Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority, RTA to advise the Railway Ministry on fares. The RTA is crucial for railways as it will recommend fare revision from time to time taking into account input cost and volatile market condition.
The RTA’s recommendations, however, will not be mandatory for railways as only the Railway Board can fix the tariff.
The Cabinet also approved setting up of an electric locomotive factory at Madhepura and a diesel locomotive unit at Marhowra, both in Bihar.
The cabinet, which met in New Delhi yesterday, also approved the setting up of the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, AKIC and formation of the AKIC Development Corporation, AKICDC.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decided to set up a joint venture firm for developing infrastructure in integrated industrial townships in Uttar Pradesh along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, DMIC.
The new entity will be responsible for development of trunk infrastructure of the integrated industrial township at Greater Noida in the Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region of the DMIC.
The CCEA also approved the sale of government’s 29.5 per cent residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd, the world’s second largest zinc producer.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters that the modalities in this regard will be finalised by the Department of Disinvestment.
The move will help the government to raise about Rs. 20,000 crore.
The Prime Minister had last month favoured the sale of government’s stake in the Hindustan Zinc Ltd through an open auction and asked the Mines Ministry to seek the Attorney General’s opinion.
The Attorney General, in his opinion, had agreed that the stake sale should be through an open auction.