Rail Budget 2016: Industry reaction on Suresh Prabhu's budget

NEW DELHI: The Indian Industry body welcomed the technology focused initiatives that were announced as a part of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s Railway Budget 2016.

Prabhu while presenting Railway Budget 2016-17 in Parliament said that the process has begun to introduce Wi-Fi services at stations especially for youth and business travellers.

He proposed to commission Wi-Fi services at 100 stations this year and at 400 more stations in the next 2 years. He said that Indian Railways is partnering with Google in this endeavour.

"This year, an application of Track Management System (TMS) was launched. With this, activities of track inspection, monitoring and maintenance have thus been switched over to an IT platform, and automatic alerts in the form of SMS and e-mails are being generated. Inventory Management module of TMS has resulted in inventory reduction by 27,000 MT resulting in saving of Rs.64 crore and scrap identification of 22,000 MT equivalent to Rs.53 crore," he said.

Let’s go through the Industry reactions

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)

“We are glad to note that the government is walking the talk on IT integration and deployment of e-services, to achieve the dream of Digital India. Aimed at showcasing a positive future for railways in India; the inclusion of GPS based digital displays in coaches, and the setting up Wi-Fi internet in 100 station this year, are initiatives that will not only streamline services in the railways, but also benefit customers across the board,” said Industry body NASSCOM.

“The minister has also announced the utilization of drones for remote monitoring of on-going projects, which is an imperative to ensure timely completion of projects. With the railways, ready to take the next leap in setting high speed rail networks, these announcements are testimony to the centre’s commitment towards the upgradation of services; giving the transportation lifeline of India its due,” it said.

Additionally, the setting aside of Rs.50 crore for providing innovation grants to employees, start-ups and businesses is an holistic and commendable approach towards scaling up the innovation and entrepreneurial landscape in the railway sector, it opined.

Sterlite Technologies

“The proposed Indian Railway Budget for 2016 is high on technology intervention for commuters’ ease, and in-line with the vision of Digital India. Initiatives like Wi-Fi installations in 400 more railway stations, implementation of CCTV surveillance in major stations, GPS-enabled digital displays for real-time information on upcoming stations, and launch of Track Management System shows the Government’s focus on creation of smart infrastructure that supports the world’s fourth biggest rail network,” said Dr Anand Agarwal, CEO, Sterlite Technologies.

Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA)

“The domestic telecom industry welcomes the development of enabling 100 new railways stations with Wi-Fi services. This is a positive development in line with the government’s Digital India initiative to bring more internet users online.  This would serve to be a great opportunity for the government to encourage domestic Wi-Fi equipment manufacturers to participate in the project and provide level playing field to the domestic players in line with the Make in India campaign. The domestic telecom industry would look forward to more such positive developments in the future and also appreciates the government’s efforts to urbanize the Indian Railways infrastructure,” said TEMA.