REC Limited signed an MoU with RailTel on 9 November to extend financial assistance upto Rs 30,000 crore for infrastructure projects to be executed by RailTel in next five years.
These projects encompass a wide range of areas, including data centre products and services, telecom and IT products and services, railways and metro projects, and the KAVACH train collision prevention system.
Additionally, the MoU extends to the possibility of financing overseas ventures related to high-speed rail, metro, IT network, and the upgradation of railway network, as part of bilateral country discussions and infrastructure projects in southeast Asia and eastern Africa where RailTel is currently focusing.
Post the MoU Signing, they also discussed opportunities for collaboration in detail and agreed upon exploring new areas viz, renewable energy, smart metering and other projects where RailTel and REC (through its wholly-owned subsidiary RECPDCL) can join hands.
REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSE established in 1969, under Ministry of Power, provides long-term loans and other finance products for power-infrastructure sector comprising of generation, transmission, distribution, renewable energy and new technologies like electric vehicles, battery storage, green hydrogen, etc.
More recently, REC has also diversified into the non-power infrastructure sector comprising of roads and expressways, metro rail, airports, IT communication, social and commercial infrastructure (educational institution, hospitals), ports and electro-mechanical works in respect of various other sectors like steel, refinery, etc. The loan book of REC exceeds Rs 474,275 crore.
RailTel, under Ministry of Railways, is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure and ICT solutions and services providers in the country, owning a pan-India optic fibre network covering several towns and cities and rural areas of the country.