Indian firms cut out of the action in building country's bullet train

Tokyo

JAPANESE steel and engineering companies are in the driver's seat to bag major supply contracts for a US$17 billion Indian bullet train, several sources said, undermining a key component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policy - a push to "Make in India".

Japan is funding most of the project, and Japanese companies are likely to supply at least 70 per cent of the core components of the rail line, said five sources in New Delhi with direct knowledge of the matter.