Privatization of Indian Railways

10/07/2020

Indian Railways has been playing a lifeline for most of the country's population. The unusual increase in fares compared to facilities after going into private hands is believed to be fixed. Rail is the highest employment institution in the country. Currently, it employs over 12 lakh employees. The Indian Railways, which were in the news due to the accidents, is now in the grip of the financial crisis arising out of Corona. To bring the world's fourth-largest rail network back on track, the government is preparing to change its form. In addition to cutting thousands of posts, steps are being taken to stop new appointments and to hand over trains on several routes in the country. It is necessary to consider how good or how bad this privatization is for the country. After the operationalization of Tejas Express, India's first private train, Indian Railways has now started the process of allowing private companies to operate passenger trains on its network through 151 new trains. While all these passenger trains are a small part of the entire railway network, the process of privatization initiated by the government marks the beginning of private sector participation in passenger train operations.
Privatization refers to a process in which ownership of a particular public property or business is transferred from a government organization to a private entity. Therefore, it can be said that through privatization it is possible to develop a new industrial culture. In recent times, there have been attempts to use this experiment with the Indian Railways, which has done the work of provoking some sections, while some sections have also been affected by this move of the government. The first electric train of the country was run between Bombay to Kurla in the year 1925. After independence in the year 1947, India inherited an old rail network but about 40 percent of the previously developed railway network went to the part of Pakistan. Then some lines were repaired for the development of railway and some new lines were laid so that Jammu and some areas of North-East India can be connected to other parts of the country.
But if we look at the other aspect of privatization, something can be seen. The main objective of private companies is to earn money and they will also use the railways for their profits. Instead of amenities, there will be a sudden increase in fare, which will make rail travel very expensive and difficult for poor people. A section of Indian society depends only on railways for travel, they will lose it due to this privatization. Private contractors will see their profits, where only a poor section would travel by rail, those routes would be closed because they would not be getting money from them and with this step people living in such parts would remain untravelled there. If the railway remains owned by the Government of India, then its biggest advantage is that it provides nationwide connectivity regardless of profit.

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