Indian Railways at the Crossroads

Indian Railways at the Crossroads
Case Code: ECON005
Case Length: 15 Pages
Period: 1990 - 2004
Pub Date: 2004
Teaching Note: Available
Price: Rs.500
Organization : Indian Railways
Industry : -
Countries : India
Themes: Corporate Restructuring
Indian Railways at the Crossroads
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts

Abstract

The case discusses the growth and operations of Indian Railways, the largest railway network under a single management and the largest employer in the world. The roots of IR are traced back to the 1800s, when India was under the British rule. The case includes a detailed account of the development of IR since the mid-1800s till the early-2000s. Most of the important developments in the history of IR are outlined. Although railway networks were initially developed by private companies, after 1920 they were all taken over by the central government, which created a department of railways. Even after Indian independence in 1947, railways continued as a central government department.

The practice of presenting a railway budget separate from the annual general budget is also traced back to British times. The second part of the case outlines some of the problems faced by IR in the late-1900s and the difficulties the department faced in overcoming them. Several experts suggested ways in which IR may be restructured. These suggestions are also discussed in detail. The case concludes with a description of the steps taken by IR to overcome some of its problems.

Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

  • Study the operations of a very large organization in India that played a social, political and economic role in the country
  • The disparity between the organization's social and economic objectives and the difficulties it faced in overcoming them

Contents

Keywords

Growth, operations, Indian Railways, railway network, single management, largest employer, world, 1800, British rule, networks, private companies, 1920, central government, department of railways, Indian independence, railway budget, annual general budget, problems faced, Several experts suggested ways

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