In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
Under the plan, there will be 151 private trains covering 109 routes which may entail investments worth Rs 30,000 crore.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Indian Railways' wholly-owned listed subsidiary, is eyeing partnerships to offset recurring costs incurred in train operations, which is part of its two-year-old diversification from core catering and ticketing businesses. To this end, it is courting public sector undertakings such as Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and others to create a special purpose vehicle for the routes for which IRCTC has bid. The Railway ministry opened bids for public private partnerships in passenger train operations in July 2021 and received bids to operate 29 pairs of trains with around 40 modern rakes that would entail an investment of Rs 7,200 crore.
The aim is to reduce working expense by about 15 per cent.
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said the Centre was seeking private capital investment in cash-strapped Railways to meet the resource crunch and it does not amount to privatisation as the Railways unions claim.
On an annual basis, we'll seek out solutions to Indian Railways' most critical problems through 'innovation challenge': Suresh Prabhu
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
Officials in the railway ministry are discussing a proposal by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to cut the premium on Tatkal (instant) tickets and reduce its booking period to give the railway budget an aam aadmi touch.
The chief justice, who received a WhatsApp message about the case, heard the matter at his residence at 8 pm on Sunday and gave directions to constitute a bench comprising himself and Justice Srivastava.
Prabhu said the Ministry was preparing a plan till 2030.
Indian Railways has tied up funds for the next two years for its ambitious modernisation programme.
Cleanliness of stations will be rated as per certain parameters finalised by the Railways.
'Indian Railways will run 200 non-AC trains daily as per the time table from June 1 for which online booking will start soon,' Goyal said in a tweet. He also said that within the next two days Indian Railways will double the number of Shramik Special Trains to 400 per day.
A notification issued by the railway board in the evening said new fares would come into effect from May 5.
'The Railway Board -- and every official in the ministry -- functions according to the whims and fancies of the Railway Minister,' former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar in an exclusive interview. 'It is the system that needs to be changed. It has to go from a one person-oriented ministry to an organisation-oriented ministry. The system should be transparent.'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a final call on whether to break the tradition of presenting a separate Rail Budget, by merging it with the General Budget.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday started its investigation into alleged criminal negligence leading to the Balasore train accident which claimed 278 lives after registering a first information report (FIR), officials said.
Wielding a broom, the prime minister took part in the drive along with fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuriya.
Semiconductor makers need thousands of engineers and technicians, and though India has one of the largest pool of engineers in the world, they do not have experience in the semiconductor manufacturing space.
Sule, citing Railway Ministry documents, said the largest number of Shramik Special trains -- 1033 -- were operated from Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra (817) and Punjab (429).
The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
The 61-year old is credited with initiating big-ticket reforms as power minister, including the Electricity Act of 2003, under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In the event of a war with China, AMCA deep strikes would target China's rail and road links with Tibet, isolating PLA divisions there.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the attendees of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi with his speech being translated for the audience in real-time using artificial intelligence.
Due to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent unprecedented lockdown, e-catering services were suspended on March 22, 2020.
'We don't know how and why this happened as the route interlock signal works fine millions of times every day across India.'
Indian Railways is currently implementing a project that involves laying of a broad gauge line connecting Nangaldam to Talwara in Himachal Pradesh.
With the Union government clearing the way for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways, the Railway Board is devising a plan for operations, maintenance and construction projects.
In a historic move, the Indian Railways and the Ministry of Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build hospitals and OPDs at railway stations and on Railway land.
Almost 25 per cent central government posts were vacant as of March 2022, compared to 9.4 per cent in March 2002.
'I am glad to announce that these cities are now going to become green smart cities.'
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
About a million railway employees participated in the strike ballot of NFIR. In December, 800,000 employees participated in the strike ballot conducted by another leading union, the All India Railwaymen Federation, with 96 per cent voting in favour of a strike.
Private sector entities will now be able to construct, operate and maintain railway tracks in the country under a new policy framed by the ministry to promote investment in railway infrastructure projects.
Vaishnaw on Saturday said he had ordered a high-level probe into the derailment on Friday night.
After bumbling for years since 2014, the Modi government seems to believe that massive government expenditure will lead us to prosperity supported by 'seat-of-the-pants' decision-making, observes Debashis Basu.
Passengers who are disallowed from travelling on trains because of symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus will also receive full refund for their tickets, the railways has said.
With this, the second bidding process for the station's re-development has also collapsed, informed sources in the railway ministry said.
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