On April 25, 2023, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation various development projects worth more than Rs 3200 crores at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
- The development projects include India’s 1st Water Metro in Kochi (Kerala) and Kerala’s 1st Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod, which were inaugurated by PM.
Kochi’s Water Metro:
i.Kochi Water Metro is a Made in India project and the ports for the project were developed by the Cochin Shipyard.
ii.It is a one-of-its-kind project that connects 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with Kochi city.
- Initially, Water Metro will start sailing with 8 electric-hybrid boats in two routes that are, Highcourt- Vypin and Vyttila- Kakkanad stretches.
iii.Purpose:
- Kochi Water Metro was inaugurated to make modern and cheap means of transport accessible for the people living in the nearing islets of Kochi.
- It will also provide intermodal connectivity between the bus terminal and the metro network.
iv.Features:
- Apart from easing the traffic congestion in the city, the project will also benefit backwater tourism in the state.
- People would be able to use Kochi One Card for travelling in Kochi Water Metro and Mobile QR tickets could be booked through Kochi One app.
Digital Science Park
i.PM laid the foundation stone for the India’s first Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram which will give a boost to Digital India
- Digital Science Park is envisaged as a key research facility to develop digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with academia.
ii.The total project outlay has been estimated at around Rs 1515 crore and the initial investment for Phase-1 of the project is around Rs 200 crore.
iii.The state-of-the-art basic infrastructure of the project will support high-end applied research by industries and the co-development of products in association with the Universities.
iv.As a third generation Science Park, the Digital Science Park will include common facilities to support the development of products in the area of Industry 4.0 Technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence), Data Analytics, Cyber Security, and Smart Materials.
Redevelopment of railway stations: Work for the redevelopment of Kerala’s three major railway stations of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri has been initiated on April 25, 2023, to make it a multimodal transport hub.
Kerala’s 1st Vande Bharat Express:
i.Kerala’s Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod will link North Kerala with South Kerala.
ii.The train will ease the travel to pilgrimage places like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur.
Points to be Noted:
i.PM stated that work has been initiated to prepare the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section for semi-high-speed trains. Upon completion, it will become possible to run semi-high-speed trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangluru.
ii.PM mentioned the work done with respect to gauge conversion, doubling, and electrification of railway tracks while stating the developments carried out in railways in Kerala in the last 9 years.
iii.PM also dedicated the Rail electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section.
PM greeted the people of Kerala for Vishu
- Vishu is a cultural festival celebrating one of the two harvest seasons in Kerala of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of Medam in the Malayalam Calendar (April 14 or 15 in the Gregorian calendar).
Note – Arif Mohammed Khan, Governor of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, V. Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, and Ministers from Government of Kerala participated on the inaugural events.
Recent Related News:
On March 18, 2023, the two-day Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference 2023 was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at Subramaniam Hall, National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Campus, PUSA New Delhi, Delhi, to promote millets exports from India and give producers access to the market.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister- Pinarayi Vijayan
Governor- Arif Mohammed Khan
Airport- Trivandrum International Airport; Cochin International Airport
UNESCO heritage site- Western Ghats.
