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• Rule of law and transparency,
• Prioritisation of issues,
• Time bound execution and fast dispute resolution,
• Innovative financing,
• focus, and
• Accountability and close monitoring.
He stressed how time bound execution would lead to meeting of cost targets and improve performance. Contributing to the discussions Shri Goyal emphasised that there was no scarcity of resources for good ideas. He mentioned the need to scale up good projects avoiding the time lag and delay caused by extensive pilot programmes without any further implementation.
Guest speaker, Shri Sonam Wangchuk, renowned educationist, scientist and innovator, who was also the inspiration for the popular“ Three Idiots” film, spoke to the audience about his personal story of facing challenges and innovating in the face of adversity. His advice to have simple solutions to complex problems struck a chord, and was widely appreciated. He felt that in the face of climate change, Indian Railways is a luxurious way to save the planet. topics covered included structural, process and cultural reforms to ensure highest standards of safety, punctuality and passenger comfort; improving the capacity and speed of trains; dynamic pricing including discounts in off peak seasons; increasing freight modal share; and improving procurement to bring transparency, accountability and speed in order to reduce time and cost. Discussions were also held on how to boost the morale of the about 14 lakh railway employees in order to improve productivity as well improve their focus on consumers.
A digital chat room, which was open to all, allowed everyone to give suggestions, ideas and feedback on the various presentations.
The various subjects discussed in the conference included- Transforming IR through Safety & Punctuality – Structural process & cultural reforms, Transforming IR through Passenger Comfort & Aesthetics- Structural processes & cultural reforms, Strategis for imcresing carrying capacity & speed of trains, Introducing dynamic pricing- Premium & Discount, Increasing freight modal share, Streamlining procurement to reduce time & cost and Boosting morale & happiness of employees.
The focus of the presentations was to transform railways to serve the passengers and customers. Some of the