The Telangana government is now bringing its TS-iPass (Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-certification Scheme) to the tourism sector. Announcing the launch of a portal for this on Saturday, Minister for Tourism and Culture V. Srinivas Goud said that ease of doing business (EoDB) will bring in more investments to the tourism sector.
“Many nations are thriving on just tourism sector. Telangana has a vast potential with its natural and built heritage. This policy intervention will change the way the tourism sector has been treated,” Mr. Goud said.
The policy tweak allows hotels, travel agencies, and organisers of tourism events to secure permission online without visiting different government departments. “For starting a hotel, there were 15 permissions that had to be secured. Now, all the permissions will be given within a month’s time. If the permission is not given within the specified time-frame, it would be seen as deemed permission,” said Mr. Goud.
The policy intervention is part of the push by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Ministry of Commerce and Industry for improving the business climate under its State Reform Action Plan 2020. “This will remove corruption and middlemen,” said Mr. Goud. “The TS-iPASS is an outcome of interaction between industrialists and Telangana government. From the time it has been rolled out, we have had 14,000 new industries coming up in the State. This will help transform the tourism sector and create more jobs,” said Principal Secretary of Industries & Commerce Jayesh Ranjan.