Rafting Course & Internship

What is the Rafting Course & Internship scheme?

The Rafting Course & Internship is a skill-development scheme of the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, implemented by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB). Its stated aim is to train and certify youth of Uttarakhand, aged 18 to 30 years, as skilled and professional river rafting guides.

The logic behind the scheme is straightforward. Uttarakhand's river stretches, above all the Ganga around Rishikesh and Shivpuri, carry one of India's largest volumes of commercial white-water rafting. That industry needs guides, and until a formal state route existed, guiding was learned informally and certification was uneven. The Rafting Course & Internship creates a trained, certified cadre drawn from the state's own young people, so that local youth rather than seasonal outsiders fill those jobs.

The selection capacity published for the scheme is 215 beneficiaries. Spread across a state with 13 districts, that makes it a genuinely competitive programme.

What does a selected candidate get?

Selected candidates receive training and an internship designed to make them competent professional river rafting guides. The training covers the practical craft of guiding and the internship places the trainee on the river with working operators, which is where the skill is actually consolidated.

The scheme's published benefit is the training and internship itself, delivered at government cost. No stipend figure is published in the official listing. A candidate should read the batch notice on this point rather than assume a monthly payment, and should ask the District Tourism Development Officer directly what is payable, what accommodation is provided during training, and what the internship arrangement with operators involves.

The real value of the scheme is the certification at the end. A certified guide can be engaged by licensed rafting operators, which converts a seasonal casual job into a documented qualification.

Who is eligible for the Rafting Course & Internship?

You can apply if:

• You are a youth resident of Uttarakhand. The scheme is defined for youth of the state.
• You are between 18 and 30 years of age.
• You hold the educational qualification required, the eligibility lists an educational qualification condition, and the batch notice states the exact minimum.
• You are mentally and physically healthy. River guiding is physically demanding work in cold, fast water, and fitness is a stated condition.

You are not eligible if:

• You are under 18 or over 30 on the date of application. The age band is fixed and is checked against your documents.
• You are not a resident of Uttarakhand. Candidates from other states cannot apply under this scheme.
• You cannot meet the health and fitness requirement. A candidate who cannot clear the physical assessment at the district-level test will not go forward, regardless of other qualifications.
• You do not clear the district-level test. Selection is capped at 215, so meeting the basic eligibility is a threshold, not a guarantee.

What documents are required?

The official listing states that applicants must submit the necessary documents in accordance with the guidelines specified by the department, without naming them individually. The table above lists what the stated eligibility conditions necessarily require proof of. Follow the batch notice where it differs.

How to apply for the Rafting Course & Internship

The application mode is offline.

1. Watch for the batch announcement from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. Notices are issued when a batch is opened, and the District Tourism Development Officer's office in each district is the place where they are posted and where forms are held.
2. Collect the application form from the District Tourism Development Officer (DTDO) of your district.
3. Fill the form and attach the documents — proof of age showing you are between 18 and 30, Uttarakhand domicile or residence certificate, educational qualification certificate and a medical fitness certificate.
4. Submit the completed application with documents to the District Tourism Development Officer before the last date in the notice, and take an acknowledgement.
5. Appear for the district-level test. Shortlisting of candidates is done through a test held at district level, which is where physical capability and suitability for river work are assessed.
6. Await final selection by the headquarters committee. From among the district-shortlisted candidates, a committee at the UTDB headquarters makes the final selection, up to the capacity of 215.
7. Report for training and the internship on the date communicated to selected candidates.

How do you check your application status?

There is no online status tracker published for this scheme. The route is:

1. Contact the District Tourism Development Officer of the district where you submitted the form, quoting the acknowledgement you were given. The DTDO office holds the district shortlist.
2. Check the Uttarakhand Tourism website, uttarakhandtourism.gov.in, and the district tourism office notice board, where batch results are put up.
3. Keep the acknowledgement receipt from submission. Without it, tracing an individual application among a district's applicants is slow.

Why applications get rejected

• Age outside 18 to 30. The single clearest disqualifier, and it is checked first from the age proof.
• No Uttarakhand domicile or residence proof. The scheme is for youth of the state, and this is verified rather than taken on trust.
• Missing medical fitness certificate. Fitness is a stated eligibility condition, not a formality, because the work is physically demanding.
• Failing the district-level test. With 215 places statewide, the test is the real filter.
• Application submitted to the wrong office. Forms must go to the District Tourism Development Officer. Applications sent directly to Dehradun headquarters or to a private rafting operator do not enter the process.
• Applying outside the notice window. There is no rolling intake; applications are accepted only when a batch is announced.

Help and grievance redressal

• District Tourism Development Officer (DTDO) of your district, the first and correct point of contact for the form, the test and the result
• Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Department of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, Dehradun
• Official website: uttarakhandtourism.gov.in

No dedicated scheme helpline number is published for the Rafting Course & Internship, so the DTDO office is the working route for every query. No fee is payable to apply, and no private rafting operator or agent can secure a place in the batch; final selection rests with the committee at UTDB headquarters.