PM Modi virtually flags off Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat express
Kolkata (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday virtually flagged off the Vande Bharat express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Also present on the occasion were Governor C V Ananda Bose and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The seventh Vande Bharat express started its journey at 11.45 am from platform number 22 of Howrah Station to travel to New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast.
The blue-and-white train, which covers a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hours, will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route, officials said. It will have three stoppages at Barsoi, Malda and Bolpur.
The Vande Bharat express with modern passenger amenities is likely to be preferred both by regular passengers, tea industry executives and tourists travelling to the Himalayas in North Bengal and Sikkim.
The state-of-the-art train has 16 coaches, including two for drivers.
Earlier, Banerjee, while speaking on the occasion, condoled the demise of Modi's mother Hiraben. "Your mother is also our mother," she said.
The CM also said work on four out of the five railway projects that Modi will launch on Friday were started during her tenure as railway minister.
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India successfully test-fires guided Pinaka weapon system
New Delhi, Nov 14: India has successfully completed the flight-tests of guided Pinaka weapon system as part of a set of validation trials.
During these tests, the Provisional Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) parameters, viz., ranging, accuracy, consistency and rate of fire for multiple target engagement in a salvo mode have been assessed by extensive testing of rockets, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
"Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully completed the flight-tests of Guided Pinaka Weapon System as part of Provisional Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) validation trials," it said.
The flight-tests have been conducted in three phases at different field firing ranges.
"Twelve rockets from each production agency from two in-service Pinaka launchers upgraded by the launcher production agencies have been tested," the statement said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the DRDO and the Indian Army for the successful PSQR validation trials of the system and stated that the induction of this Guided Pinaka Weapon System will further boost the artillery fire power of the Armed Forces, it said.
The precision strike variant for Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System is a totally indigenous weapon system designed and developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment in association with Research Centre Imarat, Defence Research and Development Laboratory, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and Proof & Experimental Establishment with Munitions India Limited and Economic Explosives Limited as production agencies for ammunition and Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Larsen & Toubro for Pinaka launcher and Battery Command Post.
Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Samir V Kamat, also congratulated the teams associated with the trials and said the rocket system has "completed all pre-requisite flight trials before induction into the Indian Army".
DRDO has successfully completed the Flight Tests of Guided #Pinaka Weapon System. Various parameters such as ranging, accuracy, consistency and rate of fire for multiple target engagement in a salvo mode were assessed during the trials. The tests were conducted in three phases at… pic.twitter.com/qVtq4MqCse
— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) November 14, 2024
