Indian Railways is not for sale, Ashwini Vaishnav made a big announcement
Public Lokpal
December 02, 2021
Indian Railways is not for sale, Ashwini Vaishnav made a big announcement
New Delhi : Putting an end to the earlier speculations and media reports surrounding Indian Railways amidst the ongoing disinvestment drive, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that the iconic national transporter will not be privatised. He further added that such move would not happen in the future also.
Speaking at the News18 India Chaupal event, the Railways Minister Vaishnaw said the Centre is not making any such plan for Railways as it is a huge and very complex system. However, he added that for him, the direct feedback from passengers and tea stall vendors was valuable and appreciated.
Prior to Vaishnaw, his predecessor Piyush Goyal too had clarified earlier that the carrier would never go into private hands. “I assure you that the Railways is India’s property and it will be never privatised. It is a property of every Indian and will remain so,” he had said. He, however, had mentioned that private investment should be encouraged for more efficient functioning of Indian Railways.
He had also stated that railway infrastructure would need an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore between 2018 and 2030. In Rajya Sabha, he had also added that there was a proposal to use PPP mode for inducting modern rakes to run passenger trains on select routes with an objective to provide improved service delivery to passengers.
