Bhubaneswar, 4th Oct 2025: Tourists will now stay in rural homes as the Homestay Establishment Scheme is set to be implemented across the state. This scheme will remain active for five years, from the financial year 2025–26 to 2029–30.
The primary goal of this initiative is to promote homestay accommodations in rural and lesser-known areas of Odisha, encourage community participation in tourism, generate local employment, and offer tourists an authentic cultural and rural experience.
Under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries in unnotified Gram Panchayats will receive financial incentives to set up new homestay units. Approximately 450 new homestay units with a capacity of 1800 beds will be developed. Any resident from an unnotified Panchayat, aged 18 years or above, possessing a valid Aadhaar card and an Aadhaar-linked bank account, can apply.
Applicants must not have any legal convictions, and employees of state or central governments are not eligible. Applicants must have clear ownership of land or a valid lease agreement for the proposed homestay property, free from any legal disputes or encumbrances.
The Tourism Department, with the support of district administration and stakeholder departments, will implement this scheme. Two committees will oversee the process — a State-Level Homestay Committee and a District-Level Homestay Committee.
The District Level Committee, including the DADC (Deputy Director of Agriculture and Cooperation), will play a key role in application review, auditing, proposal evaluation, and recommending incentives. Relevant BDOs will be part of this committee.
Each eligible homestay applicant will be entitled to a one-time incentive of up to 50% of the fixed capital investment. The incentive is capped at ₹2.5 lakhs per rental room, for a maximum of 4 rooms per homestay, and ₹10 lakhs per homestay in total.
A total budget of ₹50 crores has been allocated for the scheme across five years (2025–26 to 2029–30). There are provisions to reserve benefits for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and women beneficiaries. If sufficient eligible applicants are not available from these categories, the reserved targets may be transferred to other categories based on government decision.
The Tourism Department has informed Joint Secretaries of the departments of Revenue, Finance, Housing and Urban Development, Women and Child Development, Law, ST & SC Development, Minority and Backward Class Welfare (MBCW), Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, and Tourism through official correspondence, regarding their roles and responsibilities in implementing this scheme.