Japan will now invest in the Indian Railways and will also help us upgrade the existing infrastructure and safety aspects,” said Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu.
He was speaking after a talk organised by GCCI at Ravindra Bhavan, Baina, on Monday.
“Japan has the best record in safety levels, and thus, we want to use its technology to not only upgrade the entire railway network in the country, but also to promote the concept of ‘Make in India’. Today, 14 countries, including France, America, Latin America, China, Japan, are interested in investing in India because of personal relations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the heads of these countries. This is the best opportunity for India. All this will help us grow faster. Also, when there is more investment in India, the country will be able to create more jobs, removing poverty. We will be able to get new technology and bring in efficiency,” said Prabhu.
He further said, “We want to bring structural change in India’s economy. We know that any country grows only with investment in the industrial sector. If we make large investment in a big project, then the same will help us create an eco-system for many other small and medium entrepreneurs.”
Prabhu continued, “The Modi-led government is working to change India’s profile by changing the GDP. Why only 15-16 per cent should come from the manufacturing industry? We want to take it to 30-40 per cent. Only then our 1.5 crore people will get jobs. If you want to create jobs, you must create a stable environment for investments so that it can change India’s GDP, making it more for manufacturing.”
On the Central government’s efforts to address the issues faced by Dalits in India, Prabhu said, “The Modi government has been actively working on addressing various issues faced by Dalits in the country. We are celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, and the Prime Minister has formed a committee under his leadership to commemorate the year, which proves that we care for Dalits.”
Regarding his initiatives as Railway Minister, Prabhu said, “My ministry believes in solving the problems of passengers in real time using digital technology. To carry forward the same mission, we have started a system where any passenger can approach us with a problem, and we will solve it immediately using digital technology. For us, governance means reaching the people in real time to give them relief. The railway staff is responsive towards the people, but still I feel that we have to do a lot more.”
