The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the ongoing discussion on Economy in the country is good for democracy. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway & Metro Projects 2017, here today, organized by the Defence Infrastructure Planning & Management Council, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Urban Development and the Niti Aayog. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that any transformation or reformation will have hiccups in the initial stages. He further said that revolutionary taxation and reformation is taking place in the country.The Vice President quoted the World Bank President, Mr. Jim Yong Kim, who has described the recent slowdown in economic growth in India as an aberration, which is mainly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST. He went on to recall the World Bank President’s statement that this aberration will get corrected in coming months and that the GST is going to have a hugely positive impact on Indian economy. He also cited recent reports that indicated a significant increase in sales of cars, televisions and refrigerators as compared to last year showing an upswing in consumer spending.
The Vice President said that with urbanization taking place at a rapid pace in India, the need for efficient and cost-effective transport is critical in ensuring faster mobility and sustainable development. He further said that new concepts such as ‘Transit Oriented Development’ should be tried out and promoted which will improve the lives of people living around the metro stations in a big way.The Vice President said that the Indian Railways need to plan for a massive expansion very meticulously with forward looking, efficient technologies and innovative practices currently available across the globe and adopt them to serve our country’s aspiring population. He further said that the IT revolution sweeping the world, to which India has also been a major contributor, is bound to improve the efficiencies in signaling, communications and safety and help in areas like intelligent transportation systems.The Vice President said that in the Indian ethos, we believe that science and technology are tools to improve the quality of life and we say “Bahujana hitaya, bahujana sukhaya” implying that we aim at the good of humanity at large and also care for the happiness of the entire population on this planet. We also believe this is possible if we are open to new ideas and concepts, either home grown or from outside, he added The Vice President expressed his hope that the discussions and the deliberations in this two-day conference will provide a fast-track approach to build many state of the art railway systems that will improve the economy and the quality of life of people in India and the rest of the world.