Industry and chambers of commerce have hailed the railway budget – first major policy initiative of the Modi government - saying that it presents a roadmap for modernisation of the railways, but many local chambers have rued that there is no overall development proposal for the State in the Budget.
“Private sector participation has been sought in a number of areas like modernisation, capacity augmentation, service quality.. but just opening up this sector to FDI (excluding operations) and wishing for private sector participation may not be enough,” said Hemant Kanoria, chairman and managing director of infrastructure finance company Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd.
The Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry too welcomed FDI in Indian Railways, with its president Dibyendu Basu saying that this may bring in world standards to Indian Railways.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce hoped that unlike in the past, the PPP models would attract interest “as this government enjoys credibility.”
Sumit Mazumdar, who heads the CII Task Force on Railways and is the CII President-designate, said if the projects were made attractive then funds would flow. He felt that multi-lateral funding should also be accessed.
Sajjan Bhajanka, president of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, felt that as the railways had always been the backbone of economic development of the economy, an expansion in the infrastructure of the railways was expected to complement industrial development. He, however, felt “ there is no overall developmental proposal for West Bengal”.
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the move to increase the plan outlay, the highest-ever, was a step in the right direction and would augur well for infrastructure development. Focus on carrying record freight during the current year and becoming the largest freight carrier in Asia was commendable.
While noting the introduction of 58 new trains, mostly for the Western and Southern States, the chamber expressed surprise at the almost complete omission of West Bengal from the map of the “New Railway”.
Incidentally, this aspect also raised the hackles of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who expressed her anguish on this issue soon after the budget.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce felt that the change in course from a populist exercise to an ambitious and focused one would help in reviving the sector.
Sanjay Agarwal, Merchants Chamber of Commerce president, however, expressed concern over the slow completion of on-going projects. He felt that private investment in railways was imperative for faster growth.
