Turning around the public bus

State road transport undertakings deserve as much attention as railways

The Indian Railways carries over 22 million passengers per day. Given the sheer volume of people carried, and the critical role that the railways plays in India’s economic and social life, it’s hardly surprising that the Railways has always had its own ministry. Till a couple of years ago, it even placed a separate budget before Parliament — a privilege that no other ministry has enjoyed. Those budget numbers made national headlines and were analysed threadbare by the media.

But there’s another mode of transport in India that moves over 68 million passengers a day — three times that of the