New Delhi: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu began presenting his ministry's budget for the next fiscal year in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, promising to address the issues concerning all stakeholders -- citizens, employees and industry, among others.
"These are challenging times," Prabhu said in the opening remarks of his second rail budget speech, adding that the strategy will involve three pillars -- exploring new avenues to raise revenues, improve efficiency and totally recast decision-making.
"Cooperation, collaboration and communication, are the hallmarks of Indian Railways' journey forward," the minister said. "We will be at the forefront of infrastructure investment in the country."
The key highlights include:
* IRCTC to begin marriage catering service in phased manner
* R&D organisation to be established
* Rs.50 crore to be provided for start-ups by railway employees
* E-catering to be extended to all stations
* Local cusine of choice to be made available to rail passengers
* LIC to fund Rs.1.5 lakh crore over five years on favourable terms (13:00)
* Two elevated tracks envisaged from Churchgate and CST on Mumbai's suburban railway system
* Specialised teams envisaged in specific areas to improve efficiency
* All-India 24X7 helpline for women
* WiFi facilities at 100 more stations this year and 400 stations next year
* Local art to be highlighted at railway stations
* Academic facility at Vadodara being upgraded to university level
* Railways to generate 9 crore mandays of employment in 2017-18 and 14 crore mandays in 2018-19
* To increase lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50 percent
* Dedicated freight corridors envisaged for North-South, East-West and East Coast alignments
* Fully unreserved superfast trains coming on heavy traffic routes
* Baby food at stations, child menu on all trains
* Aiming to achieve operation ratio of 92 percent
* Saving of Rs.8,720 crore from last year's estimates
* Envisaging capital expenditure of Rs.1.21 lakh crore
* 2,800 km of broad gauge track conversion envisaged
* Seven km of broad gauge lines to be commisssioned every day during 2016-17
* Hope to commission 19 km of new broad gauge track every day by 2018-19
* Rs.8.8 lakh crore to be spent on infrastructure in five years
* Rs.40,000 crore expected from the government as nudgetary support
* Budget that reflects the expectations of the entire nation
* Making all-out efforts to translaste dream of Prime minister Narendra Modi into reality
* Aiming tom achieve operation ratio of 92 percent
* Saving of Rs.8,720 crore from last year's estimates
* Envisaging capistal expenditure of Rs.1.21 lakh crore
* Better connectivity to northeastern states
* Social media being increasingly used to ensure transparency
* Online booking of retiring rooms made possible
* 17,000 additional bio-toilets to be provided by the end of current fiscal
* Finalised bids for two new loco factories under Make in India initiative
* WiFi facilities at 100 more stations this year and 400 stations next year
* 2,800 km of broad gauge track conversion envisaged
* Seven km of broad gauge lines to be commissioned every day during 2016-17
* Hope to commission 19 km of new broad gauge track every day by 2018-19
* Rs.8.8 lakh crore to be spent on infrastructure in five years
* Rs.40,000 crore expected from the government as budgetary support
* Budget that reflects the expectations of the entire nation
* Making all-out efforts to translate dream of Prime minister Narendra Modi into reality
* Aiming tom achieve operation ratio of 92 percent
IANS
