Huge scope of supplies from private sector to Railways

"Railways is annually sourcing over Rs 50,000 crore of goods and 96 per cent of them are from the indigenous sources. Of these, Rs 10,000 crore is from the capital goods industry, in terms of machine tools, rolling stocks, for modernisation and expansion," said PK Agrawal, Chief Administrative Officer of the Central Organisation For Modernisation of Workshops, a subsidiary of Railways.

Speaking at a CII seminar, Agarwal further said Railways these days is sourcing increasingly from the private sector for its use of machine tools, equipment, coaches and locomotives.

Giving the magnitude of sourcing that the Indian Railways is contemplating in the future, he said, "Our target is to earn revenue to the tune of 3 per cent of GDP in the next eight years or so, increasing it from the present level of 1.2 per cent of GDP. This, in its wake, would create a huge opportunity for the Indian industry to increase its supplies to the Indian Railways."

Besides, he said the rapid growth of metros in various parts of the country, would create additional demands.

He wanted the private industry to increase their capacities, adhere to quality norms and maintain a strict price tag to reap benefits from these developments.