Around 6,000 railway stations will be WiFi-enabled in next 6 months: Goyal

Around 6,000 railway stations will be WiFi-enabled in the next six-eight months, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the 'Smart Railways Conclave' organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here, Goyal said that the railways was focusing on smarter project implementation.

"We believe that if we have to leverage digital technology, the basic ingredient is to ensure access to technology in the remotest part of the country. The railways are working on a programme to ensure the last mile connectivity wherever we do not have fibre optics in our network. We are hopeful that in the next six-to-eight months, all railway stations, other than the halt stations, about 6,000 stations will be WiFi-enabled," he said.

He said that the national transporter will have to start thinking, planning, and working smartly. "I think that's the change that you would have seen the last four years," he added. 

Manohar Parrikar to return to Goa from Mumbai hospital on Wednesday

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai for a review health check-up, will return to his home state on August 29, his office said in Panaji on Monday.

Parrikar, 62, had flown to Mumbai on August 23 and was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital there.

"Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to return to Goa on Wednesday," the Chief Minister's Office said in a single-line statement.

Earlier this year, Parrikar had undergone treatment in the US for nearly three months for a pancreatic ailment and returned in the last week of June.

He went to the US again earlier this month for a follow-up.

He then returned to Panaji on August 22 and the next day flew to Mumbai.