?This is an opinion expressed on the bullet train project by a finance expert who is neither pro nor anti-Modi. To me it makes sense.
"Firstly , this project is practically a free gift from Japan.
Japan is giving a loan of 17-18 billion USD @ of 0.5% pa interest over 50 years with a moratorium of 15 years .
Anybody who is into banking or finance will be able to tell you that just getting so much funds on these terms will generate employment and business worth at least 10X in 50 years .
Also this fund is not available for anything else except the bullet train project . So it is pointless to say this money can be used for health education etc etc . Because it does not exist.
Secondly , this project will seriously bring in new technologies and new Japanese process and systems in the way we manage big projects. This will have great spinoffs. Infact just training our engrs and project managers would have cost a few billion dollars; which we will get built-in into this project .