6th Vande Bharat, Nagpur metro: PM in Maharashtra, big-ticket projects in focus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday is on a two-state visit to Maharashtra and Goa where several big-ticket projects are in focus. In Maharashtra’s Nagpur, the Prime Minister had a grand start to his visit as he flagged off the country’s sixth semi-high speed train - Vande Bharat Express. Projects worth ₹75,000 crore - including Nagpur Metro - were “dedicated to the nation”. In Goa, he will be unveiling the second international airport that is set to further give a boost to tourism.

Here are the key points of PM Modi’s visit to Maharashtra and Goa:

1) The sixth Vande Bharat Express is to be operated on the Bilaspur (Chattisgarh)-Nagpur (Maharashtra) route. The train will run six days a week, HT had reported earlier, and will cover the journey in nearly six hours.

2) In October, Maharashtra had got a Vande Bharat Express train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. By August next year, 75 Vande Bharat trains are expected to be inaugurated in a big boost for the country’s transportation network.

3) The Prime Minister also took a metro ride in Nagpur. Visuals showed him purchasing a ticket and riding with school children. The foundation stone of ‘Nagpur Metro phase- II’ was laid.

4) In another step towards improved connectivity, the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg that links Nagpur and Shirdi was also unveiled.

5) Built at a cost of ₹55,000 crore, it is one of the longest expressways in the country that passes through 10 Maharashtra districts, including Amravati, Aurangabad and Nashik.

6) Rail projects worth ₹15,000 crore, AIIMS Nagpur, Nagpur and Nag river pollution abatement project, Centre for Research, Management and Control of Hemoglobinopathies, Chandrapur, Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chandrapur, are among the other highlights as the state witnesses slew of inaugurations.

7) The Prime Minister’s visit to Maharashtra comes at a time when the ruling Eknath Shinde government is tackling the border issue with neighbouring Karnataka. The Maharashtra leaders will soon be meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the matter.

8) Goa is set to get a new international airport on Sunday, which will be unveiled by PM Modi after he concludes his Maharashtra visit.

9) Developed at the cost of ₹28,000 crore, the foundation stone of the Mopa International Airport in Goa was laid by the Prime Minister in 2016.

10) Later, in the day, 400 delegates from 50 countries will be in attendance as the Prime Minister addresses the valedictory function of 9th World Ayurveda Congress.