Railway minister Lalu Yadav offers Management lessons at AIMA Foundation Day

And Lalu Yadav believes that the best is yet to come! Not content with turning around a perennially sick PSU in last five years, Mr Yadav is confident that Indian Railways will not only remain profitable, but play a vital role in infrastructure building of the nation. Thats the message that Mr Yadav offered at AIMAs Foundation Day in New Delhi on February 21, 2009.

Said Mr Yadav, When I took over the reins of Indian Railways five year back, Rakesh Mohan Committee had recommended that Railways will continue to lose money, and recommended 20% job cuts. But we not just made it profitable, it has become a case study for students at IIMs, Harvard, MIT and other institutions in turn-around management. We achieved this without any retrenchment or arm-twisting of stakeholders.

Quoting data to validate his point, Mr Yadav said, We are now earning a surplus of Rs 90,000 crores a year. Its a 64,000 kilometer long line, with 14,000 trains running. With 14 lakh employees, Railways is the biggest employer not just in India, but the world.

Mr Yadav credited the Team Railways for the success. He said that this wouldnt have been possible without the commitment and hard work of railways employees and bureaucrats.

Humorously commenting that these developments are just the trailer of the movie which will play out over the next many years, Mr Yadav said, Indian Railways growth story has a lot more to offer. We are building integrated freight corridors which will make movement of goods across the country more efficient. We are also taking steps to facilitate farmers to sell their fruits and vegetables with creation of warehouses and markets close to the railway stations. We can also play a part in solving the crisis of water of shortage by creating water canals alongside railway tracks.
Clearly this turnaround story has a lot more to offer.