New Delhi: In a move set to attract investments, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a regulator for the railways—the Rail Development Authority (RDA).

The long-awaited regulator will perform four primary functions—tariff determination; ensuring fair play and level playing field for stakeholder investment; setting efficiency and performance standards; and dissemination of information, Frank Noronha, principal spokesperson of the Union government said after a cabinet meeting.

In Budget 2017, the National Democratic Alliance government made a record allocation of Rs1.3 trillion for the Indian Railways, with gross budgetary support of Rs55,000 crore.

The regulator, to be headed by a chairman and comprising three members, will have a five-year term and be empowered to engage experts, Noronha tweeted.

As part of the radical rethinking on improving the transportation architecture, the government did away with the separate railway budget, merging it in the Union budget presented on 1 February.

The cabinet also approved a number of pacts to be signed between India and Bangladesh during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina beginning Friday.

One of the pacts is to launch regular passenger river cruise services between India and Bangladesh, the government said in a statement.

Mint reported on 29 March that India was pulling out all the stops to operationalize the passenger ferry service to Bangladesh in preparation for Hasina’s visit.

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