Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy has agreed to allot a 20-acre site near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad for setting up of a National Culinary Institute.

The Government of India has offered to provide Rs 50 crore from the Ministry of Tourism. The Institute will have branches in Kolkata and Noida.

The Chief Minister has asked the tourism department to speed up the works of International Convention Centre at Tirupati and three other centres planned in the State at Visakhapatnam, Warangal and Karimnagar.

President Pranab Mukherjee had laid the foundation stone for the Tirupati centre during the 4th World Telugu Conference.

Chairing the State Tourism Promotion Board, the Chief Minister said the Tourism Sector needs to be aggressively marketed and promoted both locally and internationally through promotional activities.

He wanted various tourism projects now under development to be completed expeditiously and early settlement for lands allocated to various projects.

The Finance Department was asked to release the State share of Rs 5.42 crore immediately for completing the projects taken up with the Central Financial Assistance projects.

The State received 15.30 crore domestic (including Tirupati) and 2.60 lakh foreign tourists last year and the tourism sector generated $ 23 million (about Rs 120 crore) of foreign exchange earnings.

Fifteen tourism projects with an outlay of Rs 63 crore are ready for inauguration and 12 other projects are nearing completion. The Government of India sanctioned Rs.58.83 crore for 7 projects during 2012-13.

The Government has taken up a special drive to complete various projects now underway including Haritha Flemingo Resort at Tada.

The Shilparamam society was asked to speed up the works for crafts centres at Nellore, Warangal and Vijayawada taken up with an investment of Rs 20 crore.

>rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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