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Privatization of Railways - Economic Development 1. Of the Rs 50 lakh crores planned to be infused for development of Indian railways, only a part can be financed through the Budget 2020 and the rest to be met by Private players. 2.  So, GoI (Government of India) decided to open some of the busiest passenger train routes to private players. Why are Private players required? 1. During normal times, demand for train seats is more than the supply. This leads to huge wait-lists, overcrowding of trains and loosing of business to other modes like road and air. 2. The Indian Railways (IR) passenger segment is a loss-making business as only 57% of cost is met through sale of tickets and the rest is cross-subsidized through freight operations. 3. There is stiff competition between passenger trains and freight trains on the overcrowded IR network. 4. The opening up of Dedicated Freight Corridor will easen the IR network for passenger train segments and will be an opportunity to engage privat...

The Economist Intelligence Unit has released the report of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2019. Findings of the Survey For the first time in its 30-year history, three cities have been accorded the title of the world’s most expensive city in the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from The Economist Intelligence Unit. Singapore which top’s of the rankings for the sixth consecutive year is joined there by Hong Kong and Paris. Zurich in Switzerland stood at the fourth position followed by Japan’s Osaka which shared fifth place with Geneva, also in Switzerland. Seoul (South Korea), Copenhagen (Denmark) and New York (US) were jointly placed at the seventh spot. Los Angeles (US) along with Israel’s Tel Aviv was named the 10th most expensive city in the world. The cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while Southeast Asian destinations were moving up the ranks. Weaker local currencies have pushed all five Australian and two New Zealand cities surveyed down ...