 honourable dignitaries on the dyes of the dyes and the participants witnessing this program. On behalf of the Government of Kerala, I extend a very warm welcome to all of you on this very special day. It is a great honour to have the honourable Prime Minister of India with us for today's function. We also have honourable Governor of Kerala, Sri Arif Muhammad Khan, honourable Chief Minister Sri Pinarayi Vijay, honourable Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT, Sri Ashwini Vaishnav, honourable Minister of Railways, Government of Kerala, Sri Abdul Rahman, honourable Minister of Transport, Advocate Anthony Raju, and honourable Member of Parliament Dr Shashi Thayur. Today, the honourable Prime Minister will be marking the beginning of several iconic projects in our state. Foundation stones for the following projects will be laid today. The first digital science park of the country, being set up by the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology with the support of Government of Kerala. Rail Development of Thiruvannathapuram, Kori Kod and Varkhala Shivagiri railway stations. Comprehensive development of Thiruvannathapuram area including Neymam and Kuchuveli, increasing the speed of Thiruvannathapuram-Shurnore railway section. The honourable Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation two important projects in today's August function, electrification of Bintigal Palani Palakkad section and Kochi Water Metro. Let us now begin the proceedings with an invocation song. The poem Jaya Jaya Komala Kerala Dharini is considered as Kerala Ghanam which praises the uniqueness, natural beauty and rich heritage of the state of Kerala, penned by Bodheeshwaran, a freedom fighter and a social reformer. This song was widely sung during his involvement in social movements including the Vaikam Satyagraham. Swadandrasamara Sena and Sabohya Parishkartavamaya Bodheeshwaran register, Kerala's Ananyasatharanamaya Saunirithi and Samskarika Pahidrigatayam Aspada make Kerala Ghanam available. The Honourable Governor of Kerala to felicitate our Honourable Prime Minister by handing over a book. Request our Honourable Chief Minister to felicitate the Honourable Prime Minister by presenting a Memento on behalf of the state. This Memento developed by Digital University Kerala signifies the various themes of the Digital Science Park. It represents the progress of Kerala's IT ecosystem beaconing a future of digital innovations driven by R&D and product solutions through seamless involvement of universities, start-ups and industries. Let me now also request the Honourable Chief Minister to present a replica of Kuchi Water Metro to Sri Narendra Modiji. The project is being dedicated to the nation today and what a proud moment it is for all of us. I request Sri Ashwini Vaishnav Honourable Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT to welcome this August gathering. Honourable Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modiji, Honourable Governor, Sri Muhammad Khanji, Honourable Chief Minister, Sri Pinarai Vegeanji, Honourable Ministers of the Government of Kerala, Honourable MP Dr. Shashi Tharoorji. Dignity is present on this very historic occasion. Namaskaram, Asam Sakal, very warm welcome to this function. Friends, today our Honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modiji, has flagged off Kerala's Vande Bharat Express. In this beautiful land of Kathakali, Kalarai Patlu and Ayurveda, today a new attraction has been added as the young people of Kerala will say Adipoli, Adipoli Vande Bharat. So to the Adipoli Vande Bharat, now you have a Adipoli travel experience. So I thank Honourable Prime Minister for giving this wonderful gift, superb gift to the people of Kerala. Friends, as you are very well aware, the train is designed for 180 kilometres per hour. Train has a life of about 35 years. As we move, as we go forward, we will be increasing the speed of the railway tracks. How does it happen? Most of the tracks in Kerala, there is a very curving kind of route. So most of the tracks are having a speed limit of 80 or 90 kilometres per hour. So what we will do? We will be installing world-class signalling system, we will change the track geometry. At many places, we will be removing the curves and straighten the tracks. With all these improvements, the train should be able to run at 110 kmph in the next 18 to 24 months. But that is not sufficient. We realise a long coastline, we should be able to move from north to south and south to north at a very good speed. So what we will do? Honourable Prime Minister has sanctioned 381 crore for increasing the sectional speed to 130 kmph and 160 kmph. The detailed survey is going on for this and within next 36 to 48 months, we should be able to increase the sectional speed throughout the stretch of Kerala and within next 48 months from Trivandrum to Mangalore should be done within 6 hours. Trivandrum to Kasargod should be done within 5 and a half hours. This is a great boon for the people of Kerala because the entire state runs north to south and the entire state is like one continuous population so the people will be able to move from one place to another at a very good pace. We will be equipping this entire section with coverage which is a world-class automatic train protection system. So with all these improvements, Kerala will get world-class train services. Friends, Honourable Prime Minister always believes in Sapkasaat, Sapkavikas, Sapkavishwas and Sapkaprayas. Achieving upgradation of this level will require a lot of support from the state government. Honourable Chief Minister has been very kind, I have requested him and he has kindly agreed that there will be full cooperation. I once again request Honourable Chief Minister to give full cooperation for this upgradation project. Friends, we must remember one thing. From 2009 to 2014 period, a state as important and as educated, as highly aware, as highly intellectual as Kerala was getting only 370 crore rupees for railway development. Such a large state, 3.5 crore people, only 370 crore allocation was there. When Prime Minister Modiji took responsibility of the country in 2014, what did he do? First thing he did was immediately double the allocation for Kerala. Then he tripled it, then he quadrupled it. And friends, I am very happy to share with you, this year Prime Minister has given 2,033 crore rupees for Kerala's rail development. It's a massive jump, what was 370 crore and see, 2,033 crore. This entire allocation will go in overall development of railway facilities in Kerala. A total of 34 stations are being taken up for developing them as world class stations. I can read out the entire names, but I'll read only the big stations, Kolam, Arnakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolikode, Varkala, Changanur, Trissur, practically every major station of Kerala from north to south is being taken up for development as world class. And I must tell you, must share you a secret with you. When we started the development of railway stations, we thought that, okay, let us build a very modern kind of building, let's do this, that. But honorable Prime Minister gave a vision which is for next 50 years. He said, whatever you designed today, whatever you built today should be able to meet the needs of our people for the next 50 years. That is Prime Minister's vision for railway. That is Prime Minister's vision for Kerala. So friends, every station that we are building will keep its own heritage and cultural values in place intact and build a world class modern airport, better than airport kind of railway station. So if you take the case of Thiruvananthapuram station, Thiruvananthapuram Central has a very unique architecture. Don't you think so? Thiruvananthapuram Central has a very unique architecture. So how do we now construct a world class railway station while maintaining this unique architecture? So we have taken up that challenge, deployed best of the architects and with that vision of Prime Minister, we are rebuilding all the stations. In next three to four years, you will see that the railway facilities within the state are practically world class, comparable to any other place in the world, comparable to Europe, comparable to Japan, comparable to any place in the world. Lots and lots of projects have been taken up friends. Total projects worth about 10,000 crore rupees, investment is happening in Kerala. Lots of sections where capacity is required, doubling work is going on, multi-tracking is going on between Thiruvananthapuram to Kanyakumari, Arnakulam to Kumbhulam. That way practically from north to south, everywhere doubling and multi-tracking is going on. Now what is more important, how do we preserve the culture of Kerala and how do we present that culture to the entire world? Global Prime Minister gave the concept of one station, one product. So in one station, one product, on the station, we build a small, nice, very compact stall and all the local products are sold there. So for example in Kerala, honey, pickles, spices, cashew, coconut oil, all these places are, all these items are today available at 35 stations where people are buying and the average income, average income of the people who are deployed on these one station, one product stalls is about 30, 35,000 rupees a month. So that's a very big move where the culture and employment are connected. Yes, this is about railways. In the world of digital technologies, our Prime Minister has totally, totally changed the country's landscape in the last nine years. How many of you are using a smartphone, raise your hands, smartphones, practically everybody? Ten years back, how many of these smartphones were made in India? Just about one percent or two percent. Today all the telephone, all the smartphones, take your smartphone and show it, take out your smartphone and show it, show it like this. And if you can put a flash on it, flash, put the flash, thank Prime Minister because of his Make in India program, today 99 percent of the mobile phones are made in India. Mobile phone industry is today employing about 10 lakh people, 10 lakh people. The export of mobile phone this year is 11 billion dollars close to 1 lakh crore. Imagine that is the power of a visionary when a visionary takes responsibility for a sector, converts that sector into a totally transformed new sector, that's the power. How many of you have used payment system on mobile phone? How many of you have used Paytm? How many people have used Paytm? Raise your hands, Paytm, phone pay, Bharat pay, practically everybody has used payment system. Now I will tell you a small narrative, very recently some very rich countries ministers who meet, they ask how in India Prime Minister presses a button and the money goes directly into people's account. People are so curious about it, world's most developed countries, rich and prosperous countries, they have to write checks, they have to send the checks by a post office mail and if the person has left that home or gone somewhere, the check is lying in the post letter box, imagine. And here in India, our Prime Minister created the Digital India program 2016 and today a single pressing of the button and whatever amount has to be transferred, it goes straight into people's accounts. That is the power of Digital India and that is the way our future is getting built, friends. Our youth today, when we ask them the first thing they say is our future, that is what is getting built in the Digital India. Then just 10 years back, there were only 400 startups in the country, only 400, 500. Today 90,000 startups, 90,000 startups, so much energy is there, so much confidence is there among the youngsters that that is the foundation of our country, friends. This is the confidence which leads to development of new technologies like Vande Bharat, new technologies like India's own 4G, 5G technology stack. And India is today ranked as one of the fastest rollout of 5G technology. That is the power of Prime Minister's vision, friends. And that vision is getting reflected into Kerala's development. I thank Honorable Prime Minister for everything that he's doing for the country and for Kerala. Thank you very much. Namaskaram. Nani. Ladies and gentlemen, now I have the honour to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. Let me extend a warm welcome to our Honorable Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modiji, to Kerala Goldstone Country. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. I would like to invite Sri Pinarayu Vijayan, Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala to address the gathering. Honorable Prime Minister, On behalf of the Government of Kerala and all the people of the state, I thank you for gracing us with your presence and agreeing to lay the foundation stone of the Digital Science Park and dedicate the Kochi Water Metro to the nation. I am sure that both these initiatives under the Government of Kerala will emerge as models for the entire country. We are also thankful that you are laying the foundation stone of and dedicating to the nation various rail projects in Kerala. Developing our railway stations, laying new railway lines, doubling and electrifying existing railway lines, improving our signal systems, increasing the speed of our trains and introducing new trains are all initiatives that need special focus. I am sure that if the Union and state governments work together with dedication, we can achieve wonders in such areas. In the days to come, let us make the development of Kerala a touchstone of cooperative federalism. I conclude by placing on record Kerala's gratitude to you for allocating a Vande Bharat train for us. We hope that more will follow. Thank you once again. Ladies and gentlemen, we now move to the foundation stone laying ceremonies. Digital Science Park is the third generation science park being set up by the Government of Kerala to drive the knowledge revolution in the state. The park to be established in the 14-acre campus in Technosity will have high-quality infrastructure to promote IP based production development between academia and industry. It is our privilege to request Honourable Prime Minister to mark the formal foundation stone laying by pressing the remote. The digital science park followed by a small 3-D experience of the facility being developed. The unprecedented growth in technology and innovation sector in India under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister in last nine years, India is marching ahead to its one trillion dollar digital economy. Realising this dream, the Government of Kerala has envisioned the new Digital Science Park. Digital Science Park is a new generation science park that aims to be a backbone infrastructure for building the knowledge economy in India. Foundation stone laying of Digital Science Park today by Honourable Prime Minister is an important milestone in this journey. Digital Science Park's goal is to assist companies and startups in their journey of fast-paced growth using advanced digital technologies by seamless collaboration between universities, industry and government. Digital Science Parks are designed to provide a supportive and collaborative environment for students, startups and entrepreneurs. This can provide youth with access to cutting-edge labs which includes semiconductor clean rooms, advanced materials and VLSI design, high-end computing, robotics lab, etc. The proposed park will initially have two buildings with a total of two lakhs square feet. The total project outlay is established at more than 1500 crore rupees. 13.65 acres of land has been allocated in TechnoCity campus, Pallipuram. Digital Science Parks are designed and provide a supportive and collaborative environment for young people interested in science and technology. The four thematic pillars of the proposed Digital Science Park are Digital Industry, Digital Applications, Digital Deep Tech, Digital Entrepreneurship. The Digital Science Park will be operational this year from a temporary facility at Kobani Building at TechnoCity in a 10,000 square feet space starting up with centres on AI and electronics and system design. We are leaving no stone unturned in realizing the dream of becoming a digital society and a knowledge-based record. The future awaits you here. Foundation Stonelaint is an important aspect of Railway for its future infrastructure development. Thiruvananthapuram Central, Varkala Shivigiri and Coricord Railway stations will be redeveloped to world-class standards in the future at a cost of rupees 1,140 crores. The Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button for laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram Central, Varkala Shivigiri and Coricord Railway stations. Development at Thiruvananthapuram area including Namam and Kuchuveli at a cost of rupees 156 crores will improve the operational efficiency of railways to serve the capital city of Kerala better. The Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button for laying the foundation stone for the comprehensive development of Thiruvananthapuram area including Namam and Kuchuveli forms the backbone of transportation in the state of Kerala. Increase of sectional speed in the 326 kilometer long Thiruvananthapuram to Shurnur sector at a cost of rupees 381 crores will greatly enhance the speed of trains and significantly reduce the travel time benefitting the rail traveller. The Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button for laying the foundation stone for the comprehensive development of Thiruvananthapuram area including Namam and Kuchuveli at a cost of rupees 356 crores will greatly enhance the speed of trains and significantly reduce the travel time benefitting the rail traveller. We request Honorable Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button for laying the foundation stone for increase in sectional speed between Thiruvananthapuram and Shurnur. The verification of 179 kilometers of Palakkad-Palani Dindigul section has been completed at a cost of rupees 242 crores which will improve faster connectivity between Kerala and Tamil Nadu especially in the interior regions of South India. We request Honorable Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button for laying the foundation stone for increase in sectional speed between Thiruvananthapuram and Shurnur. We request Honorable Prime Minister to unveil the plague by pressing the button to mark the dedication of electrification between Palakkad and Dindigul via the pilgrim town of Thalani to the nation. A short film on railway project being dedicated and railway projects for which foundation stones are being laid today by the Honorable Prime Minister will be played. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of our Prime Minister, Srinarendra Modi Ji, India's growth journey last nine years is unprecedented. India has been witnessing phenomenal development in infrastructure landscape of the country. Kerala has been pivotal to this growth journey. Many infrastructure projects have been completed in last nine years or are in advanced stages of completion. Government of India is resolute to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Kerala and strong railway infrastructure in the state is central to these efforts. Today, the Honorable Prime Minister, Srinarendra Modi Ji, flagged off the prestigious Vande Bharat Express from Tiruvananthapuram central to Kasargod station. Under Makin India initiative, this indigenously built semi-high-speed Vande Bharat express will connect states capital with Kasargod, a historical city of Kerala. It will cover the distance of 586 kilometers in eight hours. It will provide ultra-modern amenities for a world-class travel experience with 360-degree rotating and comfortable chairs, automatic doors, touch-free services and modern safety features. Today, the Honorable Prime Minister, Srinarendra Modi Ji, is dedicating to the nation and laying foundation stone for several important railway projects worth over Rs. 1,900 crores. Dedication to the nation of electrification of Palakkad-Palani Indigul section is a significant step towards realizing Indian railways' mission of 100% electrification by end of this year. Electrification will help in introduction of new Memu services. It will also provide better connectivity to pilgrims visiting Palani temple in Tamil Nadu and temples of Kolangod and Pudunagara in Kerala and tourists visiting Mango city of Kerala, Mudalamada and Kolangod palace. Today, the foundation stones are being laid for comprehensive development of railway infrastructure in Thiruvananthapuram area, including Neymam and Cochu valley stations will improve operational capacity and augment running of more trains between Thiruvananthapuram region and North Kerala. Increasing the sectional speed on Thiruvananthapuram's Shoranur section will result in faster connectivity and reduce transit time for passengers. Pre-development of Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala, Sivagiri and Goikode railway stations are aimed at catering to passenger requirement for the next 40 years. These stations will be aesthetically designed with world-class amenities like inter-modal connectivity, platforms connected by escalators, lifts, stairways, skybox, spacious concourse, waiting halls and divyang friendly modern amenities. Giving a major thrust to the Prime Minister's vision of Atmanir Bharbhara, these initiatives will enhance connectivity, boost tourism, agriculture, industrial and service sectors and help generate new employment opportunities thereby contributing towards socio-economic progress in Kerala. It's a proud day for the government of Kerala and the people of Kerala as we set up another beautiful episode in the Kerala model for the world, the Kochi Water Metro. Made in Kochi, 8 electric hybrid water metro boards will connect the islands to the mainland. When completed, the Kochi Water Metro will be the largest organised water transport system with electric boards in the world. Today, Honourable Prime Minister will dedicate the Kochi Water Metro, the most advanced sustainable transport system truly first of its kind to the nation. We request you sir to do the honours in the virtual mod by pressing the remote and unveiling the plague. We now present a short video on the Kochi Water Metro project. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, government of India is committed to provide better facilities to citizens and for that it has taken various path-breaking initiatives in the field of infrastructure development, multimodal connectivity and technological innovations. From 248 kilometre metro lines in 2014 to 858 kilometres today, India has seen a phenomenal increase in metro rail connectivity with 20 cities currently enjoying the metro rail services. There are currently 971 kilometres of metro and regional rapid transit system projects being constructed. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala is surrounded by 10 islands. The islanders depend on the city of Kochi for earning their livelihood, trade, business, healthcare and education. Thus the plan was to connect the islands with the city in a metro-like fashion having seamless connectivity with the metro rail system. With its immaculate reputation for excellence, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited, a 50-50 joint venture of government of India and government of Kerala, was entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of water metro project. It is a unique mobility solution connecting 38 water terminals across 10 islands and the mainland on a stretch of 76 kilometres, expecting to transport 34,000 passengers every day. The funding of project from KFW Germany could only be possible due to the Soviet Guarantee of Government of India. Kochi Water Metro is the first of its kind electric public water transport. These state-of-the-art battery-powered fully air-conditioned electric boats are manufactured by the Kochi Shipyard, boosting the Make in India initiative. The water metro terminals are specially designed as disabled-friendly with concrete floating pontoons. The water metro has two types of boats, 100 passenger and 50 passenger capacity. These boats are equipped with the latest LTO batteries and in just 15 minutes the chargers have the ability to fully charge the boats. The vessels are equipped with the latest navigation and communication tools to safeguard passengers. The Kochi Water Metro upon becoming operational would hold the distinction of being the world's largest fleet of electric boats providing organised urban water transport services. This initiative demonstrates India's commitment to become a leader in seamless connectivity and realise Prime Minister's vision of Atman-Nirbhar Bharat. Ladies and Gentlemen, now it's the time that we all have been eagerly waiting for. On behalf of everyone present here, I request Honourable Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi to address the gathering. Nandavarayi Malayali, Snehi Tare Namaskaram, Kerala's Governor, Sriman Arib Mohammad Khan, Mukh Mantri, Sriman Pinarayi Vijayan Ji, Kendriya Mantri Mandal Ki Mere Saiyogi, Aswini Vaishnav Ji, Kerala's Prime Minister, Hania Saunsad, Paishasheet Tharoor Ji, Yaha Upasthit, Anna Mahanubha, and Kerala's dear brothers and sisters. In the last few days, Malayali New Year has started. You have celebrated the festival with great enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Once again, I wish you all a very good luck. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to connect with the development of Kerala. Today, Kerala has got its first train of people from India. Today, Kochi has got a new network of water and metro. There are many projects related to railways. Along with connectivity, today, with the development of Kerala, there are more projects related to the development of the country. For all these projects of development, Kerala's people are very, very happy. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you all a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. I wish you a very good luck. 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