News Analysis India

Tag: Ashwini Vaishnaw

  • Telcos’ debt liability will remain post conversion of interest dues into equity: Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The present and future debt liabilities will continue to remain with telecom companies which have proposed to convert their interest dues into equity stake for the government, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

    Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL), Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra have proposed to convert interest liabilities payable to the government into equity.

    VIL board has proposed to allocate 35.8 per cent shares and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra around 9.5 per cent stake to the government.

    “Government will remain an investor only. The companies will be run by the professionals. All the debt liabilities will remain responsibility of the companies. The companies have given us commitment,” Vaishnaw told PTI in an interview.

    VIL has proposed to allocate preferential shares to the government at Rs 10 per share, which according to analysts is at 58 per cent premium based on the share price at the relevant date of August 14, 2021.

    If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore.

    Asked if the liability of payment for upcoming spectrum auction will shift to the government, Vaishnaw said the companies will have the entire responsibility for the payment of radiowaves and there will be no burden on the Centre.

    He said the government has just extended an helping hand as part of the telecom sector reform package to lower the burden on companies, save and create jobs as well as ensure healthy competition in the industry.

    “We will exit from the companies at an appropriate time. Government will not interfere in day-to-day operations of the company. They will continue to be professionally managed,” Vaishnaw said.

    The telecom ministry, in a statement, has also clarified that the three companies will not become public sector firms after the interest dues are converted into equity stake for the government.

    Vaishnaw further said state-owned BSNL slipped into stress due to bad decisions taken by the previous government and it is now in a better shape.

    “BSNL and MTNL are in very good shape now. They are in much better shape after we offered them relief package of about Rs 70,000 crore. We are working on providing further support to them,” Vaishnaw said.

    BSNL has sought Rs 40,000 crore from the government for setting up a 4G network and pay back short-term debt.

    The minister declined to comment on financial details of the support package for the PSUs.

    He, however, added that the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has developed 4G technology indigenously which will be deployed in the BSNL network.

    Technologically, this is a highly advanced system, he said.

    “C-DoT is also moving from 4G to 5G development. Work has also started on development of 6G standards. In coming years , we want India to lead the world in all these technologies,” Vaishnaw said.

  • Put on thinking caps, come up with ideas: Union minister to young officers in railways

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Young officers in the Indian Railways have been asked to put on their thinking caps and come up with ideas for the future.

    Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday asked young officers to envisage how they would like to see the railways by the time they reach senior positions like that of chairman or members of the railway board.

    Conducting an inspection on the Delhi-Rewari section, Vaishnaw gave a pep talk to a group of young officers motivating them to start ideating for the railways.

    “You all have to decide who will run the railways and what would be its future,” Vaishnaw told the young officers on board the MR special window-trailing train during the inspection.

    Vaishnaw motivated the young officers accompanying him on the inspection to explore new ideas for bringing facilities in the railways to world class levels at lower cost with higher sustainability and affordability for the passengers.

    “Start thinking from right now that when you become the chairman, member or go on to higher posts in the railway board in future, how would you like to see the railways being run,” he told the officers.

    The minister further asked an officer to circulate this as a message on the official WhatsApp groups of railway officers.

  • Public Private Partnership mode in Indian Railway quite successful, says Union Railway minister

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, formulated by the Ministry of Railways under a Participative Policy (PP)-2012 has proved quite successful in yielding desired results.

    Aimed at promoting investment in developing rail connectivity and infrastructures by roping in the strategic partners and other investors, the PPP mode in railways has helped the railways in achieving the set goals.

    Sharing this, Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the PPP mode was found a quite successful especially in providing ‘last mile rail connectivity’ to many ports and industrial clusters.

    As the minister further shared, 14 projects in Indian Railways worth Rs 9,234 crore have so far been completed through the PPP mode. “10 more projects of Rs 19,417 crore are under implementation, including the projects related to coal connectivity and the port connectivity,” the minister stated.  Seven more projects of Rs 13,971 crore have already been given in-principle approval for their further commencement. 

    He also said that the railway is carrying out a massive modernisation process by introducing new technology-driven facilities and amenities to passengers.

    “The modern technology mainly include adaptation of higher horse power locomotives, modernization of signaling and telecommunication, station development and IT-enabled services for improved customer interface and others”, the minister stated. 

    He said that all possible funding mechanisms are explored for modernisation of railway systems and introduction of new technologies, which are met through both from budgetary and extra budgetary resources.

  • Railways to launch about 190 theme-based Bharat Gaurav trains showcasing India’s heritage, culture

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: After freight and passenger segments, the railways is set to begin a third segment dedicated to the tourism sector and launch a set of around 190 theme-based trains called Bharat Gaurav trains, minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

    Addressing a press conference, the railways minister said these trains could be run both by the private sector as well as the IRCTC.

    “These are not regular trains that will be run on timetables. We have identified 3,033 coaches or 190 trains for these theme-based trains. After passenger and goods segments, we will start the tourism segment to run Bharat Gaurav trains. These trains will showcase India’s culture and heritage. We have invited applications for them from today,” he said.

    The minister further said that the idea originated from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who suggested theme-based trains so that people in the country can understand, appreciate and take forward India’s heritage.

    He also said the fare of these trains would be practically decided by tour operators but the railways will ensure that there is no abnormality in the prices.

    The minister said that state governments like Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have shown interest in these trains.

  • Private players to run theme-based trains by leasing them from railways under Bharat Gaurav service

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Private players can now run theme-based tourist circuit trains by leasing them from the railways with the freedom to fix fares and amenities under a new service, Bharat Gaurav, which was launched by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday.

    The railways has allocated around 190 trains for these theme-based circuits, described as the third segment in services offered by the national transporter after the freight and passenger segments.

    “These are not regular trains that will be run on timetables. We have identified 3,033 coaches or 190 trains for these theme-based trains. After passenger and goods segments, we will start the tourism segment to run Bharat Gaurav trains. These trains will showcase India’s culture and heritage. We have invited applications for them from today.”

    “As of now, ICF coaches have been earmarked for the Bharat Gaurav scheme. But in the future even Vande Bharat, Vista Dome and LHB coaches can be included based on demand,” he said.

    He said that anyone, from individuals to societies, trusts, consortia, tour operators and even state governments can apply to take these trains and run them on special tourism circuits based on a theme.

    The minister said that state governments like Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have shown interest in these trains.

    The IRCTC is already running the Ramayana train circuit and plans are underway to start the gurdwara train circuit connecting prominent gurdwaras across the country.

    These trains will be called Gurukripa.

    More such trains are expected to hit the tracks soon, officials said.

    Vaishnaw further added that the core strength of the professionals of tourism sector would be leveraged to develop and identify tourist circuits and run theme-based trains to tap the vast tourism potential of India.

    The idea, the minister said, originated from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who suggested theme-based trains so that people in the country can understand, appreciate and take forward India’s heritage.

    The highlight of these trains will be that the service provider will offer all-inclusive package to tourists, including rail travel, hotel accommodation, sightseeing arrangement, visit to historical or heritage sites, tour guides, the railways said, adding that they will also have full flexibility to decide package cost based on the level of services being offered.

    However, the minister stated that the railways will ensure that there is no abnormality in the prices.

    “Stakeholders will modify and run the train and the railways will help in maintenance, parking and other facilities,” the minister said.

    He said that the service provider will also have a choice of coaches suiting the clientele, and different segments like luxury and budget can be availed, the officials said.

    They are also free to design and furnish interior of the coaches based on the theme.

    Branding and advertisement is permitted both inside and outside of the trains, and the train composition will be of 14 to 20 coaches, including guard vans.

    According to a press statement issued by the national transporter, the process of applying for these trains will be through a one-step transparent online registration process with a fee of Rs one lakh.

    The allotment of coaches to all eligible applicants will be subject to availability and priority will be based on the rake security deposit time and date.

    The security deposit will be of Rs one crore per rake and the right to use would be between two to ten years.

    Customer support units will be made functional in the field for hand-holding the service provider and for smooth implementation of this scheme.

  • Pegasus case: Govt will extend cooperation to SC-appointed committee, says Union Minister Vaishnaw

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The government will fully cooperate with the committee of experts set up by the Supreme Court to probe allegations of snooping using Pegasus software, IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

    He said the government will provide infrastructure, manpower, laboratory facilities, and information needed by the committee to complete its probe.

    On social media regulations, the minister said that while social media platforms have given people chance to express themselves freely, at the same time, misuse of technology has placed “a huge burden of thinking” on where should the regulation be.

    Speaking at ‘Times Now Summit 2021′, Vaishnaw asserted that there has to a balance between privacy and social responsibility.

    “I would say, our policy will have to have our cultural roots, our needs, our realities in focus when we do the policy,” he said, adding that the element of “trust” has to come in social media.

    The government’s approach is not to censor but to enable self-regulation while empowering users of social media, Vaishnaw said.

    “There has to be first, an element of self-regulation. Self regulation is the first step, second is the users themselves come out and regulate. The third is the government should step in. So, the way we have structured our social media and intermediary rules, basically puts the consumer in the front,” he said.

    India enforced new IT intermediary rules earlier this year, aiming to bring greater accountability for big tech companies, including Twitter and Facebook.

    The rules require social media platforms to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours and set up a robust complaint redressal mechanism with an officer being based in the country.

    Social media companies are required to take down posts depicting nudity or morphed photos within 24 hours of receiving a complaint.

    Significant social media companies — those with over 50 lakh users — also have to publish a monthly compliance report disclosing details of complaints received and action taken as also details of contents removed proactively.

    On the issue of alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, Vaishnaw said the government “fully respects” the Supreme Court’s judgement.

    The committee formed by the Supreme Court has “stellar technical experts”, he said, adding that the government will provide complete cooperation to this committee in terms of infrastructure, manpower, laboratory facilities, and in terms of information that is needed.

    “We are clean on this. We are absolutely clean on this, so we don’t have to worry about what is going to come out of this report,” he said.

    To a pointed question on whether no government agency ever bought Pegasus, Vaishnaw said, “I (had) very categorically told in the Parliament that whatever we are doing, is exactly in the framework of the law. And the law of the land has been clearly laid down by the Supreme Court guidelines. Absolutely, we are within those four walls of the law”.

    Last month, the Supreme Court set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India.

    The apex court had also observed that the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a “mute spectator” and be the bugbear it shies away from.

    In a significant verdict over the issue of protecting citizens’ right to privacy that was welcomed by legal experts, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had asserted that in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, indiscriminate spying on individuals cannot be allowed except with sufficient statutory safeguards by following the procedure established by law under the Constitution.

  • Vaishnaw’s pep talk to railway probationers puts focus on working as commoners

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Recalling his days as a bureaucrat with different government departments, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained how he made colleagues and juniors comfortable at work.

    “Many times, I would clean machines with my own hands. It made the staff easy, comfortable and communicative with me. And the staff then saw a common man in me and excelled in their services,” he said in his pep talk to the railway engineer probationers at the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) in Vadodara, Gujarat on Saturday.

    He advised the probationers to follow the mantra of working like a common man with the officer’s responsibility.

    “If you create a genuine respect for yourself among others by your work, by your conducts, by your day-to-day interaction with people, only then you will be called the most successful person in life with a genuine officer-like quality.” 

    Vaishnaw, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, asked the railway engineer probationers to take decisions keeping the larger interest of the nation and the needs of common people in mind.

    He said the sincere people didn’t have competition as they kept working on the ground like common men with a higher degree of responsibility.

    “Only four to five per cent of people are sincere. And there is no competition for sincere people. So be sincere and serving. Think and understand things outside the department as much as possible for excellence,” he said.

    An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, Vaishnaw  had also studied at the Wharton School of Business of Pennsylvania. He served as a 1994-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre before joining BJP.

    He had also worked for a brief period in the PMO with the responsibility of creating a public-private partnership framework in infrastructure projects.

    Thereafter, in 2006, he had taken a sabbatical and gone to study MBA. He is currently MP in Rajya Sabha representing Odisha.

  • Construction of high speed rail corridor expedited, target building 50 piers every month: Railways minister

    Express News Service

    The construction of the country’s high speed rail corridor has been expedited and the Indian Railways has set a target of building 50 piers every month.

    “High speed rail is a complex project; we need to understand that as velocity increases things change tremendously. Important point among efforts made so far is the design of the corridor according to the Indian circumstances–weather, climate and soil conditions– for 300-350 kmph (speed of the bullet train). Keeping all this in mind, the design has got completed. Piers are being made. On an average, from November onwards, 50 piers will be made every month,” said union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while interacting with the media persons on Thursday.

    The minister further said that each pillar has a separate standard for construction. “Soil testing of the site, where pillars are constructed, and their designing is done. There isn’t a standard for each pillar. Design of individual pillars is made. We have got absolutely new technology to work in the country through the bullet train project,” said Vaishnaw.

    The coronavirus pandemic and land acquisition issues have impacted the construction of the 508.17 Km-long corridor connecting Mumbai (Maharashtra) to Sabarmati (Gujarat), which is passing through union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The deadline to complete the project was December 2024.

    Last month, the minister announced the completion of the 50 km-long portion of the corridor between Surat and Bilimora by October 2026.

    According to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a subsidiary of Indian Railways incorporated to manage the project, only 30 percent of total land required for the portion falling in Maharashtra has been acquired so far. An official said that until over 90 percent land is not available, construction can’t begin.

    “The ministers are regularly monitoring the project themselves. Darshana Jardosh, the minister of state for railways, reviewed the ongoing work in Surat earlier this week. Land acquisition will be completed soon. 50 piers have already been built,” said the official.    

    During the interaction, Vaishnaw also said that beginning work in Gujarat would help to resolve land procurement issues in Maharashtra.        

    “We will certainly get land in Maharashtra. Ours is a federal structure, we can’t impose things. Construction of pillars in Gujarat has infused new energy in Maharashtra. I believe that work will also start there soon,” said the minister. 

  • Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promises train service to Kashmir before 2024

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday promised that rail link with the Kashmir Valley would be open to the public before 2024, an official spokesperson said.

    He said systematic surveys are being undertaken to link the remotest regions of the country through mobile and internet connectivity.

    The minister, who visited the Jammu railway station and a community service centre (CSC) here, took stock of the facilities being provided to the public.

    His visit is part of the public outreach initiative of the Union government for Jammu and Kashmir.

    The railway minister assured that rail link with Kashmir would be open to the public before 2024, the spokesperson said.

    He also inspected the Jammu railway station and studied the upgradation plan for the Jammu and Kathua railway stations.

    Vaishnaw assured that appropriate steps would be taken to facilitate pilgrims and tourists reaching Jammu and beyond through the railways.

    On February 14, former railway minister Piyush Goyal had set the target for completion of the Katra-Qazigund track project by next year.

    “Reviewed the progress of Udhampur Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project in Jammu and Kashmir and deliberated ways for early execution.

    The project will be completed by 2022 and will facilitate ease of transport for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Goyal had tweeted.

    On December 28, 2020, Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal had set the target for completion of the project by December 2022.

    “The prestigious project will be completed by the end of 2022,” Gangal had said.

    The 272-km railway line is being undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs 28,000 crore by the northern railway.

    Gangal said that the first section connecting Udhampur to Katra and the third section between Banihal and Baramulla have been completed with both the sections operational.

    The work to complete the most difficult Katra-Banihal section is going as per schedule, he added.

  • Centre allots late Ram Vilas Paswan’s Janpath bungalow to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Central government has allotted 12, Janpath bungalow in Lutyens Delhi to the Union Minister of Railway and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw last week. The bungalow was earlier allotted to the late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

    As per sources, the bungalow at 12, Janpath will be the new address of IT and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the allotment of which was made last week.

    “Directorate of Estate, under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, had issued an eviction order for 12, Janpath in July second week,” sources told ANI.

    “The Ministry had asked Lok Sabha MP from Jamui, Bihar, Chirag Paswan to vacate the 12 Janpath Bungalow last month,” they added.

    Several attempts to contact the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, Chirag Paswan were made, but he was not available for comment.

    At present, late Ram Vilas Paswan’s wife Reena Paswan, son Chirag Paswan and other family members are staying at the bungalow.

    Former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan died last year due to illness at a private hospital in Delhi on October 8, 2020.

    The bungalow has been the address of the late Union Minister in the National Capital for 31 years; from 1989 till his demise in October 2020.