Jaipur, Oct 8
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said on Tuesday that the state has immense possibilities for investment in various sectors including tourism.
He said that the state government is committed to providing all possible facilities and concessions to investors, adding that a new Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy is being brought to give impetus to the tourism sector and various types of concessions are being provided to encourage investment.
The Chief Minister was addressing the Rising Rajasthan Tourism Pre-Summit organised at Hotel Lalit in Jaipur on Tuesday. He said that in this summit, MoUs for 142 investment proposals in the tourism sector will lead to an investment of about Rs 14000 crore in the state. This will create 59000 direct and more than 10 lakh indirect employment opportunities in the state.
Sharma said that the state government wants to make Rajasthan a world-class tourist destination and for this, the Rajasthan Tourism Development Board will be formed and Rajasthan Tourism Infrastructure and Capacity Building Fund will be created and works worth Rs 5000 crore will be done in the tourism sector.
He added that the minimum investment limit for tourism for incentives under the Standard Services Package in RIPS-2024 has been reduced from Rs 50 crore to Rs 10 crore.
Sharma said that Rajasthan is a world-renowned tourist destination, which is known for its calm, safe and harmonious environment. In the year 2023, about 18 crore domestic and 17 lakh international tourists came to the state. Airports are being upgraded and developed for the smooth movement of tourists.
He said that along with the construction of a new state terminal at Jaipur airport, work is also being done to increase its passenger capacity. Rajasthan ranks first in the country in wedding tourism. Along with this, religious tourism is also growing rapidly here.
The Chief Minister said that devotees are coming in large numbers to Salasar, Khatushyam, and Baba Ramdev for darshan. So, the demand for hotels is increasing. He said that a provision of Rs 100 crore has been made in the state budget to provide grandeur to the holy shrine of Khatushyamji.
The Chief Minister said that the state's Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserves are famous for wildlife tourism.
"Recently, Nahargarh Tiger Safari has also been started in Jaipur. Also, there are immense possibilities of island tourism in the islands of Mahi river and desert safari for tourists in Khudi of Jaisalmer. We should make efforts to establish hotels by identifying suitable plots at such tourist places. Our state is also suitable for film shooting. There is a need to work to capitalise on these possibilities," he said.
Sharma called upon the investors to invest in Rajasthan in maximum numbers. The state government is ready to support them at every step.
He said that more profit is obtained on less investment in the tourism sector and this sector is also a big creator of employment.
The Chief Minister said that MoUs worth more than Rs 12.5 lakh crore have been signed in the Delhi and Mumbai 'Investor Meet' of the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit. In Japan and Korea too, we got to see a lot of enthusiasm about investing in Rajasthan.
Sharma said that electricity, water and roads are the main basis of development of any state. Therefore, we have paid special attention to these three areas as soon as the government was formed. Along with ERCP for eastern Rajasthan, Yamuna Water Agreement for Shekhawati and Dewas Project for the districts of South Rajasthan are being implemented on the ground.
Along with this, MoUs worth Rs 2 lakh 24 thousand crore have been signed to make the state self-reliant in the field of energy.
He said that adequate availability of electricity and water will boost the agriculture, industry and tourism sectors in the state.