- The Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)- focuses on identifying and developing thepilgrim sites across the country to enrich the religious tourism experience.
- Ministry: Ministry of tourism
- Funding: 100% centrally funded
- Some facts
- Ministry of Tourism (MoT) that provides financial assistance to various States and Union Territories (UTs) for aesthetic development and rejuvenation of these sites.
Key objectives
- Create world-class infrastructure at pilgrim sites to enhance tourist attractiveness
- Harness pilgrimage tourism for its direct and multiplier effect on infrastructure development, employment generation and economic growth
- Promote local arts, culture, handicrafts, and cuisine etc. to improve the livelihood of people in these areas
- To strengthen the measures of safety and security of pilgrim sites and improve the quality of tourism services
- Under PRASAD Scheme, 41 religious sites have been identified for development in the country namely Amaravati and Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Kamakhya (Assam), Parasuram Kund (Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh), Patna and Gaya (Bihar), Bamleshwari Devi Temple (Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh), Dwarka and Somnath (Gujarat), Gurudwara Nada Sahib, Panchkula (Haryana), Maa Chintpurni (Una, Himachal Pradesh), Hazratbal and Katra (Jammu & Kashmir), Deogarh and Parasnath (Jharkhand), Chamundeshwari Devi, Mysuru (Karnataka), Guruvayoor, St. Thomas International Shrine, (Malayattoor), Cheraman Juma Mosque (Thrissur, Kerala), Omkareshwar and Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh), Babedpara, West Jaintia Hills and Sohra (Meghalaya), Aizwal (Mizoram), Kohima and Mokokchung Districts (Nagaland), Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra), Puri (Odisha), Amritsar (Punjab), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Kanchipuram and Vellankani (Tamil Nadu), Tripura Sundari (Tripura), Varanasi
- and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri (Uttarakhand) and Belur (West Bengal).
