Indian Railways aims to save Rs 410 billion on electricity expenses by switching over to solar energy over the next 10 years, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced on Saturday. He said the Ministry of Railways had prepared ‘Mission 41K’ to save electricity consumption charges by betting big on solar energy.
He was speaking after formally inaugurating various railway infrastructure projects at the Hi-Tech City railway station. The minister said efforts were also on to mop-up Rs 170 billion through non-fare revenue modes.
Claiming that about Rs 40 billion was saved on electricity consumption charges so far, he said the target of saving Rs 410 billion would be met by generating 1,000 Megawatt of solar power in the next five years
The Ministry is drawing up plans for investment to the tune of Rs 8.5 lakh crore. He claimed there was no financial problem for railways and that it had completely bankable projects. He said the Ministry was focussing on completion of existing projects. He called up on state government to have joint ventures with Railways to implement more projects.
By Baishakhi Dutta
