Issues of US firms regarding railway clearances, GST will be resolved: Govt

Piyush Goyal directed his officials that a detailed examination of how these companies could meet Indian Railways' requirements at competitive costs be carried out

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has directed that the issues raised by US companies with regard to fast-tracking clearance at the railways' research and development wing RDSO, third-party certification and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be examined by the Railway Board, according to a statement from the national transporter on Tuesday.

Goyal said this during round-table talks on August 13 with a high-level delegation of leading US companies working in the area of railway construction, maintenance and Information Technology, along with Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani and other senior officials, the statement said.

Presentations made by the 13 American companies covered a large range of products and services such as energy efficiency, anti-corrosion coating, fire protection, use of high-speed internet/cloud computing for railway passenger reservation and passenger experience, composite sleepers for bridges, modern method of construction of bridges, among other things, the statement said.

Goyal directed his officials that a detailed examination of how these companies could meet Indian Railways' requirements at competitive costs be carried out.

The minister, according to the statement, also told the US representatives that his focus was on the Make-in-India initiative that would make many of the products competitive in the country.

He also directed that all the issues raised by US companies "in respect of fast-track clearance at RDSO, third party certification and clarity on GST, would be examined by Railway Board and would be resolved or clarified".