Gaya, Sept. 5: Kiren Rijiju, the junior home minister at the Centre, today sought to encourage tourist inflow at the Buddhist sites in the country and generate more revenue.

In Bodhgaya to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the World Heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara, he said India was lagging in terms of tourist inflow in comparison to other countries. "There are around 2.2 billion Buddhism followers across the world and if just 10 per cent of them visit India it would generate a revenue of around $500 billion. It would be one-fourth of the total economic GDP ratio earned through the tourism sector."

He stressed on improving tourist facilities at Ladakh, Sarnath and Bodhgaya for the purpose.

In a bid to increase the flow of tourists, Rijiju said: "I would speak to the civil aviation department to encourage direct air connectivity between Bodhgaya and other Buddhist nations. I have already approved online tourist visa-on-arrival at the Gaya International Airport, which would become operational soon. The Thailand-Myanmar highway, connected with the Northeast states, would be extended to Bodhgaya. These steps would ultimately benefit Bihar and Bodhgaya in particular."

Reiterating Prime Minister Modi's promise to develop Bodhgaya as a religious and spiritual centre across the world, Rijiju said the efforts would not hinge on the BJP winning the forthcoming Assembly elections.