New Delhi: The entire rail network will be electrified in India which is the only country in the globe that is experimenting to convert diesel engines into electric, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
This is being done in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment towards environment protection, Goyal said during Question Hour.
"Till now six old diesel locomotives have been converted into three twin electric locomotives at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi which is a production unit of Indian Railways," Goyal said.
These conversions being prototype and since a lot of existing material from discarded locomotives were reused, it is not possible to ascertain the exact cost at this stage, he said.
The Minister said: "These converted prototype locomotives are under extensive field tests and trials. The number of diesel locomotives is to be decided based upon the performance of the converted prototype locomotives."
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In reply to a supplementary, the minister also said that there is no requirement for conversion of metre gauge and narrow gauge into electric as the government is closing these barring a few places in view of environment or scenic beauty.
The minister also said that the government has initiated dialogue with ASEAN members for review of the free-trade agreement (FTA) executed 10 years ago.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister said the FTA with ASEAN was executed around 10 years ago and "our study shows that we have not been able to get as much benefit out of the FTA".
"We have opened up our market to many other countries to the detriment of India's and Indian coffee growers interests."
"We have already initiated dialogue with ASEAN countries and I am happy to share with the House that ASEAN has agreed for a review of the FTA. We will take up various issues in the review and then we will report to the House," he told the House.
He also said the Coffee Board is trying to develop an Indian brand of coffee for export and the work in this regard is underway.
In his written reply, the minister also said the Government of India through the Coffee Board is undertaking various measures to boost the export of coffee across the world.
