The next Rail Budget is expected to give more focus to religious tourism, with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu planning to meet chiefs of shrines to work out new projects.
Sources said the minister is trying to tap new sources of revenue by meeting the chiefs of these shrines, besides academicians of the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management for more innovative plans.
Prabhu is keen on consulting with unconventional sections ahead of the budget in order to find new solutions to the Railways’ problems. The government is now focusing on high technology and huge private investments. The coming budget may see the announcement of a bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
Sources said Prabhu would soon be meeting officials of Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) and the World Bank. JICA is doing a feasibility study on the bullet train project and is most likely to execute it. Meeting with industry bodies is also on the agenda of the minister.
This time, the meeting would include more issues as the Railways is trying to reach out to private partners.
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