A video of an Indian Railway Coach having Adani Wilmar’s name embedded on it has gone viral with a claim that, the central government has privatised the Indian railways and has been taken over by Adani group.
The video is being shared with different captions in the current context, where the government of India is planning to privatise public sector units. Besides, as the Parliament of India passed three farm laws, a section of netizens says that farmers can sell their products outside Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets and thus allowing private players to intervene in the Agricultural sector.
Hardik Patel, President of Congress, shared the post with the caption, ‘भारतीय रेल पर अदानी के फ़्रेश आटे का विज्ञापन देखने लायक़ हैं। अब तो दावे के साथ कह सकते है की किसानों की लड़ाई सत्य के मार्ग पर हैं।’ (Adani’s fresh flour advertisements are worth watching on the Indian Railways. Now we can say with the claim that the farmers’ fight is on the path of truth.)
भारतीय रेल पर अदानी के फ़्रेश आटे का विज्ञापन देखने लायक़ हैं। अब तो दावे के साथ कह सकते है की किसानों की लड़ाई सत्य के मार्ग पर हैं। pic.twitter.com/WB97kaG6Fe
— Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) December 12, 2020
All India Congress Committee in charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi, also retweeted Hardik Patel’s tweet.
Many people shared the video on Facebook.
Many people on Twitter are also sharing the video claiming, Indian Railways has turned ‘Adani Railways’.
Indian Railway slowing becoming Adani Railway…Total Boycott of Ambani Adani product is must…. pic.twitter.com/A0nDMJJfbW
— Sanshojag (@Sanshojag1) December 13, 2020
Adani fresh wheat flour advertisement on Indian Railways….This is why our farmers are agitating…Kissan Andolan Zindabad pic.twitter.com/tcFOx0ntBV
— Ravjot Singh (@drravjotsingh) December 13, 2020Claim:
Indian Railways has been sold to Adani corporations.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian searched for media reports about Indian Railways taken over by the Adani group and found no such information. We found information that the government is planning to privatize 151 train in 109 routes for which they invited the bid. A report by The Hindu BusinessLine said that the bid had garnered the attention of Tata Group, Adani Group, Alstom, and Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line. This report was published on July 6, 2020. Although the government is planning to privatise some trains of Indian Railways, they have not yet confirmed it.
On a search with the keyword, ‘Adani, Indian Railways’, we found a report by Financial Express, published on May 4, 2020, that said, Indian Railways earned huge revenue from locomotive branding. The report also had a photo of an advertisement of Haldiram on the coach of a train. According to the report, a total of five additional WAP 7 locomotives were allotted to Adani Wilmar on pro-rata basis on February 27, 2020.
On observing a screenshot of the viral video, we were able to identify that the number on the engine was written as WAP7, the same locomotives allotted to Adani Wilmar on pro-rata basis. Hence we could confirm that the name on the train was only for advertisement purposes.
A report published by Financial Express on January 1, 2019, said that the government of India came up with a policy to allow companies to advertise on trains in return for providing goods and services for passengers on board.
The idea of leasing spaces for advertisement by Indian Railways is not new. LiveMint reported on July 30, 2007, ‘To optimize advertisement revenue, the railways is selling ad spots on all possible properties—from neon signs in parking lots to train windows and food trays.’ It was under the UPA regime that the Indian government was planning to introduce vinyl wrapping ads on trains.
Hence, the Adani Wilmar mark on Indian coach is an advertisement and doesn’t mean that it is being owned by the corporate.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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