The case study “Turnaround of Indian Railways — a bumpy ride ahead” reflects the ground realities and predicament of Indian Railways (IR), a government-run organisation.
With an appreciable legacy of transporting passengers and freight in record numbers, the institution has been facing problems on multiple fronts — growth has stalled; share of freight business is declining due to lack of infrastructure; and traveller count is stagnating because of efficient substitutes like airways and roadways.
The quality of services leaves a lot of scope for improvement, as travellers complain of safety, security and crowded trains. Under such conditions, there is an urgent need to bring in changes which have long-term implications on the future of IR. Efficient railways can enhance customer experience, reduce wastage, enable expansion and have a cascading effect on other sectors of the economy, in terms of employment generation.
Populist schemes and unrealistic expansion plans without budgetary support have crippled the organisation. This year’s budget, thankfully, has been devoid of populism, and honestly admitted issues that ail IR.
With generous funding from different agencies, the IR can start correcting the anomalies of yesteryears and put the organisation back on the growth track. Every citizen should take ownership in the turnaround of IR and contribute to its growth and development.
The evaluation
Participants of the case study contest were evaluated on the following parameters:
~ Understanding and defining the problem
~ Analysing the situation
~ Suggesting original and innovative solutions
~ Justification with secondary and primary data
The winners were chosen by combining the scores on each parameter. Final results are given below.
