KOCHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who arrived in Kerala, chose Vande Bharat train to travel from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. The minister also shared pictures of her interacting with passengers on the train.

Nirmala Sitharaman shared the pictures saying that it was the perfect opportunity to interact with passengers.

“A trip from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram on the Vande Bharat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Vande Bharat Express in September 2022. I had to wait for a year to travel. All seats are booked and it seems Vande Bharat is so popular," Nirmala Sitharaman wrote on X. The pictures are viral on social media.

The minister is on a one-day visit to Thiruvananthapuram. The Union Minister, who arrived in Kochi yesterday, will arrive in the capital after inaugurating the Aayakar Bhavan of the Income Tax Department. She will participate in the central financial assistance distribution ceremony at Attingal at 11 am and the 'Emerging Bharat, Growing Kerala' business conclave organized by Kerala Kaumudi at Hyatt Regency at 4.30 pm.

Nirmala Sitharaman will perform the distribution of funds for central projects for infrastructure development in the state in a ceremony that will begin at 11 am at the Attingal Mamom ground. Rs 6,014.92 crores of financial assistance will be distributed through 1,52,704 beneficiary accounts registered in central schemes such as Mudra, Stand Up India, PM Swanidhi, and PMEGP.