PM Modi in Varanasi: PM to inaugurate Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the 402 km-long stretch of the new Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction to New Bhaupur Junction of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) on Monday.

Built at a cost of ₹10,903 crores, this section is situated on the Delhi-Howrah rail route, passing through districts such as Chandauli, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh.

It encompasses a total of 12 stations, including six junction stations and six crossing stations.

On December 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Swarved Mahamandir around 10:45 am. He will then inaugurate a public function around 11:30 am. Around 1 pm, the Prime Minister will participate in Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Thereafter, in a public function, at around 2:15 pm, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs. 19,150 crores.

PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Varanasi.

"Kashi Tamil Sangamam celebrates our vivid culture and deep-rooted bonds. It furthers the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat," PM Modi said on Sunday.

At Prime Minister Narendra Mod's speech at Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, simultaneous Artificial Intelligence based Tamil translation was done through Bhashini for those in the audience who understood Tamil.

Prime Minister Modi said, "Coming from Tamil Nadu to Kashi means coming from Mahadev's one home to another. That's why the bond between people of Tamil Nadu and Kashi is special".

PM Modi said, "In other countries of the world, the nation has been a political definition, but India as a nation is made up of spiritual beliefs. India has been united by saints like Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya, who awakened the national consciousness of India through their travels"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the Kashi Tamil Sangamam Express between Kanyakumari and Varanasi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, in Varanasi, he says "All the people of the country associated with the government, politics and social work are giving their time to make this Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra a success. So, as the MP of Varanasi, I also had a responsibility that I should also give time to this program".

Addressing Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "In our country, many government schemes have been made, based on the experience of all of them, I felt that the most important thing for the country to pay attention to is that the schemes of the government should reach people at the right time without any problems."

"If there is a Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, then the houses should be built with the help of the government. There is no need to run after the government. The government should work from the front and since you have given me this work, about four crore families have got permanent houses...," PM Modi said.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, "Today marks a special milestone with the inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse. This world-class hub is set to revolutionize the diamond industry, enhancing India's global presence in gem trade while boosting local economy and employment."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped his convoy to give way to an ambulance during his roadshow in Varanasi. On his 2-day visit to Varanasi, PM Modi will launch and inagurate 37 projects worth more than ₹19,000 crore for Varanasi and Purvanchal. He will also launch Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2.0 from Namo Ghat and flag off the new train from Kanyakumari to Varanasi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be arriving on a two-day visit in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Sunday during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 37 projects valued worth over ₹19,000 crore for the development of the Varanasi and the Purvanchal region.

Here are visuals of the Surat Diamond Bourse inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

After the inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I have given this guarantee to the nation that India will be among the top three economies in the world in my third term. The government has fixed the target for the coming 25 years…".

Prime Minister Modi on Sunday upgraded Surat Airport to the 'international' category after inaugurating the new terminal.

Surat diamond industry giving employment to 8 lakh people; with the coming up of new diamond bourse, 1.5 lakh more will get jobs: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated at the inauguration ceremony at the Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a second Vande Bharat train between Varanasi and New Delhi on Sunday. PM Modi will also attend the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

The new terminal building of Surat Airport is equipped with various sustainability features like Double Insulated Roofing System, Canopies for energy saving, Low Heat Gain Double Glazing Unit, Rain Water Harvesting, water treatment plant, Sewage treatment plant and use of recycled water for landscaping and solar power plant, among others.

The facade of the upgraded terminal building of Surat Airport, decorated with traditional woodwork of the old houses of the ‘Rander’ region.

PM Modi arrived in Gujarat on Sunday. He launched Surat Diamond Bourse and new terminal of the Surat Airport.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the newly-upgraded terminal building of the Surat airport. The new integrated terminal building at the Surat airport is equipped to handle 1,200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers during peak hours and has a provision for further increasing the peak hour capacity to 3,000 passengers with the annual handling capacity increasing to 55 lakh passengers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse. It will be the world’s largest and modern centre for international diamond and jewellery business. It will be a global centre for trading both rough and polished diamonds as well as jewellery.

A court in Surat has directed the SDB to furnish a bank guarantee of ₹100 crore to a construction firm in a case of alleged non-payment of dues of ₹631.32 crore. The SDB has been dragged to the court by PSP Projects which built the SDB building near Surat city. The firm alleged before the court that even after it completed the construction and handed over the possession of the building to the bourse over a year ago, the SDB management did not make the final payment of ₹538.59 crore. With interest, the amount stood at ₹631.32 crore, the firm said. The SDB management was neither making the payment nor rejecting the bill presented by the firm, the petition claimed. The court noted that the final bill was raised after a virtual completion certificate was issued by the bourse on October 21, 2022. The bill was, thus, pending for more than a year. The bourse has started allotting office space in the building through auction, the construction firm said. It urged the court to stay the auction because otherwise it would not be in a position to recover anything in case any award is passed.

To promote imports, exports and trading of Diamonds, Gems & Jewellery from India.

To provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to the organizations engaged in manufacturing & trading of diamonds.

To promote, advance, protect and develop trade, commerce and industry relating to Gems & Jewellery including cutting, polishing and processing.

To establish and maintaining an International Trading Center in India to facilitate Diamond, Gems & Jewellery industry.

To develop India as a modern and sophisticated Diamond, Gems & Jewellery market in the world.

Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that the overall capacity of Surat Airport will increase three times once its newly built terminal building is operational.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week approved the proposal to declare Surat Airport as an international airport. Surat airport will not only become a gateway for international travellers but also facilitate seamless export-import operations for the thriving diamond and textile - industries.

The Surat Airport expansion has been undertaken at a cost of ₹353 crore.

Surat is currently connected to 14 domestic cities -- Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Goa Mopa, Belgaum, Pune, Jaipur, Udaipur, Indore, Diu and Kishangarh and internationally via Sharjah to the rest of the world. It is handling more than 252 passenger flight movements per week.

The new terminal building is equipped to handle 1,200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers during peak hours and has provision for further increasing the peak hour capacity to 3,000 passengers with annual handling capacity increasing to 55 lakh passengers.

The new airport terminal is equipped with various sustainability features like Double Insulated Roofing System, Canopies for energy saving, Low Heat Gain Double Glazing Unit, Rain Water Harvesting, water treatment plant, Sewage treatment plant and use of recycled water for landscaping and solar power plant, among others.

The Surat Diamond Bourse has been built on 35.54 acres of land at a cost of ₹3400 crore.

The building has the capacity to house 4,200 traders from 175 countries who will come to Surat to buy polished diamonds.

Around 1.5 lakh people will get employment from the trading facility, as diamond buyers from all corners of the world will get a global platform to trade at Surat.

The office building of Surat Diamond Bourse will be even larger than the Pentagon and is the country's largest customs clearance house.

The new integrated terminal building is equipped to handle 1,200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers during peak hours and has provision for further increasing the peak hour capacity to 3,000 passengers with the annual handling capacity increasing to 55 lakh passengers.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said that since the diamond trade has shifted to Surat, lakhs of people have lost their jobs.

Earlier diamond trade used to take place in the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

The Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat will be the world's largest and most modern centre for international diamond and jewellery businesses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared four photos of the Surat Diamond Bourse that will include, ‘Customs Clearance House’, Jewellery Mall and facility of International Banking and Safe Vaults.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world's largest corporate office hub, 'Surat Diamond Bourse' on Sunday.