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Bibek Debroy is an Indian financial expert who serves as the CEO of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Mr Debroy was a member of NITI Aayog, the Indian government’s research organisation, from its inception in January 2015 to June 2019. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015. He received the US-India Business Summit’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. The Bibek Debroy Committee recommended the formation of a railway board.
The Bibek Debroy Committee
The Bibek Debroy Committee is a general council formed by the NDA government after taking office in 2014. Its goal is to activate resources for significant railway projects and restructure the Railway Ministry and Railway Board.
This report is 319 pages long and covers almost every aspect of Indian Railways operations. Under Mr Bibek Debroy, the Railway Board formed a committee to assemble assets for major rail route projects and reconstruct the Railway Ministry and Railway Board.
The Bibek Debroy Committee’s Agendas
Foundation of Independent Regulator RRAI
According to the Bibek Debroy Committee’s report, an all-encompassing Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) should be established as a free administrative agency. The free controller will:
Ensure fair and open access
Determine admission fees
Lay out levies in circumstances where the market fails to find a price
Mediate disputes between the track-owning association, train administrators, and competitors.
This will allow cargo and passenger trains to compete with IR. The Railway Board should act solely as a component of the Indian Railways.
Change to Business Bookkeeping
Indian Railways should abandon its complicated bookkeeping, favouring basic business bookkeeping based on widely accepted and generally recognised standards. It will also assist Railways in quantitatively analysing the impact of their strategies on the cost of various administrations.
Smooth Out Enlistment and HR Processes
The current enrollment frameworks for Indian Railways through various channels should be smoothed out. It was proposed that the Indian Railways’ eight coordinated Group ‘A’ administrations be divided into specialised and non-specialised administrations.
The Indian Railway Technical Service (IRTechS) includes:
Three non-specialised administrations: IRAS, IRPS, and IRTS
Five specialised administrations: IRSE, IRSSE, IRSEE, IRSME, and IRSS.
Zero in on Centre Regions
Indian Railways should focus on centre exercises to compete effectively with the private sector. It will distinguish itself from non-centre activities such as running a police force, schools, clinics, and development and creativity units.
The existing Railway schools were quickly included in the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan structure. Therefore, the needs of Railway officials’ children could be satisfied by funding their education in non-public or elective schools.
The Bibek Debroy Committee Report on Railways
The Bibek Debroy Committee on the projected rebuilding of Indian Railways (IR) has urged private sector task investment and the establishment of a free controller to promote competition. The board’s most recent report has not yet been delivered, although it is in the works.
“It should be understood that this board does not advocate for IR privatisation,” the board states. “It does, in any case, embrace private passage with the arrangement of a free controller,” the council concluded in its final report.
The board also stated that the annual rail line budget could be eliminated if all of its recommendations for the first five years were implemented. The Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) to IR could only be referred to as a line item in the Union Budget.
Conclusion
The Bibek Debroy Committee recommended the formation and reorganisation of the Railway Board. It also suggested the creation of an independent controller, revamping the Group A rail line administrations, and a change of profit strategy.
