Among other things, this obligates the government to vastly increase its Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) to the Indian Railways, much more than what has been provided for in the 11th Five Year Plan. After all, expansion and modernisation of our railway system cannot be the responsibility of Indian Railways alone, to be financed mostly out of its own internal resources. It must be treated as an urgent national mission and funded by the general budget.

Let us not forget how lack of vision and ambition has crippled the growth of the Indian Railways and how, in this as well as in many other development indicators, India is lagging behind China by an alarming margin. For example, China achieved a 24 per cent expansion in new railway tracks since 1992, compared to only 1 per cent by India. India’s railway network in 2007 was 63,300 km and it was planned to be expanded to 65,300 km by 2012. In contrast, China has planned to expand its network from 79,000 km (in 2007) to 1,10,000 km in 2012.

Another major challenge before the railway ministry is expeditious implementation of the High-Speed Dedicated Freight Corridor project connecting the four metros. Speedy freight movement is critical for India’s economic growth. It is also the biggest revenue earner for the railways. However, our present rail network is highly congested, and passenger traffic understandably gets precedence over freight traffic. Result: a goods train takes about six days to travel between Delhi and Mumbai, whereas it can be done in just one day. In a landmark agreement, India and Japan have decided to cooperate in implementing the western dedicated freight corridor, along with development of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), both entailing huge investments. Sadly, this pathbreaking project, already delayed by several years, is yet to overcome many bureaucratic and inter-governmental hurdles. Will Banerjee fight for its speedy takeoff, and also for the advancement of the rest of the agenda outlined in her budget, with the same zeal that she has displayed in her fight against the communists in Bengal?

... contd.