Bhubaneswar, July 14: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism, Pravati Parida on Tuesday officially unveiled the guidelines for the Baristha Nagarik Tirtha Yatra Yojana 2026-27, marking the commencement of the implementation process for the State's flagship pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens.

Addressing the media, Parida said that the Baristha Nagarik Tirtha Yatra Yojana reflects the State Government's commitment to ensuring that senior citizens are able to undertake pilgrimages to revered religious destinations across the country with dignity, safety and government support.

It is noteworthy that more than 45,555 senior citizens have availed the benefits of the Baristha Nagarik Tirtha Yatra Yojana since its inception, undertaking pilgrimages to various revered destinations across India under the scheme.

Applications under the Baristha Nagarik Tirtha Yatra Yojana 2026–27 will remain open from 15 July 2026 to 14 August 2026.

Eligible senior citizens can submit their applications online through yatra.odisha.gov.in or apply through the prescribed offline mode as per the guidelines by downloading forms through- https://dot.odisha.gov.in/en/baristha-nagarika-tirtha-yatra-yojana-bntyy

The guidelines detail the eligibility criteria, application process, selection procedure and other operational modalities of the scheme.

Balwant Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism Department; Deepankar Mohapatra, Director, Tourism; Anuj Dutta Regional Officer, IRCTC Bhubaneswar, along with senior officials of IRCTC and the Tourism Department attended the press conference.