Five-Year Cruise Bharat Mission

Syllabus:GS3/ Infrastructure and Economy

Context

  • The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, launched the five-year Cruise Bharat Mission from Mumbai port.

About

  • The mission aims to excel India’s vision to become a global hub for cruise tourism and promote the country as the leading global cruise destination.
  • It includes increasing sea cruise passengers from 0.5 million in Phase 1 to 1 million and river cruise passengers from 0.5 million in Phase 1 to 1.5 million by Phase 3. 
  • It also includes developing 10 Sea Cruise Terminals, 100 River Cruise Terminals, and five Marinas under the mission.

Implementation Phases of Mission

  • The implementation of the Mission is spread across three phases, running from 1 October 2024, to 31 March 2029:
    • Phase 1: Focuses on research activities, master planning, and building cruise alliances with neighboring nations along with work on modernizing existing cruise ports, marinas, and destinations.
    • Phase 2: Aims to develop additional marinas, cruise terminals, and destinations to engage high-potential cruise circuits and sites.
    • Phase 3: Continues expanding cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations, while integrating all cruise circuits across the Indian Subcontinent to signify the ecosystem’s maturity.

Three Segments of Cruise Tourism

  • Ocean & Harbour Cruise: Includes ocean cruises, coastal and deep-sea excursions, as well as sailing and yachting trips from various harbors.
  • River & Inland Cruise: Focuses on river and inland cruises, exploring canals, backwaters, creeks, and lakes.
  • Island Cruise: Offers live-aboard excursions, boutique cruises to lesser-known locations, lighthouse tours, and inter-island cruises.

Significance of the Mission

  • Promotion of Tourism: The mission will transform India’s maritime landscape and harness the potential of vast coastline and waterways through cruise tourism. 
  • Economic Growth and Employment Generation: It aims to boost cruise tourism in India to 1 million passengers and create 400,000 jobs by 2029.
  • Environmental Sustainability: The mission also aims to develop eco-friendly tourism infrastructure by promoting cruises in rivers and coastal areas. 

Source: BS

 

Other News of the Day

Syllabus: GS1/Culture Context The Union Cabinet has granted classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali, increasing recognized classical languages to eleven. The Cabinet also updated the eligibility criteria for classical languages under the Centre’s Language Expert Committee. Classical Languages India had six classical languages — Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia....
Read More

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance Context The Supreme Court declared that caste-based discrimination of prisoners oppressive to fundamental human dignity and personality. About The SC had found that prison manuals in more than 10 States, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, contained provisions which sanction discrimination and forced labour in prisons...
Read More

Syllabus: GS1/ Society, GS2/ Polity and Governance Context The Union Government told the Supreme Court that criminalizing non-consensual sexual acts within marriage as ‘rape’ could disrupt conjugal relationships and destabilize the institution of marriage. Background The Union government was responding to several public interest litigation petitions seeking to strike down Exception 2 of Section 375...
Read More

Syllabus: GS 3/Science and Tech  In Context Artificial Intelligence (AI)  is celebrated as a transformative equalizer, enhancing how individuals access, interpret, and share knowledge. However, concerns regarding bias, transparency, and accountability persist. About Artificial Intelligence (AI) AI is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and...
Read More

Raja Ravi Varma Syllabus: GS1/ Personalities, Art & Culture In Context Renowned modern Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma was commemorated on the occasion of his death anniversary on October 2. Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) About: Ravi Varma (1848–1906) was one of the first Indian painters to successfully adopt Western painting techniques and adapt academic realism...
Read More