Only 85.9 lakh tourists visited India in 2022, way below pre-Covid levels, Union Minister informs Lok Sabha

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government aims to secure a majority in the next general elections. The focus is on good work, progress, and development, transcending caste, creed, sex, religion, and language.

In response to question in Parliament, MoS (External Affairs) gave details of Jaishankar’s travels between November 2022 & December 2023. PM Modi travelled to 12 countries during this period.

Among the Union Ministers, who are Rajya Sabha members and will contest Lok Sabha elections 2024, include Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, junior IT minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, to name a few.

The number of foreign tourists visiting India in the first half of this year has increased by 106% compared to the same period in 2022, according to official sources. India has been making efforts to boost tourism, both domestic and international, after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pham Minh Chinh, the prime minister of Vietnam, gave officials instructions to ease some visa rules in an effort to increase foreign tourism to the Southeast Asian nation. | Travel

The Lok Sabha Thursday passes the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill-2023 to replace services ordinance by voice vote. The bill was passed after a nearly four-hour-long debate which was replied to by Union Home Minister Amit Shah

The 2.7% hike in the budget for road transport and highways will be committed to ongoing projects. The government plans to attract private investment through build-operate-transfer (BOT) and public-private-partnership (PPP) models, as well as asset monetisation. The government aims to bid out 54 road projects worth over ₹2.2 lakh crore. However, experts note that the real increase in capital expenditure is not more than 5% due to a 6% increase in construction material costs. The government aims to reduce travel time, enhance travel experience, and lower logistics costs.

The upcoming interim budget is likely to see higher capital expenditure on infrastructure, with a focus on green investment to meet the demand for earlier committed projects and offset the impact of global uncertainty. Experts expect the government to continue maximizing public expenditure on infrastructure, aiming for gross capital formation on infrastructure to be 8-9% of GDP. The Confederation of Indian Industry suggests that rationalization of subsidies, revenue augmentation, and simplification of taxes could allow the government to increase capital expenditure by 20% to ₹12 lakh crore.

The Union Minister accused the Congress leader of going abroad to slander India, and advised him to learn from his ancestors. He was referring to Gandhi's criticism of the Narendra Modi government during his recent visit to the US

The Budget is likely to be tabled in the first week of July, following the Lok Sabha elections and the appointment of a new government after the results on June 4.