Govt has taken first step to gradually open up Railways to private participation in passenger segment. Railways hopes to start 150 privately-run trains over 5 yrs, though Railways Minister Piyush Goyal insists that privatisation is a complete no-no, a red line
Not faster, but Tejas is ahead of Shatabdi by a mile
In several countries, a former member of the Railway Board stresses, trains are successfully operated by private entities. Why can’t India adopt the model, he questions, while the Railways sticks to its core activity of managing tracks and signalling. There was a time, he reminds, when the Railways ran hotels, thermal power stations, and even a shoe shop in Connaught Place. In due course, it got rid of several non-core activities, but with burgeoning costs and considering the passengers’ appetite and demand for better services, privatisation of soft part of operations is the need of the hour. His views are seconded by most insiders
The move to privatise train operations and railway stations is not new.
Only soft part of railway operations are being handed over to private operators with a robust regulatory mechanism in place.
History is replete with ifs and buts. If I had not selected Avinder Brar to keep me safe and alive, he would have gone on to command Punjab Police sooner or later. This was one big ‘if’ that might have decided the course an outstanding officer’s life would take
We must stop being hypocrites about Gandhi and recognise that India is in the process of honouring a man whose ideas inspired his murder. Sardar Patel, then Union Home Minister, certainly thought so and was convinced of Savarkar’s guilt
We adapted ‘lynch’ with great éclat. It did not came across the Hindu Kush with Muslim caravans. It came from the US. ‘Kangaroo courts’ also has a foreign tinge. Its procedures, Bhagwatji, we have incorporated splendidly. We are cosmopolitan people
aThe technology for green firecrackers is in place and manufacturing has begun. However, with licences for selling these being granted to just a handful so far, it might be another year before you get your hands on them
After the SC ban last year, production of firecrackers fell drastically and many lost jobs. Green crackers are aimed at securing livelihoods