January 9, 2025 - A special tourist train for the Indian diaspora was flagged off by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. The Bharat Gaurav “Pravasi Bhartiya Express” has been introduced by the Ministry of External Affairs, under its Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana (PTDY) in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The goal is to showcase the cultural heritage of India to Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) who are living abroad, either temporarily or permanently.

The train’s flag-off was timed “to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on this date in the year 1915," the government said.

The starting point of the Pravasi Bhartiya Express will be the Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi. It will leave at 3:00 pm and travel to several destinations over a period of three weeks - 14N/15D with total travel time being 16N/17D. Destinations covered will include places of tourism and religious significance like Mahabalipuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kochi, Agra, Ajmer, Pushkar, Ekta Nagar, Goa, Ayodhya, Patna, Gaya and Varanasi.

The 156-capacity Pravasi Bhartiya Express has been introduced with the aim to connect the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to their roots. Hence, according to the Indian Embassy in Switzerland, the Indian government will bear all expenses for the state-of-the-art train tour, besides also bearing 90% of the return airfares for eligible PIOs from their countries to India. PIOs will just need to pay 10% of their return airfares. And as per the tour itinerary, the passengers will be given four-star or equivalent accommodations.

Eligibility age group for PIOs is 45 to 65 years. Preference will be given to “PIOs belonging to the low income category who would otherwise not be able to afford to visit India on their own,” as per the Embassy of India in Switzerland and The Principality of Liechtenstein.