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| CII hails bid to reconcile commercial, social objectives in Rail budget | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 8: Welcoming the maiden rail budget of the new government Ajay S Shriram, President CII Confederation of Indian industries (CII) said that Rail Budget has presented a broad vision on what needs to be done in this critical sector in order to upgrade infrastructure and improve operational efficiency.
"CII welcomes the ambition to be the largest freight carrier in the world, as presented in the Railway Budget. The Minister has been realistic and candid in acknowledging the problems faced in implementation of projects and improving revenue realization," he added in his statement
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII stated that the Railway Budget has attempted to deftly strike a fine balance between commercial and welfare objectives to present a credible budget while eschewing populism. "A pragmatic budget, the thrust on increased passenger amenities, cleanliness and efficient station management, greater safely measures and seeking the involvement of corporates to take this forward shows that the budget is anchored in reality, he added.
CII executives observed that the accent on resource mobilization through the public private partnership (PPP) and FDI and through surplus generated through PSUs is indeed commendable. Similarly, the restructuring of rail board is a bold initiative which would help improve efficiency in the system and pave the way for flexible decision-making and restructuring of railways on commercial lines.
Zubin Irani, Chairman, CII-North Region stated that the proposal of close monitoring of the execution of Dedicated Freight Corridors is a welcome initiative.
"This will further enhance connectivity of the Northern Region with the rest of country," said Irani.
The minister has taken an initiative of maintaining the sound financial health of Railways by leveraging railway PSU resources informed Shreekant Somany, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region.
"The proposal to launch a scheme to bring in investible surplus funds of Railway PSUs in infrastructure projects of Railways can generate attractive returns for PSUs in addition to seek Cabinet approval to allow FDI in Rail sector could be seen as steps to facilitate in attracting private sector investments leading to the growth of the entire sector," said Somany.Pikender Pal Singh, Regional Director, CII Northern Region stated that in the Railway Budget, there are specific projects and trains for the benefit of Northern Region. highlighting few of them.
He also welcomed the proposal to examine train connectivity to Char-Dham, Kedarnath, Badrinath. Special packaged trains on identified pilgrim circuits that are also being planned to promote rail tourism in the northern region. "These initiatives will give much needed fillip to the tousrim sector of the Northern Region. In addition, tourist train from Rameshwaram covering pilgrim and tourist places like Ayodhya, Varanasi and Haridwar is being proposed, Singh added.Asif Burza, Chairman, CII J&K State Council also has hailed the Railway minister for proposing to increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in areas including Delhi -Chandigarh, Delhi-Agra, and Delhi-Kanpur. Introduction of the new premium train Mumbai Central - New Delhi Premium AC Express is a major move as it connects the national capital with the financial hub of the country.
Facilitating connectivity to new and upcoming ports through public private partnership (PPP) will also aid the process. Burza also said that the launch of High Speed Train from Delhi to Pathankot and starting new trains on route of places of religious tourism is a welcome move and will be helpful in overall development of the states. |
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