Project Description
The project responds to a request from the Ministry of Tourism to put
forward a capital investment plan for sustainable development of the
Buddhist Circuit, the paramount pilgrimage destination for the world’s 400–
500 million Buddhists and an attraction for non-Buddhist tourists. The
first of three broad objectives is a focused investment strategy and a
reform action plan for facilitating private investments ($30 million by
project completion and a further $30 million three years postcompletion).
The second objective is a 10 percent time reduction and $3 million
compliance-cost savings for licensing tourism businesses, through
improvement or elimination of six investment-related procedures, plus a
cumulative 20 percent time reduction and $5 million compliance-cost
savings three years after project close. A third objective is to improve
communication and coordination across the Buddhist Circuit. Sustainable
development of the Buddhist Circuit is expected to have dramatic spillover
effects in jobs and livelihoods for two of India's poorest states.