NEW DELHI, India (Metro Rail News): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2020-21 in the Parliament Today. In her budget speech, she highlighted the allocation of funds for various sectors to boost the struggling economy of the country.
There was a lot of expectation from the Metro & Rail industry that the Union Government will announce measures to revive the industry. Here is how Industry leaders from Metro & Railway sectors responded to it and shared their opinions.
Former Karnataka CM upbeat over Bengaluru railways development, Said:
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader Sadananda Gowda thanked PM Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating Rs 18,600 crore in the Union Budget for the development of 140 km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Network
Karnataka BJP MP Tejaswi Surya lauds government, Said:
Karnataka BJP MP Tejaswi Surya lauded the government for announcing high-speed connectivity between Bengaluru and Chennai. He called it a great step in further enhancing the South Indian region’s prosperity.
“Mark my words: With Suburban, Metro and Road infra, Bengaluru will become the undisputed leader in industry & innovation,” added Surya in his tweet.
Mr. Himanshu Chaturvedi, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Projects Limited, said:
Accelerating India’s Progress’ is the common intent of the Government and Tata Projects Ltd. The Union Budget 2020 is positive since it has taken serious and concerted efforts towards creating an enabling environment that brings together public and private players thereby creating mutual synergies geared towards achieving national developmental objectives. More such initiatives towards ensuring better-tendering processes, quicker payment mechanism and lower-cost funds are needed to spur the infrastructure and construction sector but this is a good beginning. We are certain that the government will chalk-out more such positive initiatives in near future after consultation with all industry stakeholders.
Mr. Alain Spohr, Managing Director of Alstom India and South Asia, said:
“First budget of the decade had tremendous expectations and the finance minister has presented a well-laid roadmap to meet them. The focus on leveraging technology and boosting transport infrastructure coupled with worthy goals of reducing emissions are laudable. However, the government could have done more to promote localisation and Make in India.
“Creation of five smart cities and modernizing transport infrastructure with a Rs 1.7 lakh crore allocation are commendable. Plus, the progressive initiatives by the Railways of promoting solar energy, upgradation of railway stations, electrification of tracks and operating 150 Tejas-like trains through the PPP model are welcome steps. The Bengaluru suburban transport project and the high-speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will improve connectivity between important commercial hubs. All these initiatives taken together will improve opportunities for all”, he added.
Spohr said that domestic manufacturers can contribute massively to all these big-ticket projects envisaged by the government. But companies which have invested heavily to align with Make in India need a level playing field to counter import-oriented competition to contribute to nation-building.
“The government’s intent to reward innovation, investments, and entrepreneurship is in the right direction. But the key is speedy execution of projects where localisation and domestic manufacturing are given more encouragement”, he further added.
Mr. Amit Kapur, Joint Managing Partner, J. Sagar Associates, said:
The past month has seen a significant alignment in 3 critical policy documents of the Union Government focussed on Infrastructure development. The Budget seems to cement what the National Infra Pipeline (31st Dec 2019) announced – an investment target of Rs.103,00,000 crores (US$ 1.4 trillion) over 5 years with 78% projected to come from Union and State Governments. Around 58% of this is focussed on Energy and Transport and Logistics (roads, rail, ports and airports). Structural reforms (legislative, policy and contractual) are stated to be underway at the ministry levels. There is a stated focus on privatization and asset monetization of public sector assets, as also financial sector reform aimed at unclogging credit flows. If implemented well we can hope to see a shift from low productivity public assets to productivity-enhancing infrastructure, employment growth, boost to demand, easier business environment and higher competitiveness of Indian products.
“We will need to finance the growth in quick time and bring fundamental structural reforms to remove barriers to growth. How we realize the fruits of this ambitious infra push will depend on how effectively and efficiently India implements these announcements without allowing patchy state capacity and political economy overtake us. There is a need to build a quick bi-partisan national consensus around the economy cutting across the din unleashed by CAA and NRC related issues. I remain cautiously optimistic about the outcome”, he added
Manish Rathi, CEO and Co-founder, IntrCity by RailYatri
“We welcome the focus and thrust on road transport with 1.7 trillion INR allocated towards the transport sector. The accelerated development of highways and Delhi – Mumbai expressway completion by 2023 will enable the growth of intercity bus travel. We see a wider industry focus and excitement in intercity transport due to the steps taken in Budget 2020. As a startup, it is encouraging to see the government take steps to encourage growth in the ecosystem. The removal of Direct Dividend Tax will attract more investors and in turn strengthen the ecosystem. The introduction of the Investment clearance cell at center and state level will encourage people in the remotest parts of the country to become entrepreneurs.”
Rajeev Joisar, Country Leader – India, Bombardier Transportation, Said
“Rail Budget has a strong focus on Safety and Passenger Experience“
- We, at Bombardier, feel that reinforcement on public private partnerships (PPP) will gain momentum in the coming years in India resulting in faster development of railway infrastructure, including rolling stock. Setting up of Kisan rail through public private partnership will aid in ensuring efficient and safe railways in India.
- We really appreciate the efforts of Indian Railways to explore the possibility of private train operation on their network. Bombardier is following the train operations project very closely and has already discussed the project with senior Indian Railway officials. It is too early at this stage to comment on our future course of action as we shall evaluate the project once tender specifications are finalised. We share Indian government’s vision to decongest India by rail investments with higher involvement of private sector in train operations as an initial project and outlining a safer railway system in India.
- We are pleased with the allocation of funds from the Central government for the Bengaluru suburban rail system. Bombardier has been supplying our rail equipment for Mumbai and Kolkata suburban rail system and would be keen to supply our rolling stock, rail equipment and services to decongest the much-needed traffic in Bengaluru.
- Bombardier has a strong focus on maintenance and services and we are pleased that the Indian Railways is stressing on digitalization, proven global technologies and move from manual inspection to machine assisted automatic identification which will help in providing safe, efficient and economical passenger and freight services.
- Deployment of more passenger trains like Tejas on the Indian Railways highlights the commitment of Indian Railways and their focus on passenger comfort, safety, faster travel time and better connectivity to tourist destinations.
- As Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking to realise $5 trillion economy for India, Railways will play a crucial role in the growth of the economy and Bombardier is very keen to supply our rolling stock, signalling solutions, rail equipment and services to Indian Railways supporting his vision.
- As our recent investments demonstrate, Bombardier is committed to the development of rail transportation in India, where we have built capabilities for around 60 years covering complete range of railway vehicle manufacturing, local engineering, strategic supplier base with around 2000 skilled employees delivering rail projects for domestic and foreign markets.
More reactions of Union Budget 2020 to from Industry Experts to be added soon
