Maharashtra tourism dept signs pact with Sahyadri Farms, Tata STRIVE for rural jobs and skilling

Mumbai: Tourism development in Maharashtra will now be linked to skill development, rural entrepreneurship and the participation of local people. To this end, the Maharashtra Tourism Department has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with Sahyadri Rural Development Foundation (Sahyadri Farms) and Tata Community Initiatives Trust (Tata STRIVE). The agreement was signed at the Directorate of Tourism at Nariman Point.

Led by Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai, the agreement aims at the all-round development of the tourism sector, building a skilled workforce for the tourism and hospitality sector, expanding agri-tourism, and creating employment and self-employment opportunities in villages.

The agreement was signed by Vikas Pansare, director of the Directorate of Tourism; Pramod Rajebhosale, chief executive officer of Sahyadri Rural Development Foundation; and Amey Vanjari, chief operating officer of Tata STRIVE. Under it, skill development training will be run in the tourism and hospitality sector, agri-tourism and rural tourism destinations will be developed, tourism-based entrepreneurship will be promoted, and employment opportunities will be created for farmers, youth and women.

Speaking on the occasion, Pansare said: "Maharashtra has great potential in natural, cultural, historical and agri-tourism. It is important to use this potential effectively, bring local communities into the mainstream of tourism development and give them the necessary skills and entrepreneurship opportunities. The MoU with Sahyadri Farms and Tata STRIVE is an important step in this regard. This collaboration will open new opportunities in the tourism sector for youth, women and farmers in villages. It will also help build model agri-tourism and rural tourism projects and spread them across the state. The initiative will also help train local human resources for the tourism and hospitality sector, particularly in view of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela."

Under the initiative, model agri-tourism and rural tourism clusters are planned at the Sahyadri Mohadi cluster in Dindori taluka of Nashik district and in the Pawna dam area of Pune district. Through them, farmer producer companies, farmers, youth, women and rural communities will be connected to tourism and their capacity built. Hands-on activities linked to farming, food processing and agri-tourism will also be promoted.

Through Tata STRIVE, trainees will go through initial selection, eligibility checks and counselling. A curriculum will be prepared to suit local culture and the needs of the hospitality sector, trained instructors will provide the training, and successful trainees will be given certificates. The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process will also be taken forward to identify existing skills and give them formal recognition and certificates.

The collaboration will also stress building the skilled workforce needed for the tourism and hospitality sector in view of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2026-27. This will help increase the capacity of local human resources to provide good tourism services to devotees and tourists during the Kumbh Mela.

For the initiative, the Directorate of Tourism will provide policy guidance and institutional support and coordinate among the government departments concerned, local bodies and tourism stakeholders. Sahyadri Farms will help implement the initiative by bringing together farmers, farmer producer companies, youth, women and rural communities. Tata STRIVE will strengthen the training and certification process with its experience in skill development, its training set-up and its technology-based systems.

The MoU is considered significant because it ties tourism development not just to tourist-site infrastructure but to local participation, skill development, rural entrepreneurship and sustainable employment. The tourism development models that emerge from this tripartite collaboration can be extended to other parts of the state.