Railways to set up Kisan Rail to transport perishable goods within India
New
Delhi,
Feb
01:
Indian
Railways
will
set
up
Kisan
Rail
through
PPP
arrangement,
for
transportation
of
perishable
goods,
said
Finance
Minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman
on
Saturday
while
presenting
Budget
for
2020-21.
This
is
Sitharaman's
second
Budget
and
speculations
are
rife
that
the
Finance
Minister
would
announce
robust
measures
to
restore
economic
growth
and
put
the
Indian
economy
on
the
path
for
achieving
the
target
of
USD
5
trillion
economy
by
2025.
She said,'' We want women Self Help Groups in the villages to distribute seeds to farmers with help of MUDRA scheme. Indian Railways will now play an even more involved role in food distribution. We will set up a Kisan Rail to help transport perishable goods within the country. Horticulture sector with its current production of 311 million metric tonnes exceeds the production of food grains.''
The
Budget
has
announced
Krishi
Rail,
to
be
implemented
by
the
Ministry
of
Railways,
and
Krishi
Udaan
by
the
Ministry
of
Civil
Aviation.
These
will
complement
roadways
for
faster
transportation
of
perishable
agricultural
goods.
While
in
Railways,
refrigerated
coaches
will
be
added
to
Express
and
Freight
trains,
the
Krishi
Udaan
scheme
will
see
flights
on
national
and
international
routes
pitching
in.