India launches Pravasi Bharatiya Express to connect diaspora to roots

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Government of India has launched the Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special state-of-the-art Tourist Train, exclusively designed for the benefit of Indian Diaspora members. The initiative aims to reconnect the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), between the ages of 45-65 years, with their heritage.

With a capacity of 156 passengers, the Express is set to depart on January 9, 2025, from New Delhi’s Safdarjung Railway Station. The train will embark on a three-week journey, covering prominent tourist and religious destinations across India. Stops include Ayodhya, Patna, Gaya, Varanasi, Mahabalipuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kochi, Goa, Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Ajmer, Pushkar, and Agra.

The special conducted tour is being organized under the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana scheme of the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the M/s Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation.

Organized under the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, the tour’s expenses will be fully covered by the Government of India. Additionally, the government will subsidize 90 percent of return airfare for eligible PIOs from their home countries, requiring participants to pay only 10 percent of the fare.

The January 9, 2025, departure commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa on the same date in 1915.

(Used under special arrangement with South Asian Herald)