ISAS Insights

The Indian government has announced a slew of reforms in the budget process. A significant feature of this reform process is the decision to merge the Railway budget with the General budget. This decision certainly has a large number of advantages as a separate Railway budget had outlived its significance. The process to commercialise tariff fixation and free it from political influence is essential. This paper analyses the urgent issues that need attention to make the Railways a more financially stable enterprise. Private participation in the railways has been very limited. Innovative funding and greater capex (capital expenditure) in building the railway infrastructure deserves priority. The paper also analyses the attendant issues that need to be accorded greater attention in a time bound manner.