Adopt A Heritage 2.0 scheme

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently launched a revamped version of the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme apart from an Indian Heritage app and an e-permission portal.
• ‘Adopt a Heritage 2.0’, is the upgraded version of ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme.
  • Initially launched in 2017 under the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the ASI it invited corporate stakeholders to adopt from over 3,000 protected monuments spread across the country.
• The programme encourages corporate stakeholders to utilise their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to enhance facilities at historically-important monuments.
• The Adopt a Heritage 2.0 has incorporated a host of changes to the programme after a leaner management and supervision structure for the partner agencies, clear guidelines for semi-commercial activities and detailed scope of work and amenities required for monuments was proposed in the earlier version. 1,000 additional monuments have also been added to the list for adoption.
• In the updated programme, more freedom has been given to companies such as the option to either adopt a monument in whole and develop its tourism infrastructure, or provide a particular amenity such as drinking water facility or cleaning services for one or several sites.

ABOUT THE APP AND PORTAL

• The app, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive guide to monuments under ASI’s ambit.
• It lists historical structures along with pictures, public facilities available on site and geo-tagged locations.
• The e-permission portal has been designed to simplify and speed up the process for acquiring approvals for photography, filming, and developmental initiatives concerning heritage monuments, with the goal of expediting the permission-granting process.