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Pravasi Bharatiya Express offers free 15-day sightseeing tour to low-income PIOs
Public Lokpal
January 09, 2025
Pravasi Bharatiya Express offers free 15-day sightseeing tour to low-income PIOs
New Delhi : The Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train that Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off on Thursday, offers a free 15-day tour to 150 members of diaspora to various cultural and religious destinations.
According to the Railways, under the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana (PTDY) scheme, the government is bearing all expenses related to the conducted train tour.
"Additionally, the government will cover 90 per cent of the return airfare from the participants' country of origin to India. Participants are required to bear only 10 per cent of their return airfare," an official, associated with scheme, said.
It is a special state-of-the-art tourist train launched by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), officials said.
It is exclusively designed for Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) aged between 45 and 65 years, particularly those from low-income categories, to reconnect them with their cultural roots, they added.
"Launched on January 9, 2025, commemorating the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on the same date in 1915, the train will cover multiple destinations of touristic and religious significance, including Ayodhya, Patna, Gaya, Varanasi, Mahabalipuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kochi, Goa, Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Ajmer, Pushkar, and Agra," an IRCTC official said.
According to an official communication of Northern Railway Zone, the journey from Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi will conclude on January 23 at 5:45 at Safdarjung railway station in Delhi.
In these 15 days, the train will cover 60 stations and a stay and site visit have been arranged at places of tourists significance.
"Under the scheme, PIOs aged between 45 and 65 years, preferably from low-income categories, are eligible to apply," the IRCTC official said.
He added that a selection process was in place under which applications were reviewed and selected participants notified by the respective Indian missions abroad.
"Selected participants were informed about the payment procedure for the 10 per cent share of their return airfare," the official said.
PTI
