Dear readers,
This article provides you the highlights of Rail Budget 2015 -16, which was presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today in the Parliament.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
has presented his maiden Rail Budget today in the Parliament. This is the first
full-fledged rail – budget of the NDA government. There has been no increase in the rail fares in
the current budget. Earlier in July 2014, in the first Railway budget of Narendra
Modi government, fares were increased by 14.2 per cent and freight rates were increased by 6.5
per cent.
According to the Budget, Wi-Fi facility will be provided in 400 stations. Also, now passenger can book their rail tickets in 120 days in advance instead of 60 days provided earlier. The ministry had received 20,000 suggestions on social media during the formative phase of
the Railway Budget 2015-16. “We received over 20,000 responses from people
on social media and some of the suggestions are there in the Budget,”
Prabhu said in his maiden Budget speech in Parliament.
Background:
Rail Budget is the Annual Financial Statement of the state-owned Indian Railways. This is presented by the Railway Minister every year in the Parliament, a few
days before the Union budget of India.
First live broadcast of Railway
budget took place on 24 March 1994. Mamta Banerjee became the first women
Railway Minister of India in 2000 and also she became the first female
minister to present the Railway budget in the Parliament in 2002. Lalu Prasad presented
the railway budget 6 times in a row and was the Railway Minister from 2004 to
2009. The first bullet train was announced in 2014 Railway budget by Railway
Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda.
Railway Minister has announced 4
Goals for transformation of Indian Railways which are:
Goal 1-Customer experience to receive
a huge boost
Goal 2 – Safer Travel
Goal 3 -Modernize infrastructure
Goal 4- Indian Railways-
Financially self-sustainable
Highlights of Rail Budget 2015-16:
1. No increase in Rail Fares.
2. Rail tickets can now be
booked 120 days in advance instead of 60 days.
3. Plan expenditure to go up to a record Rs 1.1
lakh crore in 2015-16 from Rs 66,000 crore in the previous year
4. All-India
24X7 helpline – 138, to be effective from March 1
5. Toll free number 182 created for security
related complaints
6. Rs 8.5 lakh crore to be invested in Railways
over 5 years
7. Allotment for passenger facilities hiked by
67%
8. SMS alert services for passengers to inform
them about arrival and departure of trains
9. Government to introduce Malaviya Chair at
IIT/BHU for Railway technology
10. Bio toilets in trains; airplane type toilets
in trains.
11. CCTVs to be introduced in selective trains
and suburban trains for women safety.
12. Rs.2000 cr for Coastal Connectivity Program
13. Rs.2500 cr through BOT/Annuity route.
14. 1000 MW Solar plant
15. 100DEMUs to dual fuel
16. In 400 stations wi-fi facility will be
provided.
17. 1330% increase in railway electrification
over previous year.
18. By 2019, the proposed investment in Railways
would be in tune of Rs 856021 crore.
19. Operation 5 minutes to ensure that a
passenger travelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within 5 minutes.
20. 492 section of IR – running at a capacity of
more than 100%
21. 228 running between 80-100%
22. Proposed the best operating ratio in nine
years, of 88.5 per cent for 2015-16
23. Hand-held devices for ticket checkers for
moving towards paperless ticketing
24. Centrally managed railway display network in
over 2000 stations in next 2 years
25.Mobile
application to address complaints of people is also being developed
26. Railway University will be set up in FY16
27. Online application for all recruitment
process
28. 6608 kms of track to be electrified
29. Projects worth Rs 96,182 crore to expand
capacity of 9,420 km rail lines
30. SMS alert to be introduced for train timings
31. Skill development and self-employment to be
encouraged on Konkan Railway model
32. Make in India opportunities – Speedier
Railway – 9 hi-speed corridors, high speed trains
33. Satellite railway terminals in major cities –
10 select stations
34. E-catering introduced in 108 trains, can
order on IRCTC website
35. The speed passenger trains across nine
corridors will be increased to 160-200 km from 110 km
36. Feasibility report of high speed train
between Mumbai and Ahmadabad expected by mid-2015.
37. Rs 6,750 crore allocated for eliminating 3438
level crossings
38. 970 road-under bridge and road-over bridge to
be constructed.
39. More general class coaches to be added in
identified trains; more AC EMU services for Mumbai suburban section.
40. Railways will play a big role in
socio-economic development of the country