Indian Railways RoW (right of way) portal has been integrated with the GatiShakti portal for the telecom sector. The announcement was made by the Department of Telecommunications. This move will ensure that connectivity improves for people travelling with Indian Railways in the future. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) applauded the move and thanked the Ministry of Railways, National Broadband Mission, and DoT for the integration. The body said, “This will be helpful to provide better connectivity around Railways across India.” For the unaware, the GatiShakti Sanchar Portal was announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) a short while back. This portal is made to ensure that RoW applications can be submitted online and approvals are also fast-tracked. More importantly, the portal brings transparency into play and holds officials accountable for the fast decisions on the applications.
Govt Trying to Onboard Different States and UTs into the Portal
A total of 30 different states and union territories have been onboarded on the portal. With the integration of the RoW portal of Indian Railways with the GatiShakti portal, faster development of the digital infrastructure can be created for Railways across India. The government is trying to get every state and UT onboarded on the portal so that India’s journey to a digital nation can be achieved faster. The telcos and infrastructure providers (IPs) will benefit a lot from the presence of the portal. One of the biggest pains for the telecom industry so far was the slow clearance of RoW applications. But this portal will greatly contribute to the alleviation of the pain and help the telcos in boosting revenues by reaching out to more parts of the country and deploying fiber and other infrastructure to offer services. Some of the states are yet to become a part of the portal, and the government is trying to make that happen as fast as possible as it is for the greater good of India.
