Minister says power plants to get adequate coal supply
Union minister of railways and coal Piyush Goyal said the government had no plan to privatise Indian Railways.
This comes almost a month after the railways opened the door for private investment in rail cars that can move multiple commodities.
Addressing a press conference on four years of the government, the minister said, “We are in the process for recruitment for the railway regulator.” The regulator or Rail Development Authority (RDA) was supposed to be functional by August last year. The Union Cabinet had cleared the proposal for a rail regulator in April 2016. Selection of a chairman and members were supposed to be over by July 15 last year.
Asked about shortages in the coal sector, the minister said they would ensure adequate supply to power plants. “During April-May, coal movement by the railways increased by 14 per cent. There was also growth in coal production by 15 per cent,” he added.
The government is set to go ahead with the listing plans for railway subsidiaries RITES, Ircon International and Rail Vikas Nigam. Goyal said the listing of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) had been put on hold.
“I have delayed IRCTC listing because of valuation issues. The value of the database available with IRCTC has not been captured. Similarly, regarding IRFC, the listing is stuck because of a tax issue and we are trying to solve it with the ministry of corporate affairs.”
The latter dispute is regarding an accumulated deferred tax liability of ~63.9 billion. IRFC faced a deferred liability as its depreciation was greater than profit. The company did not pay tax under normal assessment and was subject to a Minimum Alternate Tax of 21 per cent. Beside, it had to make a provision for the deferred tax liability at 35 per cent. Thus, the company’s books were bearing a total tax provision of 56 per cent. “There is some lack of clarity on the issue, which might delay the IRFC stake sale, an official told Business Standard.
The minister said train accidents had from 118 in 2013-14 to 72 in 2017-18.
“Our primary focus is on safety. There has been a 59 per cent increase in the average pace of commissioning new lines. In addition, track renewals gathered pace, to touch around 4,000 km in 2017-18,” Goyal said.