Following is an excerpt from a news report in howrah.org.

Union tourism minister Ambika Soni has identified 20 top tourist destinations in the country, with an eye on wooing the potential foreign and domestic tourists. Under this new initiative, financial assistance up to Rs 25 crores would be provided for development of a mega destination and Rs 50 crore for a mega circuit. Apart from this financial assistance, ministry of tourism is also working with other Central ministries and concerned state governments to achieve convergence and synergy with other government programmes, so that the impact of investment on these destinations is maximised. Ms Ambika Soni’s policy initiative is aimed at developing tourist destinations/circuits of national importance in a holistic and integrated manner. The objective is to ensure that the infrastructure of these mega destinations/circuits is developed to the extent that it can cater to the future tourist inflows so that visitors get a satisfying and memorable experience.

… So far 20 such destinations/circuits have been identified in consultation with the state governments on the basis of data indicating potential arrivals.

These include: Taj in Agra (UP), Varanasi-Sarnath (UP), Bodh Gaya-Rajgir-Nalanda (Bihar), illumination of monuments in Delhi, Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Puri-Bhubaneshwar-Konarak-Chilka Lake (Orissa), Haridwar-Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) etc.

For identified destinations/circuits covered by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, convergence of resources is being ensured so that the tourism related infrastructure and urban civic infrastructure complement each other.