Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)

What is the PRASHAD scheme?

PRASHAD, the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive, is a central sector scheme of the Ministry of Tourism launched in 2014-15. PRASHAD develops and upgrades infrastructure at India's major pilgrimage and heritage destinations so that devotees and tourists have safer, cleaner and more comfortable access. The scheme was originally called PRASAD and was renamed PRASHAD in October 2017.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, PRASHAD provides financial assistance to State Governments and Union Territory administrations for tourism infrastructure at identified pilgrimage and heritage sites. The scheme funds the physical works around a site, it is not a grant to temples, trusts or individual pilgrims.

Key objectives

• Harness the potential of pilgrimage tourism for local economic growth and jobs.
• Develop pilgrimage sites in a planned, sustainable and integrated way.
• Promote community-based development and responsible tourism at religious destinations.

Main features

• 100% central funding by the Ministry of Tourism for the components covered under the guidelines.
• Beneficiaries are States and UTs, which propose sites and implement works.
• Coverage spans dozens of pilgrimage cities across states; around 40 or more projects have been sanctioned since launch.
• The scheme encourages collaboration with private stakeholders and NGOs for building and maintaining infrastructure.

Who is eligible for the PRASHAD scheme?

PRASHAD is an infrastructure scheme, so eligibility is about which governments and sites qualify, not about individual applicants.

Eligible to receive PRASHAD assistance:

• State Governments and Union Territory administrations, which submit proposals and Detailed Project Reports to the Ministry of Tourism.
• Identified pilgrimage and heritage sites that the Ministry appraises and sanctions on the strength of a viable DPR and available land.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual, pilgrim, priest or private temple trust seeking funds — individuals cannot apply for money under PRASHAD.
• You are a private developer expecting a direct grant. Private parties can participate only through the implementing agency route chosen by the state; they are not eligible for a standalone PRASHAD grant.

This is the point most readers get wrong: PRASHAD builds public infrastructure at a site; it does not hand money to people who visit or run the site.

What documents are required for a PRASHAD proposal?

These are submitted by the State/UT, not by a citizen.

How to apply for PRASHAD (the state proposal route)

There is no citizen application. The route is institutional:

1. The State/UT identifies a pilgrimage or heritage site with tourism potential and prepares a Detailed Project Report covering the works and costs.
2. The state submits the proposal to the Ministry of Tourism through its tourism department.
3. The Ministry appraises and sanctions the project, and releases the first instalment of central funds.
4. The State/UT appoints an implementing agency to execute the works, roads, sanitation, lighting, parking, signage and amenities.
5. The state submits utilisation and progress reports, on the basis of which the Ministry releases further instalments, and takes over operation and maintenance on completion.

If you are a resident who wants a facility at a pilgrimage town, the practical step is to raise it with your State tourism department, which owns the proposal process.

How many PRASHAD projects have been sanctioned?

According to Ministry of Tourism figures, 54 projects had been sanctioned under PRASHAD by early 2026, of which 31 were fully completed, up from 48 sanctioned and 26 completed a year earlier. Sanctioned works span pilgrimage sites in states as varied as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. The Union Budget for 2025-26 set aside about Rs 240 crore for completing ongoing PRASHAD works. Progress is uneven: a parliamentary panel has flagged persistent delays in some legacy projects launched in 2014-15, which is why the Ministry now releases later instalments strictly against utilisation and physical progress.

How much does PRASHAD provide?

PRASHAD is 100% centrally funded by the Ministry of Tourism for the eligible infrastructure components. There is no fixed per-person or per-project ceiling published as a universal figure; the amount depends on the sanctioned DPR for each site. Funds flow to the State/UT in instalments and are tied to physical progress and proper utilisation of earlier releases. Because the money is spent on public works, approach roads, drinking water, toilets, waste management, parking and tourist facilitation, the benefit is shared by every visitor to the site rather than paid to any individual.

What kinds of works does PRASHAD fund?

According to the scheme guidelines, PRASHAD covers:

• Approach roads, pathways and last-mile connectivity to the site.
• Illumination, drinking water, toilets, waste management and sanitation.
• Parking, security infrastructure and wayfinding signage.
• Tourist facilitation and interpretation centres.
• Heritage conservation and beautification around the pilgrimage site.

Help and more information

• PRASHAD scheme page: tourism.gov.in/prashad-scheme
• Incredible India 24x7 tourist helpline: 1800-11-1363
• State/UT tourism department, which is the correct starting point for proposing or querying a project at a pilgrimage site.

How to check your application status

PRASHAD has no citizen-facing tracking portal, since the applicant on record is always a State Government or Union Territory administration, not a person. There is no PRASHAD reference number, login, or SMS status service for an individual to check. Even so, both the officials handling a proposal and a resident who raised a demand for a site can track progress through these channels.

If you are a State/UT tourism department official tracking a submitted proposal:

• Follow up directly with the Ministry of Tourism's PRASHAD division, quoting the proposal or Detailed Project Report reference given at the time of submission.
• Check whether the state's own utilisation certificate and progress report for the previous instalment have been accepted, since the Ministry will not confirm the next release until that paperwork clears.
• Track sanction and release orders through the Ministry of Tourism's official communications to the state tourism department; these are not published on a self-serve tracker.

If you are a resident, journalist, or local body asking about a specific site:

• Check the PRASHAD scheme page at tourism.gov.in/prashad-scheme, where the Ministry periodically lists sanctioned sites and their broad status.
• Ask your State/UT tourism department directly, since it is the implementing agency and holds the day-to-day physical progress records for works in your area.
• Call the Incredible India 24x7 tourist helpline at 1800-11-1363 for general scheme information; the helpline can point you to the right department but cannot look up project-specific fund releases.
• Watch for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha question-hour replies from the Ministry of Tourism, and parliamentary standing committee reports on tourism, which periodically publish state-wise sanctioned and completed project counts; these are the most reliable public source for site-level status when the scheme page has not been updated.

There is no timeline guarantee to check against: PRASHAD releases are milestone-based, so a project can sit at "sanctioned" for a long stretch if the state has not yet submitted the paperwork needed to draw down the next instalment.

Common reasons for rejection

Because PRASHAD proposals come from State/UT governments rather than individuals, a "rejection" here usually means a site proposal is turned down at appraisal, or a sanctioned project's next instalment is withheld. Both have identifiable causes and fixes.

A site proposal is rejected or sent back at appraisal

• No encumbrance-free land available. The Ministry requires the state to certify that land for the works is free of legal disputes or competing claims. If title is unclear or contested, appraisal stalls or the site is dropped. Fix: the state must resolve land title and produce a clean land availability certificate before resubmitting.
• Weak or incomplete Detailed Project Report. A DPR that lacks firm cost estimates, a realistic site plan, or a clear list of components (roads, sanitation, signage, and so on) does not pass appraisal. Fix: the state should have the DPR prepared by a competent agency with itemised costs and a phasing plan, not a broad concept note.
• Site does not fit PRASHAD's pilgrimage/heritage criteria. Proposals for sites without established religious or heritage significance, or for works unrelated to visitor infrastructure (for example, unrelated municipal projects routed through the scheme), get declined. Fix: anchor the proposal strictly to the approach roads, sanitation, lighting, parking, and amenity components PRASHAD funds at a recognised pilgrimage or heritage destination.
• Overlap with another central scheme already funding the same site. If the same works at the same location are already covered under a different central or state scheme, the Ministry will not duplicate funding. Fix: the state should confirm and declare any existing central assistance to the site before submitting a fresh DPR.

A sanctioned project's next instalment is withheld or delayed

• Utilisation certificate not submitted, or submitted with gaps. The Ministry releases later instalments strictly against proof that the previous tranche was spent on the sanctioned components. A missing or incomplete utilisation certificate is the single most common reason later releases stall. Fix: the implementing agency must file the utilisation certificate promptly and reconcile it against the sanctioned cost heads.
• Physical progress lags the funds already released. Where site inspection or progress reports show construction has not kept pace with money already disbursed, further release is held back pending an explanation. Fix: the state should submit an updated physical progress report with photographic and measurement evidence, and a revised completion timeline.
• Change in scope without fresh approval. If the implementing agency alters the sanctioned components, drops planned works, or reallocates funds between heads without the Ministry's sign-off, that release gets paused until the change is formally approved. Fix: route any scope change through a revised DPR or an amendment request rather than executing it unilaterally.

None of these situations are ones an individual citizen can appeal, since the applicant of record is the state, not a person. A resident whose local site has stalled can only raise the matter with the State/UT tourism department, since it is the department, not the Ministry, that must clear the specific paperwork gap causing the delay.