A Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed serious concern over the persistent underutilization of funds by the Union Tourism Ministry. The panel emphasized that this issue is not just an administrative hurdle but a significant barrier to unlocking India’s tourism potential.
Only 33.4% of the allocated funds for 2023-24 (₹801.81 crore out of ₹2,400 crore) were utilized. This trend persisted in 2024-25, with just ₹396.82 crore spent from the allocated ₹2,479.62 crore. These concerning figures highlight deep-seated systemic inefficiencies, underscoring the need for comprehensive structural reforms, as stated in the report submitted by the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture in the Rajya Sabha.
The report further states that the Ministry attributed the underperformance to administrative bottlenecks, procedural delays, and coordination issues with implementing agencies. However, the committee found these explanations to be ‘inadequate and indicative’ of deep-rooted operational weaknesses that require urgent attention.
Digital Initiatives
In its report on the Demand for Grants 2025-26 for the Ministry of Tourism, the panel also suggested adopting a comprehensive Integrated Digital Project Management System (IDPMS), inspired by successful initiatives like Tamil Nadu’s tourism data collection and analysis method for tracking visitor footfalls.
The report stated, ‘This centralized platform will enable complete project lifecycle management, from proposal submission to fund disbursement and utilization certificate processing, with built-in automatic alerts and escalation protocols for pending actions.’
“The system should feature real-time dashboards that are accessible to all stakeholders, including Ministry officials and State tourism departments, ensuring transparency regarding project status, fund utilization, and any procedural bottlenecks that require immediate attention.
Incentives for States
Additionally, the committee proposed the creation of a Tourism Implementation Rating System (TIRS) to assess and rank States based on their efficiency in executing tourism projects, timely submission of required documentation, and overall fund utilization.
This performance-based framework would foster healthy competition among States while providing clear metrics to allocate additional resources to high-performing regions. States consistently excelling in implementation should be rewarded with incentives, such as priority funding for new projects, relaxed procedural requirements, and recognition through annual tourism implementation excellence awards.”
