Tourism, Kerala - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Spirit of India Run

Explanation:
The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India along with State Tourism departments of the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Chandigarh are supporting ‘Spirit of India Run’ by Mr. Pat Farmer, an ultra-Marathon Runner from Australia. Mr. Pat Farmer will run over 4000 km in 60 days starting from Kanyakumari and finishing in Kashmir. He will initiate his run on January 26th, 2016 celebrating India's Republic Day and Australia Day. Mr. Farmer is a multiple world record holder for endurance running and has run from the North Pole to the South Pole. Mr. Farmer’s ‘Spirit of India Run’ is aimed at cementing relations between India and Australia; encourage tourism and personal relationships with a view to create awareness of India as a ‘Must Experience’ destination for travelers from Australia; and support causes and charity which in the current endeavor is to raise funds for education of girl child. Mr. Pat Farmer will run on an average 70-80 Km., daily through the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir and cover a distance of 4600 km.

ANSWER: 1

Explanation:

• Coastal Circuit in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Goa,
• Himalayan Circuit in Jammu and Kashmir.
• 11 projects in Amravati, Kamakhya Temple, Patna Sahib, Patna,Vishnupad Gaya, Shri Jaggannath Puri, Amritsar,Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi,Mathura-Vrindavan, Kedarnath Dham Uttarakhand have been sanctioned so far under the PRASAD scheme.

ANSWER: 2, 3

Explanation:

• EcoTourism Circuit in states of Uttarakhand, Telangana, Kerala.
• Desert Circuit in Rajasthan,
• North East India Circuit in Arunachal, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura under Swadesh Darshan.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Five Pan India Mega Circuits have been also identified namely, Ramayana-Krishna- Buddhist Mega Circuit, Himalayan & Adventure, World Heritage, Coastal and Wild Life Circuit identified for development under Swadesh Darshan to showcase India as a Land of Buddha and destination for Spiritual and Religious Tourism.

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• 150 countries are eligible for e-Tourist Visa currently.
• e-Tourist Visa facility is now available in 16 airports in India.
• This facility is available to Foreigners whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight-seeing, short duration medical treatment, casual business visit, etc. and not valid for any other purpose/activities.
• This will allow entry into India within 30 days from the date of approval of e-Tourist Visa and will be valid for 30 days stay in India from the date of arrival in India.
• The e-Tourist Visa cannot be availed more than twice in a calendar year.
• The facility will encourage people to travel with short-term planning, take via routes while travelling to other countries and bring family members while on business visits.

ANSWER: Tourism

Explanation:

• ‘Compassionate Kozhikode’ has been chosen by ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) Berlin, as one of the 50 inspirational global projects.
• Not only is the project the only such initiative from India to receive the coveted recognition, it is one of just three in the whole of Asia. Conceived by District Collector N. Prasanth a year ago, ‘Compassionate Kozhikode’ aims at bringing government agencies and citizens to volunteer to make Kozhikode an inspirational destination for them to live in, and invite others to visit.
• Called ‘50 Destinations, 50 Encounters, 50 Stories’, the ITB project celebrates the most inspiring and innovative examples from tourism around the world.
• Tourism has been highlighted and promoted as a powerful tool for development, but ‘Compassionate Kozhikode’ flips the idea on its head. It starts from the idea that a destination is first and foremost a place where people live. It focuses its efforts on making Kozhikode a better place for its citizens. From this, it naturally follows that it will be a better place for travelers to visit.

ANSWER: Tourism due to geography of the place

Explanation:

• Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the distinctive geographical character of a place—its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.
• A form of natural area tourism that specifically focuses on landscape and geology.
• Geotourism was first defined (Hose, 1995) in England. There are two viewpoints of geotourism.
• Purely geological and geo-morphologically-focused Sustainable Tourism as abiotic nature based tourism. This is the definition followed in most of the world.
• Geographically Sustainable Tourism, the most common definition in the USA. This emphasises preservation of the geographical sense of a place in general, beyond simple geological and geomorphological features, as a new charter & concept in the sustainable tourism.

ANSWER: Kerala

Explanation:
This project was initiated 6 years ago. It is an important project for restoring archeological monuments through Thrissur, Enrakulam, Pattanam and Pallipuram. The project is named after Port Muziris where everything from stones to spices was traded. Large ships of ocean traders from across the world including Arabs, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese once came to this port. It is the largest conservation project in the country and the first green project in Kerala. It involves heritage, conservation and tourism. Apart from Athithi Devo Bhava, the Spice Route Initiative that will explore international linkages and collections across Malabar Coast and many parts of the world will be implemented with the support of UNESCO and United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
Kerala under the umbrella of Compassionate Kerala or Kanivinte Kerala has introduced an initiative called Kanivu for helping the ill and those with acute mental disorders living in isolation. INR 100 crore has been earmarked for this project. Food, medicine and care will be provided to needy people through community participation via this initiative.

ANSWER: Kerala

Explanation:

• Launched by Ministry of Rural Development, under Rurban Mission clusters of 15-20 villages having about 30 to 40 lakh population will be developed.
• Rurban Mission to ransform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces will be launched on 28th Feburary, 2016 will be launched from Kerala.
• In first year 100 Rurban growth clusters will be developed. The mission aims to create 300 such clusters over the next 3 years, across the country.
• The funding for Rurban Clusters will be through various schemes of the Government converged into the cluster. To ensure an optimum level of development, fourteen components have been suggested as desirable for the cluster, which would include; Skill development training linked to economic activities.
• For the selection of clusters, the Ministry of Rural Development is adopting a scientific process of cluster selection which involves an objective analysis at the District, Sub District and Village level, of the demography, economy, tourism and pilgrimage significance and transportation corridor impact.