New Delhi : The government may bring all units of the railway ministry that make locomotives and rolling stock under one public sector undertaking (PSU), said two people familiar with the matter.
Indian Railways has eight production units including three coach factories which complement and complement each other’s operations.
The thinking is that integrating these units under one entity will help professionalise the organisation, make it self-sufficient and achieve scale on the lines of the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRSC).
The measure is also expected to provide greater flexibility in manufacturing major railway equipment while improving the new entity’s ability to get access to state-of-the-art technology and cheaper capital and facilitate faster execution of projects.
Railway construction is currently dependent on the Centre’s budgetary allocation for internal arrangements and capital.
According to one of the two persons, a report on the matter has been forwarded by the Cabinet Secretariat to the Railway Board for immediate action.
The proposal is now expected to be finalized soon by the Railways and may be announced as part of the budget proposals for 2023-24 next year before seeking cabinet approval, said the person cited above.
A query sent to the finance and railway ministries was not answered till the time of writing.
While the proposal to merge or amalgamate railway manufacturing units into one is still being discussed, it is likely that the new umbrella organization may be named Indian Railway Rolling Stock Company (IRRSC).
The name and other operational details of the new entity had been discussed by the Railways earlier as well, but the proposal had not gone through till then.
It has again gained traction after a similar recommendation was made by Sanjeev Sanyal, former principal economic advisor to the finance ministry, in a report titled Rationalization of government bodies under the MoR (Ministry of Railways) last year.
The report has been forwarded by the Cabinet Secretariat for action by the Railway Board.
The amalgamation plan may keep the manufacturing factories separate at present, but their operations will be looked after by a single entity headed by the CEO reporting to the CMD of the proposed PSU under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways.
Those quoted earlier said the integration could be done in phases with the respective facilities joining the PSUs.
There is huge potential for railway construction with the development of facilities in India and proposed upgrades to the network in South Asia, South East Asia, Asia Pacific, Africa and South America.
Sanyal in his report has also suggested integration of 21 Railway Recruitment Boards under one National Testing Agency with a common preliminary examination for various recruitments in the Central Government.
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