REC to provide ₹30,000 cr to RailTel for telecom, railway signalling projects

livemint.com:

₹30,000 crore in funding to RailTel Corp. of India. The agreement, formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Thursday, will support various projects over the next five years, including telecom, IT services, and railway signaling systems, and the KAVACH train collision prevention system.

“Additionally, the MoU extends to the possibility of financing overseas ventures related to high-speed rail, metro, IT network, and the upgradation of railway network, as part of bilateral country discussions and infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa where RailTel is currently focusing," said the statement. RailTel, a central public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways and a leading provider of telecom infrastructure and ICT services, operates an extensive optic fiber network across India. The MoU was inked by T.S.C Bosh, REC's executive director for Infrastructure and Logistics, and RailTel's company secretary, Jasmeet Singh Marwah.

Following the signing, the officials explored further collaborative ventures in areas such as renewable energy and smart metering. REC, which attained Maharatna status in September 2022, has expanded its purview beyond the power sector, recently partnering with Punjab National Bank to co-finance up to ₹55,000 crore in power and infrastructure projects. Additionally, REC has committed to funding various thermal and green hydrogen projects in Odisha totaling ₹40,358 crore.