It was time to meet a real live politician, and so off to the Transport Bhawan to meet the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways. We didn't have long, but there was time to find out what his priorities are.
Curiously, there is a division between road and railways, at least as far as the Indian Government is concerned, and perhaps that might have something to do with the importance of railways in the Indian psyche. The three million employees might be another factor...
Unfortunately, the delegation strayed into talking about trains, and the Minister was, in fairness, happy to talk about them as part of an integrated transport system.
He has an interesting background too, as a former Minister for Environment & Forests and as Minister for Industry & Commerce from 2005 until earlier this year. In the latter role, there are many who saw him as key to India's tough stance at the Doha Round of trade negotiations. As a member of the Lok Sabha, he has represented the same seat for twenty-nine years, excepting a two-year period when his wife appears to have stood in for him.
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