News
| New Indian Rupee Symbol |
| New Delhi, Jul 15: The Union Cabinet has finalized the much awaited new rupee symbol, I&B minister, Ambika Soni announced in a press conference on Thursday, Jul 15.
"This symbol will universally denote the Indian Rupee," said the minister waving a print out of the approved symbol. The symbol finalized by a five-member jury panel among the five designs shortlisted incorporates the Devanagari ‘Ra’ as well as the Roman capital ‘R’ in the design. With the new symbol, the Indian Rupee has entered the elite club of currencies such as Dollar, Euro and Pound with their very own symbols. The symbol designed by an IIT post-graduate, D Udaya Kumar, had been approved by the jury and was put before the Cabinet for approval. The design that brings together Devanagari as well as Roman letter fit the description of what the government expected. "In the ensuing year, we intend to formalise a symbol for the Indian rupee, which reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while tabling the Union Budget 2010-11 in the Parliament. Inspired by the growing influence of the Indian rupee in global markets, the proposal to introduce a symbol for the Indian rupee first came up in 2009. The finance ministry, which sought entries from the public, is learnt to have received over 3,000 designs, out of which five were shortlisted earlier. Until now, the Indian rupee had been denoted by abbreviations like ´Rs´ or ´Re´, which were not unique in nature as it was used to represent the currencies of Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka as well. |
| Sikkim gets ‘Best State for Tourism related programmes 2008-09’ national award |
| GANGTOK, March 5:(Sikkim Express): The Himalayan State has yet again added another national award to its tourism kitty.
Sikkim was recently conferred with the National Award in the category ‘Best State for Tourism related programmes 2008-09’, making this its ninth consecutive award in the category. Vice President M Hamid Ansari presented the award to State Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel on March 3 in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister for Tourism Kumari Selja, Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed and Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Sujit Banerjee. The Ministry of Tourism Government of India gives away annual award of excellence to States and people engaged in Tourism promotion. “Sikkim has emerged as one of the best tourist destinations in the country. The destination development has taken a big boost in the last few years. With the sincere efforts of the State Government and stake holders, tourism in Sikkim has seen a major positive change for the betterment of the society as a whole,” State Tourism Secretary SBS Bhadauria said in a press release issued today. He further said that there has been a phenomenal increase in inflow of tourists in the State both domestic and foreign. “Star category hotels have been constructed because of which Sikkim can now expect world class quality tourists,” the secretary said adding that village tourism and home stays facilities have promoted local culture and traditions and enhanced sustainable self employment. The department has further hoped that with the declaration of 2010 as the Year of Tourism Sikkim will place itself in the forefront in the world tourism map. The department has at the same time thanked all the stakeholders and others related to promotion of tourism for their strong support and co-operation |
| Highway clear, profit hope soars |
| Siliguri, March 24:(The Telegraph): Stakeholders in the tourism sector, particularly those based in Sikkim, are hoping for a better summer this time with the Centre and the Bengal government gearing up to keep NH31A, the lifeline to the Himalayan state, free from political blockades.
Tour operators are relieved that three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been posted along NH31A since the last week of February. “We can now guarantee our clients that there will be no disruptions in their travel plans and the highway will be blockade-free,” said a Sikkim-based tour operator. Also, with the next round of tripartite talks between the Centre, state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha slated for the middle of May, tour agents are hopeful that the hill party will not take to the path of bandhs and blockades as long as the process of dialogue is on. Those in Sikkim are more anxious as the state is all set to celebrate 2010 as Tourism Year. The national highway is the only arterial link the state has with the rest of the country. The Supreme Court had ordered, on a petition filed by a Sikkim resident, that the Centre and the Bengal government ensure that NH31A be kept free of blockades all the time. Frequent strikes called in Bengal by those supporting and opposing Gorkhaland had been affecting traffic on the busy highway. “Sikkim is gaining prominence as a tourist destination in the national and international circuits. We have a number of events lined up this year to attract as many visitors as we can. The objective is to project Sikkim’s image as a premier tourist destination in the Tourism Year. For the success of the events, it is important that the political situation in the Darjeeling hills is favourable,” said B. Namgyal, the secretary of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim and the proprietor of Sikkim Holidays Tour Trek and Expedition. “Foreign tourists visit Darjeeling, Sikkim and the Dooars as a circuit. Their first query before visiting is always on the political situation in Darjeeling. This factor influences their decisions a lot. These people are our high-paying clients and they visit in large groups. Last year, we suffered losses of nearly 40 per cent. The tourist season this year has kickstarted well and we hope that the tripartite talks are favourable so that we don’t have to suffer,” Namgyal said without putting a figure on the losses. Tour operators in Darjeeling, too, have their fingers crossed as NH55 — the national highway connecting it to Siliguri — is the subject of frequent blockades but is out of the ambit of the apex court order. “In the past 30 months of the Gorkhaland agitation, Darjeeling tourism has suffered a huge setback. But now, the situation seems to be positive and we hope things will work out in the tripartite talks and a settlement will be reached. We are receiving several enquiries from domestic and foreign tourists for the coming season,” a Darjeeling-based tour operator said. |
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