New Delhi, Feb 21 : Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday underlined the need for infrastructure development and modernization of Railways, and said, Indian Railways has a huge potential for growth and job creation, despite the global meltdown.

"Despite lay offs in some sectors and a freeze on employment, the Railways is moving ahead with new recruitments, and has a huge potential of growth," Lalu told reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the foundation day of the All India Management Association (AIMA) here.

Yadav also underlined the need for infrastructure development, expansion and modernization in the Railways.

"The Department will spend 2,30,000 crore rupees in the 11th Five Year Plan. With a surplus of over 90,000 crore rupees, the largest public sector enterprise will strive to serve the people in a better fashion rather than focusing only on profit making," he said.

He informed that he would develop a chain of cold storages to help farmers.

"To help farmers, the Railways will develop a chain of cold storages on surplus land through public-private partnership mode. It will help the farmers to transport their produce in non-perishable condition and at a faster pace to achieve highest profits," he said.

On the occasion, Lalu presented the Life Time Achievement Award to Dr. Verghese Kurien for Management of dairy products, and Public service excellence award to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. G. Madhavan Nair and his team. (ANI)