A new social face for Indian Railways

After crying foul over its social service obligations for years, including running un-economical lines, Indian Railways is trying to develop its new social face under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Rail minister Suresh Prabhu is working on a plan to utilize unused infrastructure at 8,000 railway stations across the country to impart skill development training for unemployed youth, particularly in rural and far-flung areas.

Also, the ministry plans to use railways’ vast network as a tool to market products made by self-help groups and tribals across the nation.

The announcements come on the back of recent customer-centric initiatives like introduction of mobile ticketing and WiFi internet services apart from a focus on cleanliness.

“Indian Railways has around 8,000 stations and premises of some of the railway stations with very few trains and scanty footfall could be used for skill development activities,” Prabhu said addressing a media gathering here, adding he will soon meet Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy to develop a mechanism for implementing the plan.

He was speaking at a book release function attended by Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director and Chief Executive (CEO) of National Skill Development Corporation, N K Maini, Deputy Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), H R Dave, Deputy Managing Director of NABARD and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.

Indian Railways has tried to project its “public face” under different ministers in the past too. The earlier approach, however, focused on announcing no hikes in passenger fares or freight tariffs, blind introduction of new trains and expansion of metro services. The obligation to provide cheaper services – including coaching services and transportation of essential commodities below cost – pulls railways back by Rs 29,000 crore annually.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged skill development as a key area of his government’s focus. Referring to the Konkani-cuisine restaurant “Konkan Swaad Katta’ recently set up at Ratnagiri station in Konkan Railway, Prabhu said such initiatives will encourage traditional businesses and help financially empower locals.

The minister also referred to the “huge marketing potential” of the Railway PSU -Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) -and announced starting a pilot project to sell rural products through IRCTC website that is visited by over 5 lakh people daily.