India's first private railway station, it gives airport like facilities, developed by…, located in THIS state, not in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, name is…
Many would not know that the Habibganj Railway Station holds the distinction of being India's first privately managed railway station. It is important to note that the station is being operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. All You Need to Know About Habibganj Railway Station: Habibganj Railway Station was redeveloped by Bansal Group in collaboration with the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport-like redeveloped Habibganj railway station on November 15, 2021.
This was part of Indian Railways' ambitious plan to modernise key stations across the country through private investment. Kamalapati railway station in memory of Gond queen Rani Kamlapati.
The station code was also changed from HBJ to RKMP.
While the station is operated and maintained by the private player, ownership remains with Indian Railways.
This PPP model ensures better services without compromising national control. Habibganj Railway Station: Facilities The station offers an airport-like experience
It has a spacious concourse and waiting lounges, modern food courts and retail outlets
It also has Energy-efficient design with solar panels, high-tech surveillance and security systems.
Rani Kamlapati Station (formerly Habibganj Railway Station) has set a benchmark for future railway station redevelopment projects across India. Major stations like New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai CST are also being considered for similar transformations.
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Hans India
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India, Maldives to boost bilateral cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture
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New Delhi: About a year ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government then eying a second term, asked then union finance secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, to investigate fake currency notes that had been allegedly used by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to use for political funding. While Garg informed the Prime Minister's Office that he did not find anything suspicious after undertaking the exercise for a couple of months, the PMO was still not satisfied and appointed an expert committee headed by an external professional. In his new book No, Minister: Navigating Power, Politics and Bureaucracy with a Steely Resolve, Garg writes that while he communicated that 'under no circumstances' would he 'find it acceptable that an outside professional be allowed to go into the highly sensitive and confidential currency printing presses.' 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Garg said that at the end of the exercise which was undertaken by the SPMCIL officers, it was found that there was slightly higher wastage which was 'not alarming' than international norms and that he found nothing suspicious. 'There was slightly higher wastage (though nothing alarming) than the international norms, but it was quite close to the Indian experience and the long-term trend. I went through all these calculations and got the SPMCIL management to send the report along with all the details officially concluding that there was no unexplained wastage. I thereafter forwarded it to the PMO with my covering note that I did not find anything particularly suspicious in the printing of notes over that period of 10 years,' he writes. According to Garg, the PMO was not satisfied and he was sent another DO from Misra in which he was informed that an expert committee headed by an external professional would be formed. Garg said that he found it unacceptable that an outside professional would be 'allowed to go into the highly sensitive and confidential currency printing presses.' 'I found it uncalled for and decided to meet him to persuade him not to embark on that wild goose chase. He was insistent. I said that the government might appoint an expert committee but under no circumstances would I find it acceptable that an outside professional be allowed to go into the highly sensitive and confidential currency printing presses,' Garg writes in the book. 'He agreed to this. The PMO decided to appoint Bibek Debroy as head of the committee, a decision that was taken just prior to the Lok Sabha elections of 2019,' he writes. Bibek Debroy. Photo: PTI/Files Debroy had been the chairman of the PM's Economic Advisory Council since 2017. Garg writes that the Debroy committee however did not start work till his voluntary retirement in July 2019. 'Nothing has been placed by the government in public domain about the work done and conclusions reached by the Debroy Committee,' he writes. In July 2019, Garg who was moved to the power ministry applied for voluntary retirement, preferring to resign over a year before his scheduled 'superannuation' date. Although Garg's new position in the power ministry came with the same salary and perks, it was widely seen as a demotion. The decision to shift Garg to the power ministry was seen as being abrupt, primarily because the finance ministry bureaucrat was closely and personally involved with several government initiatives including ,
