PM meets infra secretaries to set target for current fiscal

Keen to show his seriousness to do business on development front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met secretaries of  departments including rail, road, power and telecom to review the target of each infrastructure ministries.

Modi chose to meet the secretaries without the concerned ministers like he had done last month when he had outlined his agenda of governance and his expectations from them.

The Prime Minister is understood to have told all secretaries that infrastructure is a key priority for the government. Planning Commission Secretary Sindhushree Khullar made a 15-page presentation to Modi on the performance of core infrastructure ministries in 2013-14 and deliberated on the targets suggested by the ministries for the current fiscal 2014-15.

Secretaries and senior officials from 9 infrastructure ministries - power, road transport, shipping, civil aviation, coal, petroleum, railways, telecom and renewable energy - were present in the meeting. Besides, top officials from Rural Development Ministry and Environment and Forest Ministry also attended the meeting.

Source said the Commission has proposed laying of 300 km new railway track during the current fiscal. Indian railways laid 450 kms of new track in 2013-14, which was short of the targeted 500 km. Modi was also  briefed on a target of 700 km for doubling of rail tracks in the current fiscal against 900 km targeted in 2013-14.