GIPE-PUNE-OIIOI2 - DSpace@GIPE

THE:RAILWAY INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE OF 'INDIA 173
",. .: ~ .
Countrie$ witpo{"?m than 50,uuu Goods
1. Ital)tx:!, , .' ....
2. Belgi\ltn
3. PQ)apd.;,.;
4. Czechoslovakia
5 . Atistr~lI~
6. Argentina
7. Spain
8 Japan
Carriages
1.59,129
130,516
126,087
112,653
84,765
76,745
70,499
59,607
Here, again, does India fin~ herself after the same
five countries as in regard to the other two items. India's
demand for goods carriages as indeed for the rolling stock
of all descriptions is powerful enough to influence the iron,
steel and engineering industries of the world. 4
One does
. not generally realiz@ how high this consumption of locomotives,
passenger and goods carriages and their spare
parts amounts to every year. In 1926-27 the Indian
railways purchased Rs. 47,900,000 worth of rolling
stock, and in 1927-28 the money spent on the same class
of goods amounted to ~~. 72,300,000. ,And of this huge
amount only Rs. 4,900,000 could be spent in India on
indigenous manufactures. In other words, not less than
Rs. 67,400,000 worth of foreign rolling stock had to be
imported from abroad. This one fact should" be an eye:'
opener to the business men of India. Not only t~e manufactu're
of steel but the manufacture of iron and steel goods
as ~ell have been calling cfloud for the establishment' in
4 See the' chapter on ~. New construction' andengin