The Budget has a large capital expenditure element for railways. What is the path ahead?<\/strong>
There is a record allocation — support of Rs 1. 37 lakh crore will help meet railways’ requirements. Gaps will be filled, and it will help reduce the logistics cost. There are three major pillars of the PM’s vision. The passenger experience has to change through steps on stations, trains, safety, timeliness, and cleanliness. We are getting new-generation trains. Second, we want the railways to provide transformational power for the economy. We want the share of railways to increase from the current 27-28%, so that the logistics cost comes down. We want to make more investment in services so that more goods can be carried, new products can come and there is a change in the way it operates. We want to service small industries, which do not have goods to fill up a full truck, or a barcode-based mechanism, just like courier companies. We can use the postal network to deliver goods. The third pillar is about making railways’ future-ready for 2047 by getting the latest technology and linking it with the startup ecosystem.
What are the rollout plans?<\/strong>
We have very good people but there are a lot of rules and regulations that are no longer relevant for which we have taken several steps. For instance, if someone wants to introduce new technology, then
the entity had to bid at a cost that was lower than the existing ones. This was holding up the entry of new players. We made a small change that allowed them to bid, but the price had to match the lowest one. Similarly, we have allowed for a change in the design of wagons to meet the requirement of private players.
You have budgeted for a 5% increase in freight on the back of a 10% growth this year. Is it a conservative estimate?<\/strong>
We will do higher, may be 15-16%. We are making massive investments in wagons and signalling systems, for which we are deploying Kavach. We will deploy Kavach across 2,000 km, starting with the busier routes. I have asked for surveys to deploy it over another 6,000 km. If we can do it across 7,000-8,000 km of our network then we can look at other markets.
The Budget has a large capital expenditure element for railways. What is the path ahead?<\/strong>
There is a record allocation — support of Rs 1. 37 lakh crore will help meet railways’ requirements. Gaps will be filled, and it will help reduce the logistics cost. There are three major pillars of the PM’s vision. The passenger experience has to change through steps on stations, trains, safety, timeliness, and cleanliness. We are getting new-generation trains. Second, we want the railways to provide transformational power for the economy. We want the share of railways to increase from the current 27-28%, so that the logistics cost comes down. We want to make more investment in services so that more goods can be carried, new products can come and there is a change in the way it operates. We want to service small industries, which do not have goods to fill up a full truck, or a barcode-based mechanism, just like courier companies. We can use the postal network to deliver goods. The third pillar is about making railways’ future-ready for 2047 by getting the latest technology and linking it with the startup ecosystem.
What are the rollout plans?<\/strong>
We have very good people but there are a lot of rules and regulations that are no longer relevant for which we have taken several steps. For instance, if someone wants to introduce new technology, then
the entity had to bid at a cost that was lower than the existing ones. This was holding up the entry of new players. We made a small change that allowed them to bid, but the price had to match the lowest one. Similarly, we have allowed for a change in the design of wagons to meet the requirement of private players.
You have budgeted for a 5% increase in freight on the back of a 10% growth this year. Is it a conservative estimate?<\/strong>
We will do higher, may be 15-16%. We are making massive investments in wagons and signalling systems, for which we are deploying Kavach. We will deploy Kavach across 2,000 km, starting with the busier routes. I have asked for surveys to deploy it over another 6,000 km. If we can do it across 7,000-8,000 km of our network then we can look at other markets.
How do you compete with airlines?
<\/strong>
For distances up to 150km, road travel is good. Between 150km and 900km, railways is good, and beyond that, it is good for air. We should not be competing against each other but collaborate in a way so that the consumer gets the best service. We need to get very good stations and new-generation trains. For instance, Vande Bharat reaches 100 kmph in 49 seconds, you can turn your seats and the newer version, whose test run will start from April, will come with air springs. The next-generation of 400 new trains announced in the Budget will see lower vibrations, noise, and more seating comfort.
Will Vande Bharat be the semi-high speed trains?<\/strong>
High-speed trains run at over 200kmph and these trains have the potential to reach 180kmph. The second version can go to 200kmph, provided the tracks are ready for it.
Are the tracks ready?<\/strong>
It’s a big policy<\/a> question, how fast can we run our trains on the surface. In many countries you have elevated networks, including in Japan, Korea, several countries in Europe, Taiwan, and China came in a big way. In China, the passenger network was elevated and the ground network was used for cargo, which can do very well at 60kmph.
There is a plan to link post offices with the banking network. How will it help?<\/strong>
Post offices have been traditionally considered as a means for delivering letters. Four-five years ago, the PM took an initiative to make them a bank for people in rural areas. Now we have core banking solutions in around 20,000 post offices. We have to take it to all the 1. 5 lakh post offices; imagine the power of financial inclusion using this. Second, DBT, government services such as Aadhaar enrolment, railway tickets, and financial products that have no credit risk can be delivered through post offices given their huge reach. Then, how do we connect it with the railways and integrate the two?
BSNL has received large funding, how do you propose to use it?<\/strong>
After many years BSNL has made an operating profit because the package announced in 2019 has been successfully implemented. The next step is to make it sustainable. The Rs 45,000-crore capital outlay will go for two-three things. First, the entire network will be upgraded to 4G so that we can move to 5G in the next one or two years. Second, we need to upgrade the IT system. BSNL provides us support where commercial services are unviable.
What happened to the plan to merge MTNL and BSNL?<\/strong>
We are going step by step. MTNL has a huge debt. If you merge the two, the entire debt comes on BSNL’s balance sheet. We have to ensure that BSNL emerges as a strong candidate in the telecom market.
When do we see the rollout of 5G?<\/strong>
There are two elements — first, getting the service up and running. Second, developing the entire technology stack. TRAI is on the verge of completing its consultations and will submit the recommendations in midor end-March. Then we can go for auctions and start the rollout.
Can we see auctions in the middle of the next financial year?<\/strong>
Yes. That’s the first part. Second is developing the entire technology stack that’s 5G equipment and handsets. There is serious work going on and soon you should get some good news.
How far have we progressed on the semiconductor production side?<\/strong>
The semiconductor policy has received tremendous response. People are ready to put in billions of dollars. Our policy is comprehensive and over and above that is 85,000 semiconductor engineers. Very good land parcels have come up and states have plans to come in a big way. We should be successful.
On social media, there has been a constant battle and the impression one gets is that they have different sets of standards for countries. Companies say the Indian government has the maximum number of requests to pull down content. Where do you strike a balance?<\/strong>
Social media’s base and its regulation are continuously evolving. World over there is a thought process around technology being a great boon but it must become more accountable. What is going out there and who is going to check it. Shouldn’t the industry be the first one to be the gatekeeper? What is the grievances redressal mechanism? If there is content created by a newspaper, is that newspaper getting a fair share of revenue, which is generated out of that content? Is privacy getting disturbed because of the way social media uses data? We came out with a comprehensive policy in 2021 and almost all social media intermediaries have fully complied with. India is such a huge market and with such a big user base is bound to have a large number of concerns. There is so much diversity in the country and each will have its own sensitivities. All these things make it very difficult to give a comprehensive outcome and it has to be a continuous balancing thing. We have to ensure that users are safe. The potential misuse in terms of igniting law and order situations, compromising people’s dignity, all these things are non-negotiable. We must take harsh actions. The final point is we have a federal struc- ture, where police are with the states. So we have to create a structure where the Centre and states have their roles.
Where do you want an improvement in response?<\/strong>
Improvement in accountability is very important. Self-checking. There are good algorithms available. In other geographies, such as the US, it’s very diffi- cult to put hate content because they have developed it (algorithms) and have invested in these. But in our geography, they have probably not invested that much in removing the hate content. That’s why people have to complain. There has to be self-regulation.
Congress has made certain allegations on Pegasus<\/a>. What’s your response?<\/strong>
We believe and trust the judiciary. We believe that the judicial process will come out with a fair, right, and judicious conclusion. We should respect that process.
<\/body>","next_sibling":[{"msid":89402097,"title":"L&T, Microsoft India team up on cloud computing, infra services for regulated sector","entity_type":"ARTICLE","link":"\/news\/lt-microsoft-india-team-up-on-cloud-computing-infra-services-for-regulated-sector\/89402097","category_name":null,"category_name_seo":"telecomnews"}],"related_content":[{"msid":"89399339","title":"Ashvini Viashnaw","entity_type":"IMAGES","seopath":"news\/india\/we-have-to-ensure-users-are-safe-on-social-media-its-misuse-law-order-are-non-negotiable-ashwini-vaishnaw\/ashvini-viashnaw","category_name":"We have to ensure users are safe on social media... Its misuse, law & order are non-negotiable: Ashwini Vaishnaw","synopsis":"\"Social media\u2019s base and its regulation are continuously evolving. World over there is a thought process around technology being a great boon but it must become more accountable.\"","thumb":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/thumb\/img-size-22370\/89399339.cms?width=150&height=112","link":"\/image\/india\/we-have-to-ensure-users-are-safe-on-social-media-its-misuse-law-order-are-non-negotiable-ashwini-vaishnaw\/ashvini-viashnaw\/89399339"}],"msid":89402134,"entity_type":"ARTICLE","title":"We have to ensure users are safe on social media; its misuse, law & order are non-negotiable: Ashwini Vaishnaw","synopsis":"In an interaction with TOI, Vaishnaw talks on a range of issues from 5G rollout to revamp of railways and linking all post offices with the core banking network to the strategy for state-run telcos BSNL and MTNL.","titleseo":"telecomnews\/we-have-to-ensure-users-are-safe-on-social-media-its-misuse-law-order-are-non-negotiable-ashwini-vaishnaw","status":"ACTIVE","authors":[{"author_name":"Dipak K Dash","author_link":"\/author\/479213512\/dipak-k-dash","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/479213512.cms?width=100&height=100","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":479213512,"author_name":"Dipak K Dash","author_seo_name":"Dipak-K-Dash","designation":"Special Correspondent","agency":false}},{"author_name":"Sidhartha","author_link":"\/author\/19875\/sidhartha","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/19875.cms?width=100&height=100","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":19875,"author_name":"Sidhartha","author_seo_name":"Sidhartha","designation":"Editor","agency":false}}],"analytics":{"comments":0,"views":257,"shares":0,"engagementtimems":1285000},"Alttitle":{"minfo":""},"artag":"TNN","artdate":"2022-02-07 14:07:12","lastupd":"2022-02-07 14:13:17","breadcrumbTags":["social media","ashwani vaishnaw","pegasus","parliament","self-regulation","interviews","policy"],"secinfo":{"seolocation":"telecomnews\/we-have-to-ensure-users-are-safe-on-social-media-its-misuse-law-order-are-non-negotiable-ashwini-vaishnaw"}}" data-news_link="//www.iser-br.com/news/we-have-to-ensure-users-are-safe-on-social-media-its-misuse-law-order-are-non-negotiable-ashwini-vaishnaw/89402134">