The Hindu Business Line : `Tariffs could have been rationalised'

CORPORATE India has reacted with optimism to the Railway Budget announced on Friday, but at the same time stated that the measures undertaken in the Budget could have done more to improve the financial condition of the Railways.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President, Mr Anand Mahindra, the proposals outlined in the Railway Budget were user-friendly and development-oriented. The five-pronged focus on efficiency — including replacement, renewals and de-bottlenecking, security, connectivity and passenger convenience — would enable the Indian Railways to provide a fillip to the growth and development of the economy, he said.

Mr Mahindra also welcomed the decision of the Ministry for maintaining status quo on freight and passenger tariff this year too. However, the CII President opined that Railways could have used this opportunity to reduce and rationalise the tariff to boost the freight traffic further.

Meanwhile, welcoming the Railway Minister's steps towards strengthening the national railway network, Mr Yogendra Modi, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said, "The initiatives taken by the Railway Minister in the interim Railway Budget are commendable. However, there is a need for constituting a Standing Committee to review railway freight structure in a manner which would help attract more freight traffic." "We suggest separation of passenger traffic and freight traffic accounting, so that the level of cross-subsidisation and its extent could be closely monitored and remedial actions could be introduced over a phased timeframe," Mr Modi said. The chamber suggested that this step would help the industry to achieve global competitiveness and fight cheaper imports in the domestic market.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) President, Mr Mahendra K. Sanghi, described the measures taken in the Budget as `populist,' which have missed the opportunity for improving railway finances by removing the cross-subsidisation on account of high freight rates and low passenger fares.

Reacting critically to the Railway Budget presented today, Mr Ravi Wig, President PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Phdcci), said that given the fact that Railways are the only high capacity transport mode that can meet the long-term needs of our large economy, the Railway Budget has not done much to rise above the short-term focus in announcing new initiatives.