New Delhi [India], December 6 (ANI): The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hosted the 2nd Rail India Forum at New Delhi on Friday, discussing innovations and pathways to implement the 2030 National Rail Plan.
The forum, titled, ‘Railways in Motion: Vision 2030 to Viksit Bharat 2047’, brought together prominent policymakers, industry leaders, and technology experts.
Manoj Choudhary, Vice Chancellor of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya was the chief guest of the program. Surendra Kumar Ahirwar, Secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Abhyuday Jindal, ICC president and Managing Director of Jindal Stainless; Vikash Lohia, National Railway Committee ICC and Jupiter Wagons director also attended the event.
Abhyuday Jindal highlighted in his welcome address highlighted how India is poised to grow its industry exponentially.
“As India accelerates towards becoming a USD 40 trillion economy by 2047, the manufacturing industry, trade, and transportation of essential materials are slated to grow exponentially. More industrial zones will be established, and new manufacturing sites will need to be linked. Additionally, the government’s push to increase the share of rail transport in freight movement will support this effort,” Jindal said according to the statement released by ICC.
“I am happy to learn that today, the Indian Railways generates a revenue of Rs2.56 lakh crores, as of FY24. It manages the world’s fourth-largest railway network with over 132,000 kilometres of track and employs 1.2 million people, making it India’s second-largest employer,” he added.
Speaking on current trends and future outlook of the railway industry, Manoj Choudhary said, “Railways’ modernisation shall not merely happen only because of what we are going to lay down, in terms of physical infrastructure, but a lot more growth will happen because of new knowledge. One of the primary things behind Viksit Bharat is that our development has to be inclusive in nature. There are two aspects to it – passenger travel and freight.”
Talking about the importance of passenger transport, he added, “The important part is that for passenger travel to become more convenient, affordable, accessible, available, there are lot of things that are happening – introduction of newer trains, like Vande Bharat, more than 100 are already done, conversion of our bogeys of the normal category to the Vande Bharat standards, and redevelopment of our stations.”
He further emphasised how it is important to focus on freight traffic, and to leverage modern technology.
“It is also important because it drives economic growth – both the domestic prices are in control and export competitiveness of the country is also taken care of. However, even today, there is a significant potential for us to leverage modern technology and adopt that to move ahead. Today also, our tracks are bearing an excel load which is far from what can be,” Choudhary said as per the statement.
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry Joint Secretary, Surendra Kumar Ahirwar highlighted the pool of talent India has, and the need to connect the created knowledge and the knowledge of the industry.
“India is a pool of talented people. The thing which is not happening is the connect between the knowledge which we are creating and the need of the knowledge of the industry. But as far as we understand and basis that understanding, we have the initiatives launched, including the PM Gati Shakti Kaushal Vikas Yojana, or opening of such universities like Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV),” Ahirwar said.
The forum explored strategies to enhance the passenger experience while prioritising safety and sustainability. It concluded with a commitment from industry stakeholders to collaborate towards making Indian Railways a benchmark in global rail systems. (ANI)
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