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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same...

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same narrative unfolded on a cricket field, the reaction would have been dramatically different. In cricket, even defeat often becomes a story of heroism. A hard-fought loss by the Indian team can dominate television debates, fill newspaper columns and trend across social media for days. A player who narrowly misses a milestone is still hailed for his fighting spirit. The nation rallies around its cricketers not only in victory but also in defeat. The narrative quickly shifts from the result to the effort -- the resilience shown, the fight put up, the promise of future triumph. This emotional investment is one of the reasons cricket enjoys unparalleled popularity in India. It has built a culture where players become household names and their performances, good or bad, become part of the national conversation. Badminton Fights Contrast that with what happens in sports like badminton. Reaching the final of the All England Championships is a monumental achievement. The tournament is widely considered badminton’s equivalent of Wimbledon in prestige and tradition. Only the very best players manage to reach its final stages, and doing it twice speaks volumes about Lakshya Sen’s ability and consistency. Yet the reaction in India remained largely subdued. There were congratulatory posts, some headlines acknowledging the effort and brief discussions among badminton enthusiasts. But the level of national engagement never quite matched the magnitude of the achievement. In a cricketing context, reaching such a stage would have triggered days of celebration and analysis. In badminton, it often becomes just another sports update. Long Wait India’s wait for an All England champion continues. The last Indian to win the title was Pullela Gopichand in 2001. Before him, Prakash Padukone had scripted history in 1980. These victories remain among the most significant milestones in Indian badminton. And yet, unlike cricketing triumphs that are frequently revisited and celebrated, such achievements rarely stay in the mainstream sporting conversation for long. Lakshya Sen’s journey to the final should ideally have been viewed as a continuation of that legacy, a reminder that India still possesses the talent to challenge the world’s best in badminton. Instead, it risks fading quickly from public memory. Visibility Gap The difference ultimately comes down to visibility and cultural investment. Cricket in India is not merely a sport; it is an ecosystem built over decades through media attention, sponsorship, and mass emotional attachment. Individual sports, on the other hand, often rely on momentary bursts of recognition, usually during Olympic years or when a medal is won. But consistent performers like Lakshya Sen rarely receive the sustained spotlight that their achievements deserve. This disparity can also influence the next generation. Young athletes are naturally drawn to sports where success brings recognition, financial stability and national fame. When one sport monopolises the spotlight, others struggle to build similar appeal. Beyond Result Lakshya Sen may have finished runner-up again, but his performance at the All England Championship is a reminder that India continues to produce world-class athletes in disciplines beyond cricket. The real issue is not that cricket receives immense attention -- it deserves the admiration it gets. The concern is that athletes from other sports often do not receive comparable appreciation for achievements that are equally significant in their own arenas. If India aspires to become a truly global sporting nation, its applause must grow broader. Sporting pride cannot remain confined to one field. Because somewhere on a badminton court, an athlete like Lakshya Sen is fighting just as hard for the country’s colours as any cricketer on a packed stadium pitch. The only difference is how loudly the nation chooses to cheer.

Balancing the Books While Staying on Track

Updated: Feb 27, 2025

Despite growing revenues, Indian Railways grapples with financial constraints and an evolving transport landscape.

Indian Railways

Indian Railways is the lifeline of the nation, moving millions of passengers and billions of tonnes of freight. Its sheer scale is staggering: 68,000 kilometres of track, over 13,000 passenger trains daily and a workforce of more than a million people. Despite its indispensable role in India’s economy, the financial engine that powers this vast enterprise remains a puzzle of constrained revenues, mounting operational costs and a delicate balancing act between public service and profitability.


Gone are the days when the Railway Budget was an annual spectacle, with politicians announcing new trains like festival giveaways. Since 2017, the railway’s finances have been absorbed into the Union Budget, a move that signified both modernization and a shift towards greater fiscal scrutiny. Yet, old tensions persist. Indian Railways is expected to be both a people’s service and a revenue-generating behemoth, a contradiction leading to a financial model heavily reliant on freight cross-subsidization.


For all its grandeur, the Indian Railways is largely bankrolled by its freight business. In FY 2025-26, freight operations are expected to bring in Rs. 1.88 trillion, accounting for 62 percent of total revenue. Coal alone contributes nearly half of all freight earnings, making the Railways deeply intertwined with India’s energy and industrial ecosystem. Cement, containers and agricultural produce form the next biggest categories, though their revenue share remains modest in comparison.


Freight transport has historically grown at an average of 4 percent annually, and Indian Railways aims to push this higher with increased capacity and efficiency. However, the competitive landscape is shifting. As highways improve and logistics companies capitalize on faster road transport, rail freight is under pressure to reinvent itself. While the Railways offers an economical and environmentally sustainable freight solution, it must find ways to remain competitive against road and air transport that promise speed and flexibility.


Indian Railways’ passenger segment is a paradox - an essential public service that routinely runs at a loss. Revenue from passenger services is expected to touch Rs. 0.92 trillion in FY 2025-26, marking a steady increase. Yet, in the absence of fare revisions, this growth is largely organic. The Railways measures passenger traffic in Passenger Kilometres (PKM), and by this metric, both suburban and long-distance travel are seeing healthy increases.


A telling shift has been the rising preference for air-conditioned travel. AC services now account for 29 percent of total passenger volume, up from just 10 percent a decade ago, signalling an emerging middle class willing to pay more for comfort.


Running one of the world’s largest railway networks is not cheap. The Railways’ revenue expenditure for FY 2025-26 is budgeted at Rs. 2.99 trillion, with nearly 43 percent allocated to salaries, 23 percent to pensions, and a significant chunk to power and fuel. These expenses leave little room for flexibility.


Adding to this is the cost of financing. The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) borrows from the market to fund rolling stock, and lease payments to IRFC now make up 11 percent of total expenses from 7 percent just two years ago. The operating ratio, a key financial indicator measuring expenses per Rs. 100 of revenue, stands at a daunting 98.4 percent. In simpler terms, for every Rs. 100 earned, the Railways spends Rs. 98.40, leaving an operating surplus so thin that even minor financial shocks could prove disruptive.


The government remains the primary financier of capital investments in Indian Railways. Over the past three years, a significant portion of this has been allocated to manufacturing new rolling stock, expanding and doubling existing lines, and modernizing infrastructure.


However, one area seeing a notable decline is funding for railway public sector undertakings (PSUs). Government capital infusion into railway PSUs has been steadily reduced, reflecting a shift towards greater financial self-reliance for these entities.


The Railways is no longer the unchallenged transportation giant it once was. The rise of efficient highway networks and budget airlines has cut into its passenger market. Indian Railways, despite its scale, is now in direct competition with alternative transport ecosystems that offer greater speed and convenience.


Should the Railways chase profitability or remain a public service at a loss? Political reluctance to raise fares has deepened its reliance on freight cross-subsidization, straining its financial model. With fare rationalization, freight modernization, and cost control on the horizon, tough choices loom. One thing is certain: the train cannot afford to slow down.

(The author is a Chartered Accountant and works at Authomotive Division of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. Views personal.)

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