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Posted: Jun 27, 2009 at 0213 hrs IST

It all began in the backwaters of Kerala where Amitabh Kant was secretary, Tourism, and became part of the ad campaign, God’s Own Country, a line that has become synonymous with Kerala ever since. The Incredible India campaign soon followed, changing the face of the tourism sector in the country considerably. “After completing both campaigns, I felt not much was known about how we created Brand India. Since I’ve worked at the state and Central government level, I had some insight into it,” says Kant, who took a year out to write Branding India: An Incredible Story (Collins Business, Rs 499), an account of how this magnificently diverse country was brought together, under the Incredible India umbrella.
Kant, currently posted as principal secretary and special commissioner (Industries), Kerala, writes of how tourism is not just about sightseeing and lounging in hotels. “Tourism involves industries and people, starting from taxi drivers, shopkeepers and chefs. New areas such as rural and medical tourism were created and developed,” says Kant. It took him six months to write the book and he spent another six months fine-tuning it. He is now working on another book where he takes 100 people from various walks of life and explores how tourism has affected their lives.