Indian Railways has signed agreements worth Rs25bn for the SAIL-RITES Bengal Wagon Industry joint venture to supply 1 200 stainless steel wagons and refurbish 300 existing wagons every year for the next 10 years. The two agreements will enable production to start shortly at a Rs1·2bn factory at Kulti in West Bengal which has been built by the SRBWIPL 50:50 joint venture of the Ministry of Railways’ RITES consultancy and the Ministry of Steel’s SAIL. The project was announced in 2010-11. SAIL provided the land and RITES was responsible for constructing the factory and procuring ‘state-of-the-art’ manufacturing equipment. SRBWIPL is expected to employ between 400 and 500 people, and support the development of ancillary industries in the area.