Bullet Rail: Indian Govt Is Pushing For More Local Suppliers, But Japan Has Raised ‘Quality’ Concerns

The Indian government has been pushing the case of including more local suppliers for the Japanese-funded Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, according to a Reuters report. New Delhi has been talking to Japanese firms such as Nippon Steel to source locally to give a boost to the government’s flagship Make In India program that seeks to promote manufacturing in India.

However, the Japanese side appears to have raised concerns primarily about the quality of work at least in the case of Jindal Steel and Steel Authority Of India (SAIL). Reuters report cites unnamed officials who said that “their Japanese counterparts had raised questions about efficiency in Indian companies and their ability to meet timelines”.

On the technology transfer front, Japan appears to ask for more bullet train corridors to be opened for development before any meaningful technology transfer. New Delhi, on the other hand, will not seriously look at other corridors unless the full implications of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Corridor are clear.

The high-speed rail project will benefit Japanese firms such as Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan's biggest steelmaker, and firms like JFE Holdings, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba Corp and Hitachi.

On the Indian side, Reuters says that firms such as UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Ambuja Cement may bid for construction, cement and other such contracts.