New Railways Minister appointed following exit of Mukul Roy

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The Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Dr Chandra Prakash Joshi, has been given the additional charge of Railways after Mukul Roy resigned from the post of Indian Railways Minister last week.

Dr Joshi will hold the Railways Ministry and act as Indian Railways Minister until a cabinet re-shuffle takes place.

Mukul Roy took over as Railway Minister in March, after Dinesh Trivedi was told to resign from the post for raising passengers’ fares – a decision that did not go down well with her party (Trin Mool Congress) chief, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banergee.

However, the exit of Mukul Roy has been viewed as a good sign for operations of Indian Railways.

Last month at the annual general manager’s conference it was revealed that the majority of the zonal railways have logged an operating ratio 1:1 (Rs 100 spend to earn Rs 100).

Dr Joshi is a Member of Parliament from Bhilwara Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan.

Since 2011, he has held the office of the Minister of Road Transport & Highways. He has also held the portfolio of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj in the Union Ministry.

According to the Sam Pitroda committee, Indian Railways needs $169 billion over the next five years to undertake modernisation of assets – including setting up of tracks, signalling systems, bridges, locomotives and coaches.

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