guidelines for SD2.0 scheme.  
• The circuits under this scheme include- Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Northeast Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Sufi Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit, Wildlife Circuit and Tribal Circuit. 
• The scheme aims to promote, develop and harness the potential of tourism in India.
• With the mantra of ‘vocal for local’, the revamped scheme namely Swadesh Darshan 2.0 seeks to attain “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” by realizing India’s full potential as a tourism destination.
• Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is not an incremental change but a generational shift to evolve Swadesh Darshan Scheme as a holistic mission to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations covering tourism and allied infrastructure, tourism services, human capital development, destination management and promotion backed by policy and institutional reforms.
• As of March 2022, 76 projects have been sanctioned across 15 circuits under this scheme at a cost of Rs 5,445 crore.

Themes under the scheme-

Following major themes have been identified for tourism under the Scheme-

(i) Culture and Heritage (ii) Adventure Tourism (iii) Eco-Tourism (iv) Wellness Tourism (v) MICE Tourism (vi) Rural Tourism (vii) Beach Tourism (viii) Cruises – Ocean & Inland. 

   All other themes will fall in one of the above major tourism themes. A destination may be developed for one or more major themes. 

Note: Ministry of Tourism under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) also provides central financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations/Central Agencies etc. for development of tourism infrastructure in the country.