Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, declared on September 7 that the Union Cabinet had approved the policy on long-term leasing of Indian Railways land and has reduced land licencing rates from 6% to 1.5%. The lease term has also been extended from five to 35 years.

The Cabinet's ratification of the long-awaited modification to the Railway Land Policy would facilitate Container Corporation of India's (Concor) strategic divestiture process and make it more appealing to private investors. The move is in accordance with NITI Aayog's proposal that the railway land leasing fee for containers be kept below 3%.

The proposed changes will pave way for the privatisation of Concor because it will help strategic buyers pay much less amounts as land rentals to railways for a longer period. This was one of the key suggestions put forward by the investment advisors of Concor.

The Cabinet had in November 2019 approved the divestment of the government's 30.8 percent shareholding in the company, along with the transfer of management control.

Also Read
UP govt to establish influence zone under TOD around rapid rail corridor.
New rail in Jharkhand to add 125 MT coal evacuation capacity