No less than 10 lakh jobs can be created within Railways ecosystem, says Piyush Goyal

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal claimed that Indian Railways and the ecosystem around it can generate as much as 10 lakh jobs within a year, with rail safety capable of employing two lakh people on its own.

"My own sense is, may not be directly jobs in railways, but certainly through engaging people and working in variety of areas across the ecosystem, not less than a million jobs can be created in less than 12 months -- only railways and ecosystem around the railways," Goyal was heard saying at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday.

Railway Minister Goyal stated that his department is actively working towards monetising real estate assets with it, which will drive job creation in the railways and the ecosystem around it. There is stress on expediting some of the ongoing investment plans, which again will give rise to new job opportunities.

"If I look at the amount of investment in pipeline and activate that, it will create 2-2.5 lakh jobs in existing projects," Goyal said.

Moreover, monetising idle real estate assets will help bring revenue that can be used for resource creation without burdening passengers. Railways recently announced that it will lease out its unused real estate for social uses.

Rail modernisation will also help employ more aspirants, said Goyal. The government will soon float a global tender to procure tracks for modernising the railways, which can create a million jobs within a year through various areas across its ecosystem, he mentioned.

"I have diverted all available tracks to track renewal so that we can make the existing tracks safer. We are looking to go in for global procurement of rail tracks...this will help fast track the doubling of lines and new projects," Goyal added.

The Railway Minister did not disclose the exact timeline for the global tender for track modernisation, though, stating that it will happen "very soon" and in "under process".

Goyal also reiterated that passenger safety will be paramount for the railways and there would be no limit to funding it. Indian Railways was rattled with numerous rail accidents in the last few months, rasising concern over faltering rail safety.

"There is no limit to safety expenditure. Safety will be the priority of Indian railways. I have also categorised pedestrian foot-over bridges, platforms, entry and exit points as safety items. I have turned around 100 year old tradition which used to consider all of this as amenities," he said.

He said India has huge investment potential but a change in mindset is required to transform the country.

Goyal said that with sectors like coal, power showing turnaround, it's the turn of the railways now.

"Over the years India was well known for yoga, Ayurveda, cricket or Bollywood. Narrative is changing, Brand India is being built. India is being now recognised as a country which is honest in its dealings, where technology drives growth," Goyal said.

Stating that megastructures cannot be built on a weak foundation, he said if India has to prepare itself for global challenges of tomorrow, there is a need to develop a framework that will ensure decades of prosperity.

"I think there is no better place in the world today to invest in, no larger market than the Indian market and there is no pole which is going to be more important than India," he said.