The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said that in keeping with Prime Minister’s emphasis on ‘Make in India’, the Indian Railways was able to finalise the bids for setting up two loco factories with an order book of about ₹ 40,000 crore. He said, the bidding process was absolutely transparent and the rates received were extremely competitive. Presenting the Railway Budget 2016-17 in Parliament today, he said, these factories will create an ecosystem of many flourishing small and medium ancillary units which will get connected to the global supply chain.

The Railway Minister said, they will boost employment potential of the entire Eastern region. Shri Suresh Prabhu said Indian Railways have since initiated a similar bid process for manufacture, supply and maintenance of train sets to be used for Rajdhani and Shatabdi services. It is proposed to increase the current procurement by 30%.

Public procurement transparency drives Make in India loco factory contracts, expanding domestic manufacturing and ancillary supply chains. Finalisation of bids to establish two locomotive manufacturing plants under the Make in India initiative represents a procurement action described as competitive and transparent, intended to promote domestic manufacturing and create an industrial ecosystem of small and medium ancillary suppliers integrated into global supply chains, while also advancing regional employment and initiating parallel procurement for manufacture, supply and maintenance of premium train sets to increase procurement volumes.