Railway Board Approves Seven New Amrit Bharat Express Trains

14 August 2026National

The Railway Board approved seven new Amrit Bharat Express trains to boost affordable long-distance connectivity across north, central, west and south India. Routes: Dhanbad-Coimbatore, Prayagraj-LTT (Mumbai), Prayagraj-Udhna, Subedarganj-LTT, Gorakhpur-Delhi, Gorakhpur-Bandra and Charlapalli-Gorakhpur. Amrit Bharat is a fully non-AC push-pull LHB train (locomotives at both ends) built for faster acceleration and passenger comfort; the first ran in early 2024.

Static GK

Amrit Bharat = affordable superfast non-AC train (push-pull, 2 locos) | Vande Bharat = semi-high-speed AC train | Namo Bharat = RRTS rapid rail | Railway Minister: Ashwini Vaishnaw

⚡ Quick Revision

The Railway Board approved 7 new Amrit Bharat Express trains (incl. Dhanbad-Coimbatore, Gorakhpur-Delhi, Charlapalli-Gorakhpur) to expand affordable non-AC long-distance connectivity.

More Polity Current Affairs

India Hosts 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference at Bharat Mandapam, a First for the Global South

India hosted the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference (AWC) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 21 to 23 October 2026 — the first time a Global South nation has hosted the event. Held under the theme 'Powering the Global South', it was inaugurated by New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and drew more than 1,500 participants from over 40 countries, including about 400 farmers. Agrivoltaics uses the same land for crops and solar generation, supporting food and energy security together. France will host the 2027 edition. The push complements India's Green Energy Corridor Phase-III and pumped-storage expansion.

GK ByteThe Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was created in 2006, succeeding the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources set up in 1992 | The PM-KUSUM scheme, launched in 2019, promotes solar pumps and grid-connected solar plants on farmland | The International Solar Alliance, headquartered at Gurugram, was jointly launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris in 2015
📅 23 Oct 2026PolityRead complete →

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Launches the Nationwide 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan - Rabi 2026' from Karnal

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the nationwide 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan - Rabi 2026' at Karnal, Haryana, on 22 October 2026, to run until 30 November 2026. The campaign promotes soil health, balanced fertiliser use, crop diversification and sustainable farming, with outreach at state, district, block and Gram Panchayat levels through awareness programmes, farmers' conferences, training and field demonstrations. It targets nearly 1 crore participants and will deploy about 4,150 teams of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ATMA functionaries, involving over 12,000 scientists and ATMA officials. It is implemented by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare with states and ICAR institutions.

GK ByteATMA stands for Agricultural Technology Management Agency, a district-level extension body under the Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms scheme | ICAR was set up in 1929 as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research and is headquartered in New Delhi | Krishi Vigyan Kendras are ICAR's district-level farm science centres; the first was set up at Puducherry in 1974
📅 22 Oct 2026PolityRead complete →

Department of Financial Services Launches a Financial Inclusion Saturation Campaign Across 2.70 Lakh Local Bodies

The Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, launched a nationwide Financial Inclusion Saturation Campaign running from 21 October to 31 December 2026 across 2.70 lakh Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies. Banks will open PMJDY accounts, complete pending re-KYC, generate pending 14-digit CKYC identifiers through CERSAI, and push enrolment under PMJJBY, PMSBY, PMFBY and the Atal Pension Yojana. They will also help PM-KISAN beneficiaries apply for Kisan Credit Cards. Bank camps will carry digital fraud-prevention messaging under the theme 'Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar', with progress monitored after a preparatory meeting with State Level Bankers' Committees.

GK BytePMJDY was launched on 28 August 2014; PMJJBY, PMSBY and the Atal Pension Yojana were launched on 9 May 2015 at Kolkata | CERSAI, set up in 2011 under the SARFAESI Act, 2002, maintains the Central KYC Records Registry | State Level Bankers' Committees are state-level coordination forums of banks convened by a designated lead bank
📅 21 Oct 2026PolityRead complete →

UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme Completes Ten Years with 687 Routes and 1.72 Crore Passengers

The Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) regional connectivity scheme completed ten years on 21 October 2026, having been launched on 21 October 2016 under the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 and run by the Airports Authority of India for the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It has operationalised 687 regional routes and 95 aerodromes, including 17 heliports and 2 water aerodromes, carrying 1.72 crore passengers. The modified UDAN phase launched in July 2026 runs from FY27 to FY36 with an outlay of ₹28,840 crore, targeting 100 new airports and 200 helipads, and feeds the PM GatiShakti multimodal push that marked five years in October 2026.

GK ByteUDAN expands to Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik and caps fares on about half the seats on subsidised regional routes | The scheme is funded through a Regional Air Connectivity Fund built from a levy on major scheduled flight routes | The Airports Authority of India was constituted in 1995 under the AAI Act 1994 and is headquartered in New Delhi
📅 21 Oct 2026PolityRead complete →