Ministry of Tourism Sanctions 40 Projects Worth Rs 33 Billion

22 Dec 2025 CW Team

In order to develop more tourist centres in India, The Ministry of Tourism has announced operational guidelines for ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) – Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale’. This will help brand and market these tourist centres on the global stage and the central government has approved Rs 32.96 billion to create 40 projects to aid this goal.

Each state government put forward a project proposal which was examined on the basis of the institutional framework detailed in the scheme guidelines such as access destination potential, connectivity, tourism ecosystem, carrying capacity, sustainability measures, sustainable operation and management, project impact and value created, tourism marketing plans etc. The state governments were encouraged to consult with local stakeholders and community representatives when preparing these proposals.

While the approved projects will be implemented and managed by the concerned state government, the Ministry of Tourism will regularly review these projects and will push the governments to finish them in the designated time.

This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 18th December, 2025.

Technology

30 Jul 2026

Twin Tracks

Digital-twin adoption in India’s rail sector is gradually making its presence felt across asset management, infrastructure planning, predictive maintenance, construction monitoring and operator training.While large-scale deployments of digital twins are still evolving, Nipun Dumpala, a Senior Technical Lead specialising in digital twins, synthetic data, simulation and mixed reality technologies, points out that several organisations are exploring BIM-integrated digital twins, IoT-enabled monitoring, AI-based analytics and simulation platforms to improve operational efficiency and reduce life..

Centre Clears Power Distribution Upgrade for Uttar Pradesh

The Central Government has approved power distribution projects worth Rs 407.39 billion for Uttar Pradesh under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The investment will be used to modernise the state's electricity distribution infrastructure and strengthen network capacity across urban and rural areas. The package targets one of the country's largest distribution networks as the state experiences rapid urbanisation and rising electricity consumption. Planned interventions include the strengthening of distribution lines, modernisation of substations, replacement of ageing electrical ..

India Data Centres To Consume 191 TWh By 2040 Driving Renewables

A Wood Mackenzie report says India's operational data centre capacity is projected to increase more than fivefold to 12 gigawatt (GW) by 2030 from 2.2 GW in 2025 as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing drive demand. It projects electricity consumption to rise from 10 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2025 to 191 TWh by 2040. The study forecasts a compound annual growth rate of around 40 per cent and notes AI-dedicated capacity will surge nearly 24-fold from 275 megawatt (MW) in 2025 to 6,546 MW by 2030. The report places India's digital economy at Rs 32 trillion (tn) in 2025 and says it contr..