Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced a major policy reform that allows fertilizers to be transported in specially designed containers instead of traditional covered box wagons. Briefing media in New Delhi today on the reforms aimed at modernizing Indian Railways, Mr Vaishnaw said, Railways account for 85 per cent share in transportation of fertilisers. He said, container handling is easier and enables non-polluting storage. Mr Vaishnaw added that individual container can be stored at the rake point, instead of detaining the entire rake. The minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has continuously encouraged to bring reforms in the Railways. Mr Vaishnaw announced a major reform in fly ash transportation, shifting movement from open railway wagons to specially designed containers. He highlighted that India generates nearly 340 million tonnes of fly ash annually, which is highly useful in cement production and road construction. The Minister said, the new container-based system will reduce dust pollution during loading, transport and storage. Mr Vaishnaw also announced a unified licence system under container policy.Mr Vaishnaw said Wagon design can now be done by the industry. He said that any designer or manufacturer can propose a new wagon design. The Minister informed that after evaluating the design, the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) will give permission for the prototype. The Minister said this will enable special design wagons for specific industry needs. The Minister also informed that Rail bhoomi portal will be launched to manage the complete process of land acquisition. Mr Vaishnaw said, it will enables online processing of major land acquisition stages. On skill certification framework for railway projects, Mr Vaishnaw said that this system will be implemented across all projects in a maximum of 24 months. He said, when large scale infrastructure creation work is underway in the country, it is important that plumbers, welders, fitters, masons and concrete testers and all other workers are well trained.
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