Railway equipments merit more rational rate of GST: Siemens' Tilak Raj Seth

'Siemens, Alstom rail business merger by December 2018'

Two arch-rivals, Siemens and Alstom, have recently announced the merger of their rail businesses to create a European transportation giant to counter Chinese competition. TILAK RAJ SETH, executive vice-president of Siemens and chief executive officer of its mobility division in India, talks to Shine Jacob about the merger, the impact of GST on the sector, and about the company’s road-ahead in India. Edited excerpts:

1) What is the status of the rail business merger between Siemens and Alstom?

There is an announcement of the organisations getting together but that so-called closure is yet to happen. Further, such a closure takes