HBI Staff | Mumbai 
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Interim Budget Speech in the Parliament today has said that India will undertake infrstructure development and port connectivity projects in its islands, including in Lakshadweep considering the growing interest for domestic tourism.
Increasing the budget estimate for the tourism industry by 0.079 per cent from the last budget, the minister said the states will be encouraged to take up comprehensive development of iconic tourist centres, branding and marketing them at a global scale, and the central government will provide long-term interest-free loans to the states for financing this development.
Sitaraman said, “To address the emerging fervour for domestic tourism, projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure, and amenities will be taken up on our islands, including Lakshadweep. This will help in generating employment also.”
