Tag Archives: tour guide training

Ministry of Tourism refuses to issue licenses

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After a nine-month wait, the Ministry of Tourism organized the tour guide exam in August. However, they imposed an unexpected requirement: applicants had to provide a domicile certificate issued by the court in Gwalior, which was nearly impossible to obtain within the given timeframe since the court typically takes more than a week to process such documents. As a result, more than half of the applicants were unable to participate in the exam. I managed to secure the certificate and participated, but the Ministry’s attempt to reduce the number of applicants did not succeed.

Those who could not take the exam filed a lawsuit against the government in the High Court of Delhi. The court ordered the Tourism Ministry to hold a new exam for the affected applicants. This meant that everyone eventually had the chance to participate. However, immediately after the second exam, the applicants filed another lawsuit, claiming that the second exam was more difficult than the first and demanding a third exam for all participants. I am confident that the government will not be able to accommodate this demand, as doing so would likely lead to further lawsuits from those who took the initial exams.

As a result of these ongoing legal battles, the Ministry is unable to declare the results of either exam. Additionally, there is a pending case in the High Court of Jaipur regarding a previous exam, filed about five years ago, which suggests that it may take another five to six years to resolve the current issues and declare the results. With the Commonwealth Games scheduled for 2010, it seems unlikely that the government will be able to train the tour guides in time. The process involves resolving all legal cases, completing the admission process, conducting classes, and organizing tours. Given the current circumstances, I doubt that the government will be able to prepare the guides before the Games.

Entrance Exam for Tour Guide Training Program

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India is set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and the Indian government aims to prepare 1,000 tour guides for the event. I applied for a tour guide license for North India last November. The process involved a written exam, an interview (if I passed the exam), and, if successful, a three-month training program that included classes and a tour of monuments with a professor. The exam, initially scheduled for February, was delayed by nearly nine months. After this lengthy wait, I finally received my admit card. However, there was a new complication.

The admit card came with a letter instructing me to submit a domicile certificate issued by a court in Gwalior within a week—a nearly impossible task since obtaining such a certificate usually takes longer. I contacted the tourism office, which claimed the delay was due to the postage department’s inefficiency. They said the letter had been sent a month prior but was delayed in delivery. My attempts to resolve the issue with my advocate were hampered by a strike of advocates in Benares. Despite my best efforts, it seemed increasingly likely that I would miss the exam.

Desperate, I reached out to a friend of my brother, who was already undergoing training at the institute where I was supposed to submit my documents. He informed me that bringing alternative residential proof, such as a passport, might be acceptable. The government had anticipated fewer than 20,000 applicants but ended up with over 50,000, leading them to issue the domicile requirement to reduce the number of candidates. Despite this, the institute insisted on the domicile certificate.

Determined, I traveled to Gwalior with the necessary documents and a newspaper clipping about the advocate strike. Upon arriving and meeting my brother’s friend, we went to the institute. Initially, they refused to accept my documents, but after significant negotiation, they agreed to accept my ration card, voter ID, and driving license as substitutes. With the documentation issue resolved, I returned to Delhi to wait for the exam. On the day of the exam, which was held in Delhi, I went with my brother’s wife, who had also applied.

I was relieved to see my name on the list of applicants. The exam turned out to be much easier than I had anticipated. I had expected a challenging test, but the questions were straightforward. To my surprise, I even saw a few students asking others for answers during the exam.