Kisan Rail service is big step towards empowering farmers, increasing their income, says PM Narendra Modi after flagging off 100th Kisan Rail

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (December 28, 2020) flagged off the 100th 'Kisan Rail' from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal and said that the Kisan Rail service is a big step towards empowering farmers and increasing their income.

"I congratulate crores of farmers of the country. Despite COVID-19 challenge Kisan Rail network has expanded in the last four months and got its 100th rail now," expressed PM Modi.

He added, "Kisan Rail service is a big step towards empowering the farmers and increasing their income."

PM Modi said that the Kisan Rail Service will also increase the strength of the country's cold supply chain and said that the Kisan Rail is like a moving cold storage facility. "Perishable items like fruits, vegetables, milk, fish etc can be safely transported from one place to another in time," stated the Prime Minister.

PM Modi said that under the PM Krishi Sampada Yojana, around 6,500 projects like mega food parks, cold chain infrastructure, agro-processing clusters have been approved.

"Rs 10,000 crores have been approved for micro food processing industries under government's 'Atmanirbhar' package," said PM Modi. 

The multi-commodity train service reportedly carried vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, and onions. It also carried fruits like grapes, oranges, pomegranate, banana, custard apple etc.

This is to be noted that the Centre has also extended a subsidy of 50% on transportation of fruits and vegetables.

India's first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali to Danapur on August 7, 2020, which was further extended up to Muzaffarpur, whereas, the first Kisan Rail from south India chugged off from Anantapuramu on September 9 carrying 322 tonnes of fresh fruits to Azadpur Mandi in the national capital. Subsequently, its frequency was also increased from weekly to three days a week.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi also flagged off India's first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line. He noted that metro service was confined to only five cities in 2014 when his government came to power at the Centre and said it has continuously been expanded to different cities, a testimony of people's "ease of living" being ensured by his dispensation.

PM said that with the driverless metro trains, India has become one of the few countries in the world, where such service is available.