PM Modi Flags Off Pravasi Bharatiya Express For Indian Diaspora

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train for the Indian diaspora, in Odisha's Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

All about Pravasi Bharatiya Express

The Pravasi Bharatiya Express is a special state-of-the-art Tourist Train exclusively designed for the Indian Diaspora.

Who can travel on Pravasi Bharatiya Express: This included 'Person of Indian Origin' (PIOs) only in the age group of 45-65 years.

Journey on Pravasi Bharatiya Express: The train will travel to multiple destinations of prominent touristic interest and religious importance, all over India, for a period of 3 weeks. It will begin its journey on January 9, 2025, starting from the Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi.

This specially conducted tour is being organized under the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana (PTDY) scheme of the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the M/s Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) aiming to connect the Indian Diaspora to their roots.

The date January 09, 2025 has been chosen to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on this date in the year 1915.

Route of Pravasi Bharatiya Express: According to the Embassy of India in Switzerland and The Principality of Liechtenstein, the Pravasi Bharatiya Express will travel to Ayodhya, Patna, Gaya, Varanasi, Mahabalipuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kochi, Goa, Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Ajmer, Pushkar and Agra.

The train would have a maximum capacity for 156 passengers.

PM Modi further inaugurates four exhibitions and then take a tour of the exhibitions and promotional stalls of Union and state ministries and departments, officials said.

"Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has become an institution to strengthen the bond between India and its diaspora," PM Modi said at the event.

The 18th PBD is being jointly organised by the ministry of external affairs and the Odisha government from January 8 to January 10. The theme of the convention is 'Diaspora's Contribution to a Viksit Bharat.'

Apart from formally inaugurating the convention, the PM will remotely flag-off the inaugural journey of the Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train for the Indian diaspora, which will depart from Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi. This train will travel to multiple destinations of tourism and religious importance in India for a period of three weeks.

MENAFN09012025007365015876ID1109071148