Editorial 1: Working hand in hand to showcase India
Context:
- Today is National Tourism Day (January 25) and the Ministry of Railways, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, is launching its Jagannath Yatra train package, an eight-day tour that begins in from Delhi, traverses Kashi, Baidyanath Dham, Jagannath Puri, Bhubaneshwar and Konark, and ends at the Vishnupad temple in Gaya.
Campaigns so far
- All this is linked to using Bharat Gaurav Trains (or theme-based tourist circuit trains) to highlight India’s rich cultural heritage and history. The example given above is one of many cases of a Government of India ministry other than the Tourism Ministry taking the initiative to showcase India’s rich heritage using a ‘whole of government’ approach.
- Today, the Ministry of Tourism coordinates its work effectively with over 20 central government Ministries in the promotion and the development of tourism in the country. In October 2022, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Home Affairs organised the National Conference on Tourist Police (to develop tourist specific policing), aimed at working with the police and sensitising them on addressing the needs of foreign and domestic tourists.
- In partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Tourism Ministry has begun establishing ‘Yuva Tourism’ clubs to nurture young ambassadors of Indian tourism. In another instance, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is aiming to make India an attractive cruise tourism destination using state-of-the-art infrastructure.
- India’s middle class is now prioritising some of their discretionary spending on new experiences such as cruises. In partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, tourism officers have been placed in 20 Indian missions in countries that contribute to some of the highest foreign tourist arrivals in India. Their role includes facilitating and providing inputs for country-specific sensibilities and having them reflected in tourism products.
- Similarly, with the Ministry of Roadways and the Petroleum Ministry, steps are being taken to ensure that highways and fuel stations have clean sanitation infrastructure. The Ministry of Tourism is also funding several commercial flight routes in partnership with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, making them viable.
Status of tourism sector in India:
- India ranks 6th according to World Travel and Tourism Council in terms of Travel & Tourism total contribution to GDP in 2021. India in 2021 was ranked 54th in World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index.
- India has 40 sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (32 cultural, 7 natural, and 1 mixed) as of 1st january 2023. Dholavira and Ramappa Temple are the latest ones.
- A total of 39 million jobs were created in the tourism sector in FY20, which represented 8% of the country's employment. By 2029, it will account for 53 million jobs.
Recent Initiatives in tourism sector :
- Swadesh Darshan Scheme : Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around Specific Themes
- Dekho Apna Desh Initiative
- National Green Tourism Mission
- PRASHAD scheme: Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive
- Buddhist Conclave
- Adopt A Heritage Project: ‘Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’
- Development of Iconic Tourist Sites
- Incredible India 2.0 Campaign of the Union Ministry of Tourism etc
Tourism policy
- However, it is not just enough if there is a pledge to work together as this needs to be formalised through structures and institutions. The new draft National Tourism Policy 2022 aims to do just this. The policy has been formulated after situational analysis including the impact of COVID-19 and taking into account future projections for the tourism sector with a vision for India@100.
- One of the ideas includes an institutional structure that can take concurrent and coordinated action across the Union, State and local government levels in partnership with industry.
- It is this ‘whole of government’ approach that has equipped India with the ability to host the G-20 presidency — 20 countries, 11 special invitee countries, and nearly one lakh delegates will participate in 200 meetings at over 50 locations. Every delegate or visitor who is in India to attend the G-20 summit will return as a brand ambassador and spread the word on India’s rich cultural, spiritual and natural heritage.
A journey of discovery
- Moving ahead on this, the Ministry of Tourism declaration of “Visit India Year 2023” aims to promote various tourism products and destinations to increase India’s share in the global tourism market.
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- Travelling to India is not just a tourism experience. It is an avenue to find oneself. India has always been a popular destination for travellers exploring spiritual enlightenment and self-discovery. For centuries many great foreign travellers have visited India and shared their experiences in the form of memoirs, travelogues, poetry and books, as Megasthenes, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo, and Fa-Hien have shown.
Conclusion:
- India is a tourist destination to rekindle one’s inner self. As the birthplace to four major world religions, i.e., Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, India can truly claim to be the world’s spiritual beacon. This is at the core of the Visit India Year 2023.
Editorial 2: Developing schools without barriers
Context:
- For children with disability/disabilities (CWD), even simple tasks like going to bathroom to relieve oneself are difficult, due to the higher care needed to complete the actions. These actions become tougher in schools which do not have accessible spaces and other guiding infrastructure to get there safely.
Status of CWD in India:
- A UNESCO 2019 report mentioned that CWD comprise 1.7% of the total child population in India (Census 2011). As they are faced with physical, institutional, socioeconomic and communication barriers from an early age, more than 70% of five-year-olds with disabilities in India have never attended any educational institution, the report said. Many CWD also tend to drop out of school as they grow older.
- To motivate all children to meaningfully participate in all indoor and outdoor activities without barriers or limitations, the school ecosystem has to be made safe, accessible, and reliable.
Barriers to accessibility:
- Several barriers impede the participation of CWD in accessing educational opportunities such as
- inaccessible school buses
- inaccessible facilities in schools (drinking water facilities, canteens and toilets); and
- inappropriate infrastructure in classrooms (uncomfortable seating, slippery flooring and low illumination).
- Misinformed attitudes and perceptions among parents, teachers, staff, and communities that adversely influences the child’s emotional development.
- Lack of teaching and learning practices that integrate inclusive technologies and digital equipment to engage the child, such as assistive devices,
- At training programmes conducted by UN-Habitat India and IIT Kharagpur recently, school teachers and special educators said that accessible infrastructure within schools, such as ramps or tactile paths, are either in deficit or have not been constructed utilising suitable materials.
- School management authorities added that if such provisions are maintained regularly and adequate funding is provided for the construction of new infrastructure, we would have accessible places. The cooperation, involvement, and sensitisation of parents and caregivers, teachers, school management authorities, and the local government departments are required so that all these barriers are actively addressed.
Legal framework and government initiatives :
- Article 21A of the Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 outline the fundamental right to education and the right to have free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 years.
- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which adopted a ‘zero rejection policy’, emphasises that “every child with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category and degree of disability, is provided meaningful and quality education”.
- India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Aligning with this commitment, the government launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) in 2015. The aim of the Campaign is to make a barrier-free and conducive environment for Divyangjans (Persons with Disabilities - PwDs) all over the country. An important pillar of this campaign is accessibility to built environment. AIC is the nationwide flagship campaign of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- The government has also been supportive of the principle of Leave No One Behind (LNOB), which is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN SDGs).
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Towards inclusivity:
- Developing inclusive and accessible schools will be a big step towards not only challenging perceptions about CWD, and the associated discrimination, but also in actualising the zero-rejection policy in schools.
- A multi-pronged participatory approach towards providing an enabling environment for the empowerment of future citizens is needed to ensure that stakeholders in the school ecosystem collectively work towards promoting accessibility and inclusion in schools.
- This includes awareness and sensitisation programmes for children, parents, and caregivers; training trainers for upskilling of school faculty and special educators and providing access to updated teaching toolkits and materials; technical training for local government departments; and a co-learning platform for knowledge-sharing between all.
Conclusion:
- Five principles — equitability, usability and durability, affordability, cultural adaptability, and aesthetic appeal — should be embedded from the planning to implementation to evaluation stages of providing infrastructure services in schools.
- With the realisation of such an approach, removing the barriers to accessibility in schools will be an uphill battle, but not an insurmountable one.