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— Indresh Batra, VC & MD, Jindal ITF
Rail budgets and, for that matter,
the railway ministry portfolio
have traditionally been highly
politicised, primarily because of
the vast number of people
employed in the sector and hence
the large vote-bank involved. To
be fair, the railway budget seems
to be relatively low on regional
politics (vis-à-vis Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee's past track
record and media speculation to
the contrary). In that sense, it's a
welcome change, even though
the minister's
home-state
of West Bengal
expectedly
garnered
a larger
share of
new projects
and train
introductions. Overall, however,
the railway budget is full of
good intent and vision, but ultimately
succumbs to politico-economic
realities.
The most important announcement
in the budget is the formulation
of a 10-year plan entitled
'Vision 2020'. This plan sets out a
clear roadmap for growth and
operations of Indian Railways.
Even though many of the statements
and targets in the Vision
document appear to constitute a
lofty wish-list, the broad intent
and strategy outlined to take the
IR forward are commendable.
The railway budget rightly
realises the need to encourage
private participation via the
PPP route, given the resource
crunch that the colonial-era body
faces today.
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