Question: The national average of present railway network density is …
a) 5 KM per 100 square Km
b) 6 KM per 100 square Km
c) 7 Km per 100 square Km
d) 2.01 Km per 100 square Km
Ans: (d)
Related facts:
- On 20th January, 2017, a Joint Venture Agreement was signed between Ministry of Railways and Government of Jharkhand for developing railway infrastructure in the State.
- This Joint Venture agreement will provide active representation to States in the Planning and Implementation and speed up the development of Railway projects on state’s priority.
- It will generate more financial resources through participation of State & other stakeholders in the project specific subsidiaries.
- Government of Jharkhand has initially identified 3 projects viz., Namkum – Kandra, Giridih – Parasnath-Madhuban, Tori – Chatra Rail Line covering a length of 222 km at a cost of Rs. 2150 Crore.
- Governments of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have already signed JV agreement with Ministry of Railways.
- Government of Jharkhand with 51% equity is the 9th State which had agreed to form a Joint Venture Company with the Ministry of Railways
- The present railway network density in Jharkhand is 17.64 Km per 100 square Km which is the best in India and way above the national average of 2.01 Km per 100 square Km.
- Railways have a large shelf of ongoing New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling projects needing about Rs 3.86 lakh crores to complete.
- To expedite the projects, Railways have been trying to mobilize resources through other than Gross Budgetary Support. Towards this mission, 10 State Governments have till now agreed to share the cost of 41 ongoing projects ranging from 25% to 67% of the project cost.
- In view of the growing demands for Railway lines in various states and huge requirement of funds to execute them Railway Ministry has taken an initiative for setting up of Joint Ventures with States for focused project development.
Reference;
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/railways-sign-joint-venture-with-jharkhand-government-to-develop-rail-infra-in-the-state/articleshow/56689621.cms