Ahmedabad: National Film Awards should be held at prominent tourist destinations across India to promote both the prestige of the honours and the country’s tourism potential, Union railway, information and broadcasting, and electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.Speaking at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, home to Statue of Unity and the venue for this year’s ceremony, Vaishnaw urged states to nominate major tourist destinations for future editions and suggest the facilities needed to host the event.Vaishnaw, who travelled from Kalupur railway station to Kevadia on a special train, said, “The awards had traditionally been organised in conference rooms or halls. Holding them at tourist destinations would benefit the host locations while giving the ceremony a new format.”Sharing an update on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, the minister said the first section of the bullet train corridor, between Surat and Vapi, was expected to be completed by Dec 2026. The first indigenously manufactured bullet train is likely to be placed on the tracks by April-May 2027 for extensive testing, he added.According to Vaishnaw, India is designing and manufacturing the train, with the country holding the intellectual property rights. Its coach and car body are complete, and work on the propulsion system is also finished. Designs for the vehicle electronics and wheels have been finalised, along with their integration with the pantograph and stations.He said construction of the undersea tunnel between Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex and Thane was progressing, along with work on stations, bridges and other tunnels.Construction of the bullet train project began in 2021 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the technical complexity involved. Vaishnaw said the project was now progressing well and expressed confidence that it could be inaugurated in 2027.
