Approving Initial Acceptance Of Town Center Public Improvements: Fill & Download for Free

I will speak about KeralaWell, the recent survey of India Today on Indian mindset and acceptance of Same-Sex relationships is definitely NOT SHOCKING. Its somewhat on expected lines.Infact, it wasn’t a stand-alone question or paper. Rather part of a much larger social attitude research, conducted by CSDS (Center for Study of Developing Societies) along with Azim Premji University and Lok NeethiThis study was released in March, to identify the social outlook and attitudes over varied topics and how likely these play a key role in politics and elections. The full report is published belowhttps://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/politics-and-society-between-elections-2019-report.pdfIt talks on numerous areas public perceptions about friendships between various communities (Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Sikhs), with Dalits and OBC communities, preference of caste leaders in political positions, preference of leaders of various religious background in politics, public perception towards each community/religious group’s so-called patriotism, public outlook about women jobs, roles played by women, caste divisions etc, public outlook on women employment, male employment, its difference between cities, rural areas, pay structures of each gender, perception of family life structures, languages, culture, blasphemy, nationalism, dictatorship, autocracy, liberalism etc.One of the questions out of 70+ was the followingHow far Sexual Relationship between two men or two women should be accepted in society?This question was divided Gender wise, state wise, rural-urban wise and on the basis of media exposure wise.The most common answer national wide was STRONGLY DISAGREEAlmost 50%+ of the sample size across the country disagreed to the concept.Infact only less than 19% of the society do accept them. The majority have no opinions at all.When coming to states, the figures are a bit interestingThe most state/society that opposes the concept of same-sex marriages/relationships is Mizoram/Mizos. A whopping 80%+ of the sample size of the society opposes the concept, leaving less than 3% who are supportive to it. Infact the society has no ambiguity in it. The majority have an opinion. Most of them say a Big NO, some with just No and fewer says okay, while very fewer says Absolutely okay. There is no percentage of people of No-Opinion in that state.This is followed by Nagaland where 63% opposes the idea of same sex relationshipFurther followed by Jammu/Kashmir where 63% again opposes the idea.And then comes Kerala with 58% of society says NO to same sex relationship. Add 2% of somewhat disagree, it makes a whopping 60% of the society who disagree the concept. Only 20% of the society actually approves the same-sex relationship, while the remaining 20% have no opinion at all.Now to the questionWhy do most people in liberal/progressive states like Kerala and West Bengal not accept same-sex relationships?Liberal but TraditionalKerala is a liberal state, no doubt on it. But Liberal/Progressive doesn’t mean absolute liberalism/absolute progressivism in all aspectsIn another discussion over a topic on Quora, I had a friend - Noel Pathiyil who aptly described the difference between the social lifestyle of Kochi and AhmedabadKochi is a very Liberal city, yet very TraditionalAhmedabad is a Conservative city, but very ModernThese may look contradictory to each other, but life is always full of paradoxes and Kerala is not unique in this aspect. Infact, its always known as the land of paradoxes.Kerala society is liberal, in the sense that it values the concept of freedom, individual choices, freedom of speech, dissent, rights, religion etc.But all within the realms of traditions and customs. Its the invisible yardstick to measure the liberal values or the Lakshmana Rekha. Beyond it, it won’t be accepted by society.The society may not have any such issues if people of two religions or caste marries which is common in Kerala, but same-sex, its where traditions forms the Lakshmana Rekha.In North India, especially in cities, people’s superficial outlook, their dressing, tastes are all modern or pro-western. But when comes to their beliefs, they are very conservative. They may have no issue if two men date or even sex in private, but do have issue if a normal couple(husband-wife) hails from two castes or worse- religions.This can be better illustrated with this exampleIf you look the video which has been viral, we see an educated girl like Sakshi pleading society’s help to save her and her boyfriend from lynching from her father, as her boyfriend is from SC/ST community. If you look, both of them are educated and both of them are wearing modern clothing as any 21st-century urban youngsters do. But what they fear most is 18th-century caste concepts which is so relevant in many parts of North India.On the contrary, this is too low in Kerala. I am not saying its perfect in Kerala, but caste-based attacks or atrocities are much low or minuscule even though Casteism do exist.The society in Kerala definitely shuns Homosexuality/LGBT for sure. But atrocities are too low, rather they face mostly discrimination/non-cooperation.I have explained that in detail in another post of mine in quoraArun Mohan (അരുൺ മോഹൻ)'s the answer to Why don't we find much Hjras in Kerala like in other states?This is an example of modern, yet conservatism as in case of many North Indian states, while liberal, yet traditional as in case of Kerala or many South Indian states.2. Influence of Abrahamic religions.Traditionally Hindu religion or many oriental religions turn a blind eye towards LGBT issues. This is because most of oriental religions don’t consider interfering in the personal interests of people. Hinduism is a very diverse religion with multiple contradictory concepts and faith. So in many concepts, LGBT is accepted while in some versions its rejected. But there is no clear cut stand as far as Hinduism is concerned.But Abrahamic religions are too much against it, especially Christianity. Organized Christian faith and Biblical values strictly forbidden same-sex relationships and seen it as a crime. So as Islam too. Islam’s case is bit unique, which I will come later, but in Christianity cases, there is no space for acceptance of LGBT. Their religious beliefs sees it as a grave sin and hence condemn to the core. This is one thing they teach their kids and future generations.It explains why Mizoram has the highest opposition to Same-sex relationships as Mizos are Christians in the majority.Even though Christianity is not the majority in Kerala, it plays a huge role in Kerala psyche. Our social culture has a lot of Christian values, thanks to the level of intervention of various churches in the field of education and culture. So essentially its something we have been trained in society to see as evil rather normal.Another fact is it was Britishers who made Same-sex concept illegal and a social crime in India. Britishers of 18th and 19th century were so high on western Christian values, so essentially they outlawed it and with the imposition of Victorian moral codes, much of these over a period of time became part of so-called Indian culture. So essentially that legacy of Victorian moral values is still seen as part of our culture and strictly valid in many states of India. Kerala is one such.3. Less urban-rural divideThis is a very key point here.Normally whenever a survey happens at pan India basis, a very good percentage of sampling always happens in urban/semi-urban areas. Infact, its very rare or almost nil for surveyors to visit rural interiors of the country and check for their opinion surveys. One reason is many rural areas, people are much shy even to come out and participate in such process and often survey never happens mostly in urban/semi-urban areas. Whats recorded as rural is mostly outgrown villages or small villages lying closer to urban areas.In many topics, that sample size often helps to understand the basic pysche factors or mood of the public even in interiors. But when comes to sex or similar topics (so taboo in society) these results do vary rapidly.Generally, people in villages don’t prefer to speak anything about sex in public unlike youngsters or some people in urban/semi-urban areas. And topics like Same-Sex is much more taboo than normal sex.In North India or many parts of India, these sampling is likely to happen in smaller towns/outgrown villages, who are ready to speak on it.The attitudes of urban and rural is too radical in many parts of India. In urban belts, people are not much concerned about each other’s sex matters. Same sex relationships are mostly treated lightly in many North Indian/west Indian urbanscapes as a sort of petty fun. Infact its not even seen as some sort of sex, rather a sort of funny games/entertainment between 2 people. There is essentially a sense of lightness in it. Whereas back in rural villages of majority of India, same-sex is still a big taboo. Its never seen as a positive thing and always seen as a sort of crime. Its definitely not allowed and even honor killings are recorded.Lesbian newlyweds flee honour killing threats in IndiaBut it's not captured in the mood of the survey as its unlikely to check the pure rural pulse on this topic.On the contrary, Kerala has the least urban-rural divide. The attitudes of people in living in a remote village like Puthupally in Wayanad and a major city like Kochi are almost similar in the majority of things.So essentially the attitudes are much synchronized. There won’t be much huge difference between a city and rural area when coming to the concept of LGBT. Essentially even in major cities of Kerala, people don’t accept the concept of Homosexuality/Lesbianism etc.4. Sexual Inhibition.Generally, Malayalees don’t actively discuss anything related to sex in the public sphere. This is a common Pan-India trend, but the degree varies between societies. In large metros like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi etc, I have seen people, particularly youngsters openly talking about sexual concepts. In Kerala, its a strong taboo. Other than double meaning phrases and some ridiculed statements, hardly anyone speaks anything about sex openly.Any direct questions of sexual preferences are seen with a great sense of embarrassment among people even in cities. So as actions like PDA etc. Its one reason why protest movements like Kiss of Love etc generated so many negative opinions against it, even from the ordinary public.So if ordinary sex which is so natural faces such a higher degree of inhibition, how would be the case of queer relationships which the majority sees as unnatural?This affects in every survey. Even if a surveyor askes to someone who loves homo-relationships or enjoyed any such in past, still in public they will record objection as support to any such is seen as one among. In majority cases, people may shun away from such topics of discussion and if discussed they will appear to be critical, even if they love.There is nothing to deny, Kerala society also enjoys many Homosexuality relationships. But it's so much in denial mood even in cities. Even Homosexuals will never admit in public, they like it or enjoy it.In Kerala, the dating culture has not yet shaped up. So openly admitting that one date with another is a huge taboo. It's interesting, the subscription rate of Grindr and similar gay dating apps are increasing in Kerala, but no will admit the same.Decoding dating via apps in Kerala | Kochi News - Times of India5. Lack of historical Gay cultureOne reason why Gay relationships are tolerated in the North and less torelated in the South, particularly in Kerala is lack of such culture.Whether Islam approves or not, it must be noted, Islamic Empires in North indeed had a visible LGBT culture which they never denied or kept hidden. Most of the Sultans of Delhi always embraced Gay slaves and openly indulged with them.Much celebrated relationship of Malik Kauf and Alauddin Khiliji is so popular and openly recorded tooErotic paintings of Mughals/Sultans with their slave boys and eunuchs was never seen as a social taboo in that society.So that cultural traits do exist in much of North Indian society, even after 300 years of Colonial rule which outlawed them. It doesn’t have that degree of objection as South in general have.On the contrary, such relationships were rarely recorded in many Kingdoms of South. There are stories how Chola Kings used to have 100+ wives in their harems, but never any story about male sex slaves etc.Especially in Kerala, we don’t have any recorded tales of any popular king or lords enjoying with other men. On the contrary, multiple relationships with females as well as forcible rapes etc were commonly heard.The only remote tales of homosexuality stories heard was among Arabs of Kozhikode. Arab Merchants used to bring a lot of Kappris (African Slaves) in their ships for hard work and often used them for sexual pleasures during their long sea journeys.Due to this trend, many Mappillas of Malabar region also has enjoyed homosexuality during their sea journeys, which they never used to acknowledge while in the land (as they do have a culture of multiple marriages and multiple female relationships).But as historically they do have this culture, a degree of homosexuality concepts were accepted in Malabar society (often addressed as Kundans in Malayalam, which in Malabar lingo actually means sexually attractive young boys). But again, due to other communities’ influence, homosexuality was seen as a crime/sin even among Malabar Muslim community though some enjoy in private.Sexuality Landscape of Modern Kerala: A Discourse on Male Social Gathering among Malabar Muslim MenBut in the absence of a clear history of homosexuality, its public acknowledgement and torelance will be harder.These are the key reasons why homosexuality is never accepted much in Kerala culture. It doesn’t mean such a culture doesn’t exist. But its public acceptance will be too low.People see Homosexuals as some sort of abnormal creatures. Infact majority still considers it as some sort of mental diseases and there are even professional psychologists claiming it be a curable diseasesKerala sexologist claims to 'cure' homosexuality, LGBTQ community demands actionTorture, hypnotism as 'corrective therapy' for LGBT persons in some Kerala hospitalsSo essentially the stigma is there.But compared to the stigma that Kerala society had in past, things have much improved, thanks to more transgender support activities done in public as well as the formation of various queer support groups.In past, the level of ostracism faced by these queers was so high, if publically known. Since there was a legal clause like 377, even police used to harasses them even on suspicious cases.A short film on Police harassment using Sec 377 even in cases of private consensual enjoyments. This was released in 2014, when such things were too common in KeralaPublic opinions about gays/queers were too bad in Kerala as if they are running around with lust to capture young boys. These kinds of short films reinforce that image further.But from there, Kerala improved so rapidly, thanks to a slew of Govt and peer initiatives in normalizing the concept. Once a private secret group like Queerla, now became a major social group in regularizing the concept of LGBT rights.They frequently conduct round table discussions and social out-reach programs in educating publicPublic exhibition to help in changing the mindset of public.Jijo Kuriakose, the lead activist in Gay Movement of Kerala is currently working to spread the message of normalizing the LBGT concept among Malayalees and removing its social stigms thro’ various social out-reach programsSo as Vihan Peethambar, a Transman who converted his gender from female to male, is also a major social activist in promoting LGBT rights in Kerala. He has been nominated a member in Kerala Diversity Board, a state-run institution to promote human diversitiesOne of the biggest change that came thro’ announcement of Kerala’s first Gay Couple who married each other. Nikesh and Sonu’s public announcement as Kerala’s first openly declared Gay couple was a major shock as well as a change factor in KeralaNikesh and Sonu who married in Guruvayur Krishna Temple as they can’t legally marry.Nikesh and Sonu: Meet Kerala's first gay couple to get 'married' | Kochi News - Times of IndiaMeet Kerala’s first married gay couple, Nikesh and SonuNow they are legally fighting for rights of inheritance and adoption of a childKerala’s First Openly Married Gay Couple is Now Fighting for Right to AdoptSo essentially things are opening up better. So as Malayalam cinema industry has slowly started recongizing, that being Gay/Lesbian is not a matter to mock as they used to do in past. Movies like Njan Marykutty with a popular actor like Jayasurya featuring a full-length transwoman character essentially proves, Kerala is changing fasterBut things don’t change overnight. It takes its own time. At the moment, yes a larger percentage is against LGBT. Hopefully, it should come down sooner.

I rate him 95+ out of 100.INITIATIVES FOR PASSENGERSPassenger Helpline No. 138 and security helpline 182Indian Railways provided the All India Helpline Number ‘138’ for passengers, as an interface for queries/complaints related to medical emergency, cleanliness, food & catering, coach maintenance, linen etc. A security helpline ‘182’has also been launched to report any unsavory incidents. This service is very important public service and may play an important role in emergencies like crime against women, onboard unlawful activity, train accidents, medical attention required and fire etc. These helpline numbers viz.138&182 and existing 139 are now to be printed on the tickets for the convenience of passengers.Launching of e-catering service in trainsThe Ministry of Railways is providing e-catering service in trains through its PSU, Indian Railways Catering &Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). This is a service where a passenger is able to place an order for a meal, to be served at his seat in the train enroute, through a phone call or an SMS. Presently this service is available in 120 pairs of trains.Go-India Smart cardGo-India’ smart card scheme has been launched on pilot basis on two sectors i.e. New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah. At present, the Go-India smart card enables passengers to pay for reserved and unreserved tickets. The scheme is intended to reduce the transaction time at the booking counters for the convenience of passengers as it facilitates cashless transaction.Introduction of Next Generation e-ticketing systemNext generation E-ticketing system introduced, which can book 7200 online tickets instead of 2000 tickets per minute and to attend 2,00,000 enquiries instead of 50000 per minute.SMS Alerts to passengersIndian Railways added another milestone by launching yet another innovative scheme called the ‘SMS Gateway’, which will enable passengers to get SMS alerts on the status of reserved tickets. Moreover SMS alerts giving wakeup calls has also been introduced.Mobile security App.for womenMobile app for security of women has been launched in Mumbai suburban trains.This is the first phase and it will be extended in other areas in a phased manner.Yatri Ticket Sewa Kendra schemeA new scheme called the Yatri Ticket Sewa Kendra (YTSK) Scheme has been launched. Under this scheme, agents of Indian Railways can operate ticketing terminals at various locations in the cities and towns for issuing reserved tickets and unreserved tickets. This will offer greater convenience to passengers in getting rail tickets.Adarsh StationThe scheme of Adarsh stations for better amennities has been introduced in the year 2009. Under this scheme, 1052 stations have been selected for development as Adarsh Station upto 2013-14. 108 stations have been developed under the scheme during 2014-15, as such a total of 934 stations have been developed as ‘Adarsh’ station so far.Pilgrim special tourist trainsWith a view to promote rail tourism in the country and to provide reasonably priced tourism package to tourists, especially the pilgrims in the country, India Railways through its PSU IRCTC has launched six pilgrim special tourist train packages in the first phase. The tourist packages are; Sukhamngalam Yatra, Dham special with Dakshin Darshan via Lucknow, Dham special with Dakshin Darshan via Jaipur, Shikharji Circuit Yatra, Jyotirling Yatra, and Takht Parikrama.Braille Signages on coachesFor the help of visually impaired passengers, Indian Railways has taken the initiative of providing Braille signages on coaches.CCTV on coachesIn order to improve security measures on trains and especially for women passengers, it has been decided to provide CCTV cameras on coaches especially in ladies compartments in doorway and aisle area without infringing on the privacy.Waiting chairs/benches etc. under MPLAD SchemeGuidelines issue for installations of chairs/benches/overhead sheds at stations under Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLAD).Comprehensive guidelines have been issued for improvement of passenger amenities at stations through NGOs, Trusts, Corporate etc.R.O. drinking water at stationsProvision of Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) drinking water units at selection stations on experimental basis has been planned. To begin with, eight stations namely, Madurai, Gadag, Tirupati, Guwahati Dwarka, H.Nizammudin, Patna & Bhopal were identified for provision of R.O. drinking water units. While R.O. drinking water units have already been commissioned at Dwarka, Gadag, H.Nizammudin, Katihar (in lieu of Guwahati), Madurai and Tirupati stations R.O. units at Patna & Bhopal are planned to be commissioned shortly.This will help provide safe drinking water to passengers.Seperate Food safety officer in every divisionWith a view to ensure better quality check on the food installations in Railway, it has been decided to appoint one Food Safety Officer in every Division of the Railways. Earlier a Food Safety Officer was entrusted with more than one Division which was causing difficulty in ensuring proper supervision.DIGITAL INDIA INITIATIVELaunching of a ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal’A ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal and Mobile Application’ (android/windows based mobile App), was launched. One can track the status of the complaints which he or she registered on this portal with the help of mobile App. Feedback can also be given on this portal. This will help in faster redressal of passenger grievances.‘Operation Five Minutes’ –Paperless Unreserved TicketingFulfilling yet another commitment of the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Minister of Railways launched Mobile Application for Paperless Unreserved Ticketing on pilot basis on Egmore –Tambaram Suburban Section of Chennai. This initiative is part of Indian Railways effort to help passengers purchase the unreserved tickets within five minutes under its ‘Operation five minutes programme’. This will allow the passenger to buy a ticket on the move and allow him or her to board the train with the ticket secured on his or her mobile phone, without any need for printing the ticket.‘E-Samiksha’ for Implementation MonitoringIn yet another milestone initiative for ensuring timely implementation of budget proposals, a special portal called ‘E-Samiksha’, has been launched for monitoring the implementation of budget announcements/commitments .This portal would help to keep an eye on the implementation of budget process.Facility of ‘Wi-Fi’ services on Railway stationsIndian Railways is providing the Wi-Fi Broadband Services at several stations which include Bangaluru, Secunderabad, Mumbai CST, Agra, Varanasi, Hawrah, Chennai, Ahmdabad. The Wi-Fi project on Indian Railways is being executed by RailTel, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Railways. Wi-Fi facility is available to the users free of cost initially for a period of 30 minutes by registering on the Wi-Fi network through their mobile phones. The facility of Wi-Fi will be extended to other stations in a phased manner.Introduction of e-demand systemWith the release of this module, customers can sit in the convenience of their homes or offices and register their freight demands.Railways’ Social Media platformTo keep pace with the modern means of internet media, Indian Railways launched its three social media platforms namely Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with the URL @railminindia. Railway Budget was for the first time live streamed on social media platforms. Online suggestions and feedback can also be made on these social media platforms.SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTMoU signed for highest ever funding for RailwaysIn a landmark achievement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Railways and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for highest ever funding of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for Railways. This move will ultimately help railways growth through augmentation of its financial resources.Interim Report of HLRRC submitted to Railway BoardInterim Report of High Level Railway Restructuring Committee (HLRCC) headed by Dr. Bibek Debroy has been submitted to the Railway Board.The report has also been put on the Ministry’s website for inviting suggestions and comments. This committee was constituted with an aim to find out ways to mobilise resources for major railway projects and restructuring of railways.Delegating more power to Zonal RailwaysWith an aim to fast track decision making and bring in transparency full powers have been delegated to General Manages and Director Generals as tender authority . All the cases for acceptance of Works and Stores tenders, will now be dealt with and finalized by Zonal Railways and Production Units.Scope of e-tendering is being expanded for increased transparency and procurement.Saving of energyTo reduce cost of Electrical energy being used for traction, procurement through open market is being done.Power Purchase Agreement between DVC and North Central railway for supply of 50MW power has already been signed.Saving for the month of March 2015 alone is Rs 10 Crore approx.A web based electrical energy management system called RailSaver has been launched which will help save upto 15% energy by 2020.Logistic Hubs on National WaterwaysA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWA) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) for creation of logistic hubs with rail connectivity at Varanasi and other places on National Waterways.Alternative Energy ResourcesSolar Plants of 2 MW at RCF, Raebareli and 1 MW at Katra Railway station have been commissioned.Target of commissioning 6.5 MW Solar Power plants in year 2015-16. A 30 KW Solar Plant has been commissioned at roof top Rail Bhawan at New Delhi. Solar plants at other Railway buildings are proposed to be installed in future. Target for commissioning of 25 MW Wind Energy Plant at Jaisalmer in 2015-16.Ratan Tata as Head of ‘Kayakalp’ CouncilTaking immediate follow up action in implementing the Budget announcement, Railways constituted the ‘Kayakalp’ Council and appointed Shri Ratan Tata to head this Council. The purpose of the Council is to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Indian Railways.MOU with National Institute of DesignAdding yet another milestone by fulfilling another commitment announced in the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Indian Railway signed an MoU to set up its own Railway Design Centre in the campus of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad. This will help improve customer’s happiness by way of better designed coaches and providing cost effective solutions to problems faced by passengers during train travel.White paper and vision 2030 documentMinister of Railways released White Paper on Railways in the parliament with a view to understand the challenges that the organization is presently facing. Ministry of Railways is now working on the vision 2030 document on Railways which will contain a blueprint for the future development of the Indian Railways.Task forces and Experts’ committeesSeveral task forces and committees of experts constituted for focussed attention on areas like revenue mobilization through advertising, improving financial health of railways, restructuring delegation of powers, productivity enhancement, etc. The various committees have roped in experts like E Shreedhran, former CAG Vinod Rai, economist Bibek Debroy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata to improve the Railways and bring in innovative ideas and solutions.Better training of Railway PersonnelAcademic Services Agreement has been signed with Beijing Jiao Tong University, China for training of 100 officers of various departments in Heavy Haul Technology. ‘Indian Railways Chair for Sustainable Mobility’ has been set up at TERI University, New Delhi. Modules on gender sensitization of Railway personnel have been introduced in centralized training institutes.Centre for Railway Research set up at Mumbai UniversityRailway Ministry and Mumbai University signed an MoU to set up a Centre for Railway Research (CRR) at University of Mumbai in order to develop a long-term frame work for research collaboration.Leveraging of space for advertisingWith a view to generate additional revenue, RITES,a public sector undertaking of Ministry of Railways prepared a Concept Note, indicating ways and means for leveraging of space in coaches, wagons, trains, railway stations etc. for advertisements, publicity and other purposes. Now, six-member task force headed by Member Traffic Railway Board has been set up to examine and implement this project.INFRASTRUCTURECritical coal connectivity projects fasttrackedTransportation of coal is an important activity of Indian Railways and is very crucial for the country’s power supply system. Critical Coal connectivity projects in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa are being fast tracked. MOU has been signed with Ministry of Coal and Government of Odisha. Another MOU with Government of Jharkhand is in the offing.Redevelopment of Railway StationsRailway Ministry has now decided to offer Railway Stations for redevelopment on ‘as is where is’ basis, by inviting open bids from interested parties with their designs and business ideas duly providing for amenities and other requirements of the Railways. The Process for redevelopment of stations, already indentified viz. Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Shivaji Nagar & Habibganj by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) is continuing.Progress On Dedicated Freight Corridor ProjectEastern and Western Dedicated Freight corridors are being developed for smooth and fast transportation of freight.Loan for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Phase 2) for US $ 1100 million approved by the World Bank on 22.04.14, has been signed on 11th November 2014. Electrification contract for 945 km of Western DFC has been awarded on 18.11.2014.FDI and PPP in RailwaysCabinet approved 100% FDI in identified areas of Railway sector.Ministry of Railways has formulated sectoral guidelines on FDI.Investor’s meet was held to explain FDI to investors.More meets planned in future. High level committee set up to discuss FDI and PPP issues. Ministry of Railways has also issued Model Concession Agreement for Non Governmental Railway model, joint venture model and Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. During the period , approvals were also given for port connectivity PPP projects viz. Roha-Dighi newline and Digni-Jaigarh port newline. In addition in principle approval for two more port connectivity projects viz. Chhara port and Nargol port has been given.New Rail Neer Plant in Mumbai inauguratedA new Rail Neer plant has been set up at Ambernath (Mumbai) by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Ministry of Railways, the production capacity of this plant will be 2 lakh liters per day, This will improve availability of safe Packaged Drinking Water (PDW).Laying of Opticle Fibre Cable on Railway NetworkA total number of 1,329 route kilometres OFC has been laid. Cumulatively, 48,179 route kilometers (approx.) OFC has been commissioned over Indian .It will enable high speed internet connectivity and video conferencing facility.New lines and electrificationIn 2014-15, 1983 km of railway lines have been commissioned. This is the highest ever. In 2014-15, 1375 km of railway electrification completed. This is the highest ever.SAFETYGeo-spatial technologies for unmanned level crossingsIn a significant move to make Unmanned Level Crossings (UMLCs) safer for road users thereby avoiding accidents thereat, Geo-spatial technologies are proposed to be used with the help of ISRO. Under such technologies which combine Global Positioning System(GPS), Geographic Information System(GIS) and Remote Sensing, an alert message will be flashed automatically in the mobile phones of all the road users carrying GPS enabled mobile phones in the vicinity of an Unmanned Level Crossing, about the approaching train. This will save many lives as many fatal accidents occur at unmanned level crossing.Quick evacuation of injured persons from tracksStandard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being put in place regarding quick evacuation of the injured persons from the railway track so that human lives are saved.MoU on construction of ROBs/RUBsIn a move to further enhance safety of road users, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on policy related to constructions of Road Over Bridges and Road Under Bridges on National Highway corridors.MAKE IN INDIAExpansion project of DLW factoryThe Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the commencement of Expansion Project of Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), a production unit of Indian Railways at Varanasi on some of the features of the expansion plan are; a new block shop, loco frame shop and loco assembly shop, new plant shop having advanced paint booths, induction of high productivity machines and generation of 250 kw Green Power by roof mounted grid connected solar power plant. The project will herald the ‘Make in India’ campaign in the holy city, Varanasi.Ministry of Railway also successfully floated RFP for state of the Art Electro Loco Factory at Madhepura and Diesel Loco Factory at Marhowra. Again RFP were issued for manufacturing 9000 HP electric locos for western DFC. Locos will be manufactured at Dankuni and Technology will be transferred to CLW, Chittanranjan.New production unitsRail Wheel Plan, Bela commissioned and regular production started.2nd unit for manufacture of LHB coaches fit to run at 160kmph made functional at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.DEMU factory Haldia commissioned.Mid-life Rehabilitation Workshop for coaches at Jhansi completed.New Loco and New Green Train5500 HP Diesel Locomotive introduced in Indian Railway System which is the highest horse power Diesel Engine.First “Green” DEMU rail introduced on Northern Railway to run between Rewari-Rohtak Section.HIGH SPEED PROJECTSStatus of Railways Semi High Speed ProjectsIndian Railways is working on increasing speed of trains raising it to 160kmph/200 kmph referred as Semi-High speed. It has identified nine corridors for this purpose. Trial run in Delhi-Agra corridor successfully completed for running trains at semi-high speed of 160 km. per hour. The commercial services will be started after obtaining the CRS sanction.The feasibility study for semi high speed on Chennai-Bangaluru-Mysore Corridor is being taken up by Chinese Railways.Feasibility study for New Delhi-Chandigarh Corridor to be undertaken with French Railway.Discussions are on with Germany for undertaking feasibility study of Nagpur-Secunderabad Corridor.5 other identified corridors under examination for semi high speed trains.Mumbai-Ahemdabad High Speed Bullet train projectMinistry of Railways took steps for introduction of High Speed Bullet Trains(300+kmph) in the country on Mumbai-Ahmadabad corridor. It is part of the Ministry’s ambitious plan to have Diamond Quadrilateral network of High Speed Rail connecting major metros and growth centers of the country. French Railway submitted business model study of this corridor. The interim report of feasibility study being undertaken by Japan has been received and final report is expected in June, 2015. One new route between New Delhi and Chennai has been identified for introducing bullet train and China has been entrusted with the task of undertaking feasibility study of this line.JAMMU & KASHMIR AND NORTH EASTOpening of Lumding-Silchar broad gauge sectionThe much awaited Lumding-Silchar Broad Gauge section (Assam) inaugurated with the running of goods trains. The passenger train services will be started soon on this section. This line will provide seamless BG connectivity to Barak Valley of Assam with the rest of the Country.it Musica Country,Free Country Music WebRadio Online! is a very crucial rail link for the N.E region.First train to MeghalayaIn an important event in the history of Railways, one more north-eastern state namely Meghalaya was brought on country’s railway map. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the first ever train from Guwahati to Medipathar in Meghalaya to mark this feat.Foundation stone for rail link to Mizoram’s capitalTo further boost the development of rail link in North Eastern region, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation for a new rail route from Bhairabi to Sairang in Mizoram. It will take rail connectivity to Aizawl, the capital of MizoramKatra comes on country’s railway mapIn another landmark engineering marvel, Indian Railways completed Udhampur-Katra Broad gauge line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister dedicated this line to the nation at a programme held at Katra.This line has brought Katra on country’s railway map consequently bringing Jammu & Kashmir Valley nearer to the rest of the nation .Railways help during J&K floodsIndian Railways geared up its machinery to provide all possible help to the travelling public in the wake of unprecedented flood in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Railways arranged transport of relief material free of charge by coaching trains to Jammu Tawi and Udhampur from any station of India. Railways made about 4 lakh Rail Neer drinking water bottles available for flood affected people of J&K.North-eastern tour package for college studentsAn education train ‘Gyanodaya Express’ – a tour package for the students of Delhi University to visit North east states, was flagged off from Delhi . It will help the students to connect with NE region .SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAANNation wide Action PlanIndian Railways is implementing PMs nationwide campaign of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan in true letter and spirit.Separate Directorate for Environment and Housekeeping created. This Directorate will address all environment and housekeeping related issues over Railways.Detailed action plan on cleanliness prepared has been prepared and an Integrated Policy of cleanliness in Stations, Platforms and Coaches is under formulation.50 major stations outsourced for international level cleanliness.Setting up of mechanised laundriesMechanised laundries at 6 new locations have been set up to improve the quality of linen being supplied to AC class passengers. With this Indian Railway now have 33 such mechanized laundries.Dustbins on all the coaches:Dustbins on trains were hitherto being provided mainly on AC coaches. Now dustbins will be provided in all the coaches including non AC coaches.On Board Housekeeping services scheme:An additional 83 no. of trains have been covered under OBHS scheme taking total coverage to around 500 trains. Under this scheme ,cleanliness is maintained during run of the train.Installation of more Bio-Toilets in coachesMore than 10159 Bio-toilets have been fitted till March, 2015 and target set for 2015-16 is fitment of 17,000 bio-toilets. These toilets use bacterial action to convert human waste into water and gas.HELPING FARMERS AND RURAL PEOPLEFirst ever Perishable Cargo Centre set upThe first ever Perishable Cargo Centre of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) (a Railway PSU) at Adarsh Nagar station near Azadpur Sabzi Mandi, Delhi, was inaugurated. This perishable cargo centre will help farmers and consumers in a big way and the ripening of fruits and cold storage facilities at this cargo centre will help the farmers get a good price and good market for their product.Skill development activities in railway premisesIndian Railways has around 8000 stations and premises of some of the railway stations with very few trains and scanty footfall would be used for skill development activities. It will help rural people substantially.The skill development programme has been emphasized by the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the benefit of the people.Promoting Rural ProductsRailways will also help in marketing rural products made by self help groups and other such agencies so as to help common rural people. The Konkani-cuisine restaurant “Konkan Swaad Katta’ recently set up at Ratnagiri station in Konkan Railway is a step in this direction to encourage traditional businesses and local talent as well as help the financial empowerment of local people and at the same time passengers getting taste traditional dishes.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONMoU with China in technical cooperation in RailwaysA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and an Action Plan were signed between the Government of India and People’s Republic of China in enhancing Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector, at delegation level talks between the two countries on 18th September 2014. The potential cooperation areas mentioned in the MoU are; i) Training in heavy haul freight transportation, ii) Raising of speed of trains on existing routes, iii) Station redevelopment, iv) High speed rail and v) Setting up of Railway University.MoU on cooperation with Republic of KoreaIndian Railways and Republic of Korea signed a MoU on Technical Cooperation In the Rail Sector. The MoU would enable technical assistance and cooperation between the Railways of the two countries on areas such as High Speed Rail, Modernisation of Rolling Stock, Railway Operations, Modernisation of Signalling, Construction & Maintenance technologies and in development of Logistics Parks/Terminals.Cooperation with Czech RepublicMoU has also been signed with Czech Republic for technical assistance in Railway sector. The potential cooperation areas mentioned in the MoU are Freight operations- Logistics of automotive transport, Passenger operations – raising of speeds upto 200 kmph; Infrastructure building and management – station development and workshop modernization; Information & communication technologies especially for passenger amenities ; Modernisation of rolling stock; Modernisation of signalling & telecom etc.Cooperation with AustriaThe 2nd Indo-Austrian Joint Working Group meeting on the Technology Specific Cooperation in the field of Railways was organized on 9.9.2014.Cooperation among SAARC nationsMinistry of Railways hosted the 5th meeting of the SAARC Inter governmental Group on Transport on 30thSeptember,2014 at Vigyan Bhawan ,New Delhi,The meeting was attended by all the SAARC member countries.Relief during Nepal earthquakeDuring the Nepal earthquake crisis, Railways made available to Nepal about 4 lakh Rail Neer drinking water bottles. Railways also made available to earthquake victims the facility of the Railways hospitals situated in the border towns. Railways also facilitated travel of earthquake victims.IMPROVED PERFORMANCEIncrease in Railways’ revenue earningsThe total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the financial year 2014-15 (1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015) were Rs. 157880.50 crore compared to Rs. 140761.27 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 12.16 per cent.Improved Freight loadingIndian Railways carried 1097.57 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the financial year 2014-15 i.e. from 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015. The freight carried shows an increase of 44.02 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 1053.55 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.18 per cent.MISCELLANEOUSPathbreaking Railway BudgetRailway Budget 2015-16 was completely depoliticized making it a long term perspective document.The thrust areas identified in the budget include Quality of life in journeys, station redevelopment, capacity augmentation, safety, technology upgradation, partnerships for development, improvements to management processes and systems, resource mobilization, human resources, energy and sustainability, transparency and governance initiatives.28 announcements made in the Budget speech already implemented.Railways players bring laurel to the nationRailway sportspersons as a part of Indian contingent at recently concluded Commonwealth Games-2014, (CWG) at Glasgow, Scotland, again brought glory to the nation by bagging 9 medals out of total 64 medals won by India.Renovation of National Rail MuseumA big renovation exercise was undertaken in National Railways Museum, Delhi. Musical Fountain, Toy Train and Renovated Exhibits have been added at the Museum.

Only twenty percent of citizens in newly-democratic Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Latvia, Poland and Bulgaria, trust their governments. Even fewer Britons trust Parliament and less than ten percent of us trust Congress. Western democracy is losing legitimacy because governments’ agenda have remained at odds with their citizens’ agenda for decades but, as Margaret Thatcher would have said, there was no alternative.In 2005, The Carter Center began transferring American democracy knowhow to China.Today, China’s democracy is bigger, faster, safer and cheaper than ours and runs entirely on Chinese intellectual property.There’s a huge global market for an improved version of democracy.Might Chinese democracy displace America’s like Huawei is replacing Motorola?Should we be surprised if the Chinese model becomes competitive? For three thousand years no subject has preoccupied China’s elite more than governance. From their perspective, Deng’s 1977 comment about Western democracy, “It’s too soon to tell,” was simple common sense. Forty years later, perhaps we can tell.China’s democracy is an alternative and, if we compare it to American democracy on seven axes–constitutional, elective, popular, procedural, operational, substantive and financial–we can begin the conversation.Constitutionally, China’s Constitution stipulates, “The State organs of the People’s Republic of China apply the principle of democratic centralism. The National People’s Congress and the local people’s congresses at various levels are constituted through democratic elections. They are responsible to the people and subject to their supervision. All administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs of the State are created by the people’s congresses to which they are responsible and by which they are supervised”. America’s Constitution does not mention ‘democracy’ once. Constitutionally, America is not a democracy so we must award a point to China 1–USA 0Electively, China’s bigger, more transparent elections were designed and supervised by The Carter Center which continues to expand the franchise at the behest of Premier Wen Jiabao, who told them in 2012, “The experience of many villages shows farmers can succeed in directly electing village committees. If people can manage a village well they can manage a township and a county. We must encourage people to experiment boldly and test democracy in practice”. Today, 3,200 democratically elected Congressional representatives must vote, almost unanimously, to approve all senior appointments and all legislation. In the U.S., wealthy, unelected people propose and fund candidates for election. An unelected Electoral College chooses the chief executive. China 2–USA 0.Popularly, the Chinese, who still bear scars of recent governance mistakes, will tell you that it was when Mao, Deng and the Qing Emperor ignored experts that they got the country into trouble. Today, Chinese democracy resembles Proctor and Gamble more than Pericles. There are more than a thousand polling firms in China and its government spends prolifically on surveys, as author Jeff J. Brown says, “My Beijing neighborhood committee and town hall are constantly putting up announcements, inviting groups of people–renters, homeowners, over seventies, women under forty, those with or without medical insurance, retirees–to answer surveys. The CPC is the world’s biggest pollster for a reason: China’s democratic ‘dictatorship of the people’ is highly engaged at the day-to-day, citizen-on-the-street level. I know, because I live in a middle class Chinese community and I question them all the time. I find their government much more responsive and democratic than the dog-and-pony shows back home, and I mean that seriously”. Even the imperious Mao would remind colleagues, “If we don’t investigate public opinion we have no right to voice our own opinion. Public opinion is our guideline for action,” which is why Five Year Plans are the results of intensive polling. Citizens’ sixty-two percent voter participation suggests that they think their votes count. Princeton’s Gilens and Page, on the other hand, examining the causes of Americans’ fifty-two percent voter participation, found ‘the preferences of the average American appear to have a near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy’. China 3–USA 0.Procedurally, The Chinese engineers, economists, statisticians and sociologists who develop policies practice democracy among themselves and the top seven decision makers–appointed independently of each other and with a collective 200 years governing experience–require at least six votes to send legislation to Congress. If President Xi claimed that global warming is a hoax he would be regarded as autocratic, not democratic. If he wants a new climate policy and persuades five colleagues to support it, he can push it into the trials pipeline but, without solid trial data, he can’t propose legislation and the popularly elected, unpaid congress has proven willing to delay leaders’ pet projects for decades. Data-driven democracy has steadily narrowed the gap between public expectations and government capacity, which is why Chinese support for government policies stands at 96 percent, higher than even Switzerland’s or Singapore’s and far higher than our twenty percent. China 4–USA 0.Operationally, American presidents resemble the medieval monarchs upon whom their office was modeled, as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, observed, “We elect a king for four years and give him absolute power within certain limits which, after all, he can interpret for himself”. Our presidents hire and fire all senior officials, secretly ban fifty thousand citizens from flying, order people kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned and assassinated and take the country to war. No Chinese leader, not even Mao at his peak, could do any of those things. The president cannot even choose his prime minister (always his strongest rival for the presidency), can only make decisions with 6–1 or 7–0 support from colleagues and can’t hire or fire officials, elect, assign or suspend members of Congress. China 5–USA 0President Obama’s healthcare initiative relied on his popularity and promises whereas, as Stanford VC Robin Daverman explains, China’s initiatives rely on math: “China is a giant trial portfolio with millions of trials going on everywhere. Today, innovations in everything from healthcare to poverty reduction, education, energy, trade and transportation are being trialled in different communities. Every one of China’s 662 cities is experimenting: Shanghai with free trade zones, Guizhou with poverty reduction, twenty-three cities with education reforms, Northeastern provinces with SOE reform: pilot schools, pilot cities, pilot hospitals, pilot markets, pilot everything. Mayors and governors, the Primary Investigators, share their ‘lab results’ at the Central Party School and publish them in ‘scientific journals,’ the State-owned newspapers. Major policies undergo ‘clinical trials,’ beginning in small towns that generate and analyze test data. If the stats look good, they’ll add test sites and do long-term follow-ups. They test and tweak for 10-30 years then ask the 3,000-member People’s Congress to review the data and authorize national trials in three major provinces. If a national trial is successful the State Council [China’s Brains Trust] polishes the plan and takes it back to the 3,000 Congresspeople for a final vote. It’s very transparent and, if you have good data and I don’t, your bill gets passed and mine doesn’t. People’s Congress votes are nearly unanimous because the legislation is backed by reams of data. This allows China to accomplish a great deal in a short time: your winning solution will be quickly propagated throughout the country, you’ll be a front page hero and you’ll be invited to high-level meetings in Beijing and promoted. As you can imagine, the competition to find solutions is intense”. Operationally, data-driven legislation wins hands down. China 6–USA 0.Substantively, China has won her battle for survival and is now militarily and economically impregnable, so authoritarian giants like Mao and Deng are no longer needed. Today, researchers, experts, media, academics, stakeholders and obstreperous citizens set the agenda. Since 2000, China has allowed foreigners to conduct surveys and publish apolitical results without submitting their questionnaires and Harvard’s Tony Saich, who’s been polling there for over a decade reports, in Governing China,that ninety-six per cent of Chinese are satisfied with their national government and, according to Edelman’s 2016 Report, almost ninety percent of Chinese trust it. World Values Surveys found that eighty-three percent say China is run for their benefit rather than for the benefit of special groups–compared to thirty-eight percent of Americans. China 7–USA 0.Financially (we exclude financial democracy from polite conversation but the Chinese don’t), ninety-five percent of poor Chinese own their homes and landand the Chinese own, in common, the commanding heights of their economy– banks, insurers and utilities. And Inequality is being effectively addressed. In its 2017 study, Global Inequality Dynamics, America’s National Bureau of Economic Research reports that, though the bottom half of Chinese saw their share of national income fall from twenty-seven percent to fifteen percent after 1980, Americans’ share collapsed from twenty percent to twelve percent. Simultaneously, China’s top one percent captured thirteen percent of all personal income, but America’s elite grabbed twenty percent. Since those figures were compiled, China has eliminated urban povertyand, the World Bank adds, “We can reasonably expect the virtual elimination of extreme poverty in [rural] China by 2022”. Every Chinese–not just the poor–has doubled her income every ten years for the past 40 years, an extraordinary improvement in income mobility and the inverse of our experience. In the U.S., says Stanford’s Raj Chetty, “rates of absolute mobility have fallen from approximately 90% for children born in 1940 to 50% for children born in the 1980s. Absolute income mobility has fallen across the entire income distribution, with the largest declines for families in the middle class”. China 8–USA 0.Whether or not you’re willing to call China’s system democratic, it’s clearly more democratic than our eighteenth century model.How long before China start selling the new, improved version?