Development of Excavation Sites and Heritage Complexes (DESH) scheme

The Union Finance Minister proposed a heritage-based cultural tourism scheme in the Union Budget 2026 to develop archaeological sites across India. The proposal focuses on converting excavated heritage sites into experiential cultural destinations.

DESH Scheme (Development of Excavated Sites into Heritage Destinations):

Dimension	Key Details
Policy Trigger	Proposed in the Union Budget 2026
Scheme Nature	Heritage-based cultural tourism development scheme
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Culture
Core Objective	Places heritage at the centre of cultural tourism
Public Engagement	Provides for opening excavated landscapes for public engagement
Economic Objective	Provides for local employment generation and strengthening of regional economies
Tourism Strategy	Provides for dispersal of tourism from overcrowded destinations to emerging heritage locations
Temporal Coverage	Sites span from the 3rd century BC to the 19th century
Indus Valley and Ancient Sites	Lothal (Gujarat), Dholavira (Gujarat), Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Agroha (Haryana), Eran (Madhya Pradesh)
Buddhist and Early Historic Sites	Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh), Sannati (Karnataka), Udayagiri (Odisha)
Iron Age Site	Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)
Medieval to Early Modern Sites	Jhansi Fort (Uttar Pradesh), Chittorgarh Fort (Rajasthan), Purana Qila (New Delhi), Leh Palace (Ladakh), Sibasagar Ahom site (Assam)