Container Train Operations: Introducing Competition (A)

Author(s):  
G Raghuram ◽  
Rachna Gangwar ◽  
Sebastian Morris ◽  
Ajay Pandey

In May 2005, the Committee on Infrastructure took a decision that the Ministry of Railways, in consultation with Planning Commission, would prepare a policy for permitting private and public sector operators to run container trains through the Indian Railways (IR) network. CONCOR, a listed subsidiary of IR, was the only container train operator at that time. RITES, another subsidiary of IR, was awarded a study to prepare a scheme towards this. RITES submitted its final report in September 2005. The recommendations of the report included entry requirements, classification of routes into various categories based on existing and anticipated traffic volume, regulating entry for each route and minimum traffic commitment by the operators. The representatives of the Planning Commission, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Ministry of Shipping were to meet in October 2005 to discuss the RITES recommendations to work towards framing a policy document for running container trains by private and public sector operators on the IR network. This case provides a background for this meeting.

Author(s):  
G Raghuram ◽  
Rachna Gangwar ◽  
Sebastian Morris ◽  
Ajay Pandey

In October 2005, the representatives of the Planning Commission, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Ministry of Shipping met to discuss the RITES recommendations to work towards framing a policy document for running container trains by private and public sector operators on the IR network. Starting with this meeting until January 2006, various aspects of the RITES report were debated by the Planning Commission and Ministry of Railways to evolve a policy statement. There were concerns raised by the Planning Commission on the proposals by RITES which had implications such as entry barriers and denial of a level playing field with the incumbent, CONCOR. Other specific issues including entry criteria, entry fees and revenue share, and maintenance were questioned. In January 2006, a policy statement titled ‘Policy to permit various operators to move container trains on Indian Railways’ was released by the Ministry of Railways which stated the terms and conditions for running container trains by private and public sector operators on IR network. Subsequent to this, 14 parties signed up with the IR for container train operations. The empowered subcommittee of the Committee on Infrastructure was to meet in February 2006 to discuss the process for finalizing a Model Concession Agreement between Indian Railways and the container train operators. This case provides a background for this meeting.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudarshan Maity ◽  
Tarak Nath Sahu

PurposeBank mobilizes savings and transforms it into credit for investments in various sectors, which helps the economy running. The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficiency of three bank groups in India with data spanning from 2009–2010 to 2018–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses data envelopment analysis for measuring the efficiency of the selected banks. It measures the efficiency both from the revenue dimension and from the supply-side dimension of financial inclusion.FindingsThe study finds that foreign banks on average are working efficiently far better than the public-sector and private-sector banks. It indicates that foreign banks in India are operating at 92.53% efficiency level, whereas private- and public-sector banks are operating at 90.20 and 86.04% efficiency levels, respectively. Further, the result of the Friedman test reveals that there is no significant difference in efficiency scores amongst these three bank groups. As major challenges, non-performing assets of the banking industry to be reduced by 15% as radial and 53.18% as slack.Originality/valueOne of the notable innovativeness of this study is that, unlike most of the previous studies that are mostly selected few banks and specific group, the present study may place itself as a unique inquiry in the domain of technical efficiency in macro concept by considering three major bank groups operating in India. An important contribution of the study is the classification of reasons behind the inefficiency, i.e. managerial or inappropriate scale size and further projections of input factors for the same level of output.


Author(s):  
Neeti Kasliwal ◽  
Jagriti Singh

Banking sector is growing rapidly and playing a vital role in the economic development of the nation. Both private and public sector banks are giving more priority to service quality to satisfy their customers. For this, banks are now emphasizing on E-CRM practices to carry out transactions and communicate with their customers. The purpose of this research is to assess the service quality among private and public banks in Rajasthan. Purposive sampling technique has been employed to collect the data from three private banks and three banks from public. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, Mean score method and t test have been used. Results indicates that there is a significant difference in consumer’s perception of service quality dimensions related to E-CRM practices provided by selected private and public sector banks of Rajasthan..The findings of this research will help policy makers of banking sector to set customer oriented policies.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 441-447
Author(s):  
J. Davis ◽  
G. Cashin

This paper examines the similarities and differences between public and private ownership of water utilities, including variations such as corporatisation. In any utility where the asset owner and the asset operator are the same, there are pressures to reduce operations and maintenance costs and capital expenditure to maximise returns. The authors argue that this is the case irrespective of whether such returns are to private shareholders or dividends to government. On the other hand, where the asset owner and the asset operator are separate entities with a clearly defined contractual interface, it is not possible to increase returns by reducing operations and maintenance standards, presuming a properly constructed contract. This is because the performance standards are clearly stipulated in the contract with payment reductions applying for non-performance. Such a model can be put in place irrespective of whether the asset owner is a private company or a public utility. The paper examines the profit incentive applying to private and public sector organisations in models where:the asset owner and the asset operator are the same organisation;models where the asset owner and the asset operator are separate organisations, with the service delivery performance governed by a clearly defined contractual interface. The paper shows why the drivers governing the behaviour of public sector and private sector owners are similar, and how the separation of asset owner and asset operator can be used to ensure that service delivery standards are achieved at the lowest cost, whilst providing full transparency to shareholders, regulators and customers alike. The paper also reviews actual comparative data on service quality and performance under a number of ownership and contractual models, and draws conclusions on the effectiveness of the various asset owner/operator models in terms of service delivery performance and costs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Zeff

In 1959, the Accounting Principles Board (APB) replaced the Committee on Accounting Procedure because the latter was unable to deal forthrightly with a series of important issues. But during the APB's first half-dozen years, its record of achievement was no more impressive than its predecessor's. The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Manuel F. Cohen, criticized the APB's slow pace and unwillingness to tackle difficult issues. This article discusses the circumstances attending the SEC's issuance of an Accounting Series Release in late 1965 to demonstrate forcefully to the APB that, when it is unable to carry out its responsibility to “narrow the areas of difference” in accounting practice, the SEC is prepared to step in and do so itself. In this sense, the article deals with the tensions between the private and public sectors in the establishment of accounting principles in the U.S. during the mid-1960s. The article makes extensive use of primary resource materials in the author's personal archive, which have not been used previously in published work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 529-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. Quinn ◽  
Kevin E. Cahill ◽  
Michael D. Giandrea

AbstractDo the retirement patterns of public-sector workers differ from those in the private sector? The latter typically face a retirement landscape with exposure to market uncertainties through defined-contribution pension plans and private saving. Public-sector workers, in contrast, are often covered by defined-benefit pension plans that encourage retirement at relatively young ages and offer financial security at older ages. We examine how private- and public-sector workers transition from full-time career employment, with a focus on the importance of gradual retirement. To our surprise, we find that the prevalence of continued work after career employment, predominantly on bridge jobs with new employers, is very similar in the two sectors, a result with important implications in a rapidly aging society.


2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Desmarais ◽  
Emmanuel Abord de Chatillon

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