Hunar Se Rozgar Tak (HSRT)
The Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the formulation of national policies and programs and for the coordination of activities of various Central Government Agencies, State Governments/UT,s and the Private Sector for the development and promotion of tourism in the country. This Ministry is headed by the Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge).
The administrative head of the Ministry is the Secretary (Tourism). The Secretary also acts as the Director General (DG)of Tourism. The office of the Director General of Tourism {now merged with the office of Secretary (Tourism)} provides executive directions for the implementation of various policies and programs. Directorate General of Tourism has a field formation of 20 offices within the country and 14 offices abroad and one sub-ordinate office/project i.e. Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM)/ Gulmarg Winter Sports Project. The overseas offices are primarily responsible for tourism promotion and marketing in their respective areas and the field offices in India are responsible for providing information services to tourists and monitoring the progress of field projects. The activities of IISM/GWSP have now been revived and various Ski and other courses are being conducted in the J&K valley.
The Ministry of Tourism has under its charge a public sector undertaking, the India Tourism Development Corporation, and the following autonomous institutions:
The Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) and National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS) National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) and the Institutes of Hotel Management.
The Ministry of Tourism functions as the nodal agency for the development of tourism in the country. It plays a crucial role in coordinating and supplementing the efforts of the State/Union Territory Governments, catalyzing private investment, strengthening promotional and marketing efforts, and in providing trained manpower resources. The functions of the Ministry in this regard mainly consist
Capacity Building For Service Providers (CBSP)
A large segment of people is involved directly and indirectly in the tourism industry. Professional expertise is required for specialized vocations in this field. At present, there are Food Craft Institutes (FCIs) and Institute of Hotel Management (IHMs) where technical training is being provided to persons in the Hospitality Industry. Tourism training is being provided by the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior, its Eastern Regional Centre at Bhubneswar, and through its various “Chapters” located at different places in the country to persons for taking up professions in the Travel and Tourism Industry. The tourism service providers are both in the approved/ organized and also unorganized sector. The IHMs and FCIs cater mainly to organized sectors i.e. Hotels and Restaurants. At the same time, there are a large number of persons who are engaged in the unorganized sector such as small hotels, roadside eating places, ticketing/ travel agencies, dhabas, etc.
There is a segment of tourism service providers who are engaged in other professions but come in contact with the tourist. These persons, such as staff at bus/ railway stations, police personnel, immigration staff at airports, coolies, taxi/ coach drivers, staff at monuments, guides, etc.
The tourists come in contact with various service providers and it is this experience they have while interacting with the cutting edge that governs their experience of India as a tourist destination. It was, therefore, felt necessary that this large number of service providers are given certain inputs which can improve their behavior and service levels. Therefore a Scheme was formulated wherein these service providers in the unorganized sector are given some inputs so as to upgrade their behavior and service skills.
Some of the important areas being covered under the training include Health & Personal Hygiene, Cleanliness, Basic Service techniques, Cooking Techniques, Garbage Disposal, Etiquette, and basic manners, and basic nutrition values. Energy saving and basic tourism awareness, Communication skills, Behaviour Skills, First Aid, Client Handling & Behaviour Skills, etc. are also covered in the training programs. The duration of the course ranges from 4 days to 6 days.
The implementing agencies have been given flexibility in devising the training programs/ modules. However, general parameters have been fixed.
Under this scheme, the institutions are conducting Training using their own infrastructures in their own premises or are providing the training at the site of the service providers. In the case of IHMs and FCIs, the Faculty and students are being used widely. A large number of Service providers are located around the tourist sites and therefore such persons have to be trained at their place of work.