BJP likely to promise urban push, railway quadrilateral

At least two sources associated with the drafting of the document said this will be executed by corporatising Railways as a means for job creation and serving the expanded urbanisation of the economy through support for public transport. A corporatised Railways can attract foreign direct investment without having to go through Parliament. The UPA government, too, at the fag-end of its term had planned to amend the rules to bring in 100 per cent FDI in Railways.

The Indian railway network has an investment backlog of over Rs 14,00,000 crore as per its own vision document prepared in 2012. While it has a track length of over 64,000 kilometres, none of it can support trains with speeds of over 150 kms per hour. The Railway’s blueprint had estimated that it needs three times more locomotives, wagons and coaches than it currently operates to come close to the performance standards of the best rail networks in the world.

In comparison, the Congress manifesto, released on Wednesday, is much less gung-ho about the sector. While it says that the party plans to link all million-plus cities through high-speed rail and complete the Western and Eastern arms of the dedicated freight corridors, “which will revolutionise freight transport in India”, there is no talk of leveraging the sector in any other way. Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s public support for more investment in Railways, the coalition partners in the UPA dried up cash flow to India’s largest infrastructure sector by keeping passenger fares unchanged for nine years.

The focus on the Railways is part of a four pronged strategy the BJP plans to adopt in its manifesto, due out soon. “The manifesto’s priorities, in this order, are jobs, investment, manufacturing and infrastructure,” said one BJP official involved in drafting the document was quoted by Reuters as saying. More investment in Railways will also support a quick revival of investment in the economy that has slipped to 32 per cent in FY 14. “Each zonal Railways can work as profit centres with the railway ministry only acting like the telecom commission now does, to vet policy decisions at the macro level”, said a source associated with the work on the document. Shailendra Mehta, professor (strategy) at IIM Ahmedabad said the BJP has been more constructive than the redistributive emphasis of Congress and that would show in its manifesto. “But the economic promises in all of those documents would still include an element of public noise, so one has to look carefully which way the promises go after the elections are over”.

But Shiv Sena member Suresh Prabhu said the plans on energy and public transport are viable blueprints their alliance partner would want to work on, if elected to power.

The document could also suggest ways down the role of Planning Commission to that of an advisory body and instead bring all fund transfer to the state gradually under the Finance Commissions which are set up every five years.