In order to inject a major push to the country’s rail infrastructure, the Indian Railways decided to generate a staggering sum of Rs.35,000 crore from World Bank to create a separate funding cell to invest to build modern infrastructure. In addition, it is also working on various innovative financing models as extra budgetary resources like loan from the LIC, PPP models and joint ventures with state governments for rail development projects. The Railways has to raise Rs.5,000 crore every year to strengthen safety infrastructure for achieving its zero accident target, while the government of the day has earmarked Rs.8.5 lakh crore for the Railways for 2014-19, keeping the massive expansion plan in rail sector. Rail Development Authority (RDA) is being created to decide about it. The RDA will have to first recommend for it and then only it will be taken up, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
