SME Times News Bureau | 11 Oct, 2014
Reassuring the workforce that foreign capital will not be allowed in
main business areas of the railways, union minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda
said Friday that there are no plans to privatise its core activities.
"Permitting
FDI will facilitate foreign investors to compete for such mega
projects, either on their own or by joining hands with domestic
investors. This in no way leads to privatization of existing Indian
Railways network or its core activities," Gowda said while
inaugurating the 59th annual railway national awards function here.
"At
the cost of repetition, it is made clear that the existing Indian
Railways network, its operations and its core activities will remain
with the Indian Railways only and not open for privatisation."
On
Aug 6, the government approved a proposal to allow 100 percent foreign
direct investment (FDI) for building railways infrastructure.
Foreign capital in railways was not allowed till August.
The
new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for
it to build infrastructure projects such as high-speed railways and
railway lines to and from coal mines and ports.
The proposal had
sought to allow FDI participation in erecting projects relating to
electrification, high-speed tracks and suburban corridors.
Last-mile
connectivity to boost business activity in and around ports and mines
has been proposed through formation of special purpose vehicle (SPV)
companies under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
