New Delhi: Praveen Kumar, Member (Mechanical), Railway Board outlined that the Indian Railway shares a symbiotic relationship with the industry. This calls for the industry to support the railways towards maintaining quality, affordability, introducing innovation and help in leveraging technology.
He was speaking at the ‘International Railways Conference; Development of Indian Railways: Opportunities and Challenges’ organized jointly by the Indian Railways and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Dr. Sam Pitroda stated that the existing political will on the part of the Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee should be captured by the industry and people. The modernization of the Indian railways should be aimed towards expansion, excellence and access. He further stated that the Indian Railway is blessed with ten assets namely tracks, trains, stations, land, factory, vendors, management, people and a vast pool of special services. Each of the asset offers great potential to bring in new technology, generational change, innovation and undertake projects under PPP arrangements.
J P Chowdhary, Past President, CII pointed out that the Railway Minister in the Union Rail Budget has put a lot of emphasis on PPP arrangements for the growth and modernization of this sector. The turnaround that the Indian Railways is about to witness should have cost effective and energy efficient solutions.
Rakesh Chopra, Member (Engineering), Railway Board observed that the 11th five year plan focuses on creation of new assets within railways. The sector has huge potential to engage the private sector and bring in value addition. Indicating the 11th Five year plan which has dedicated US$ 46 billion for railways, Rajive Kaul, Past President CII & Chairman, Council for Trade Fairs, CII said that Indian Railways would be a significant buyer in times to come.
Expressing view on the challenge faced by railways, Rajeev Jyoti, Chairman, Railways Equipment Division, CII stressed on bringing in sustained modernization plan, state-of-the-art technology, innovative practices in land usage etc.
Naresh Aggarwal, Convenor IRC & Vice Chairman, Railways Equipment Division of CII said that the public and private sector of India should work together in bringing about a change in the sector. New initiatives in building the rail systems should be brought in, he added.
The one day conference is organized today along with the 8th Indian Railway Equipment Exhibition (IREE) 2009 scheduled from 24th – 26th August 2009. The exhibition spread over 70,000 sq feet has 160 Indian and international exhibitors. The conference had a focus on bringing in private players and dealing with IPR concerns faced by small companies while presenting innovative equipments to the entity. |
