Indian Govt staff can now visit Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives on LTC

Kathmandu June-9 The civil aviation ministry has given its nod to a proposal to provide leave travel concession for government employees to Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka to boost tourism in the region.

A senior official in the ministry confirming the development said, “The move is intended to boost tourism within SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries. Pakistan and Bangladesh has been left out for now because of security issues.”

The approval from the ministry of civil aviation was required so that the LTC can be availed of on national carrier Air India while flying to these countries.

The LTC scheme extended to the four identified countries will be designed akin to those for travel to Jammu & Kashmir and to the North-East.

The measure, government official say, will enhance tourism and subsequently economic development in the South Asian region.

“There are around two million government employees. With the extension of the LTC scheme there is bound to be greater tourist inflow and outflow with these countries”, added the official.

In the 18th SAARC Summit held in Nepal in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had emphasised the need for enhancing connectivity in the region, saying it was easier to travel to Bangkok and Singapore than to countries in the neighborhood.

There is a significant population of Buddhists in the SAARC region and India has lately being making attempts to boost tourism such places of religious significance like Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kapilavastu.

At the summit, Modi had in fact flagged off a bus service connecting Kathmandu with New Delhi.

Source:Agency