Railways need institutional reforms [Nov 2011]

Railways need institutional reforms
“While public investments in infrastructure to the sector had seen an increase through the successive Five Year Plans, the gap between the demand and supply of railway infrastructure continued to grow due to a huge surge in the GDP, and needs to be addressed. The sector was not constrained by a dearth in investment supply or consumer demand. A paradigm shift within the Indian Railways, which must direct its focus on consulting with stakeholders and integrating the Public Private Partnership model into the centre of its operations”, comments Gajendra Haldea, Adviser to the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission while attending the 9th International Rail Conference organised by CII.
He said, “The Railways would have to undertake several institutional reforms and become commercially flexible in order to accommodate peripheral concerns such as the perishing of crops and food products”. He called for a system that would be “receptive and responsive to the changes in the economy.”

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