Though letter of allotments of land were issued to a few hotel chains like Royal Orchid and Signet Hotels for 20 sites last year, land could not be transferred due to the objections raised by the Rail Land Development Authority. The hotel plan was unfolded by the IRCTC in 2006 and accordingly 100 railway sites were selected for setting up budget hotels on public private partnership model.
"For decades in our country, the meaning of the Budget was restricted to what announcements were made in whose name. The Budget was turned into an account of the vote bank," Modi said.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has hinted at a people friendly railway budget, which will be presented on Feb 26.
'Making the railways better is a different type of a challenge.'
"The next budget for the Railways will be unprecedented and astonishing. We want to further expand its network in the country and reach such people who have not yet got the opportunity to use its service," the minister said.
The stock market will most likely see bullish trends this week in the run up to Union Budget as investors pin hopes on strong reform measures to rev up the economy, say experts.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Lalu laid the two-volume report immediately after he presented the railway budget for 2005-06.
The railway minister also proposed to extend 75 per cent concession in second-class fares to government rural school students, once in a year, for study tour.
Climbing down from its austerity drive, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday pegged working expenses of the Railways higher at Rs 39447.14 crore (Rs 394.47 billion) for 2003-04
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in his pro-poor Railway Budget for 2007-08 presented in the Lok Sabha on Monday announced major relief for passengers by cutting fares across the board.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched a host of passenger amenities and new air-conditioned trains with world class services.
The Railways will grant 75 per cent concession from September 6 to widows of defence personnel killed in terrorist-action for travel in the second and the sleeper class of trains.
Budget planners for now have been told to prepare with the assumption that GST will apply from April 1.
Political repercussions are not the only reason why the Trinamool Congress chief would leave the sensitive issue of fares untouched before the West Bengal assembly elections in April.
Trivedi played a smart one, but not a very intelligent one, on Mamata, but she is likely to have the last laugh on the issue, reports Sheela Bhatt
BSE market breadth is positive. Out of 1,509 shares traded, 1,073 shares have advanced while 378 shares have declined in trades.
In a major step towards providing faster and updated information on rail services, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Tuesday
'No Budget has so far has addressed the issue of the government's abysmal productivity of capital spending, improving which will be the big game changer. 'But, the government's tight lock on businesses, banks, education, and even essential services like transportation and large parts of infrastructure and healthcare is destroying capital year after year,' points out Debashis Basu.
We have requested the commerce department to delete the line that FDI was not permitted in the Railways, the minister said.
The Rail Budget to be presented tomorrow may continue with the practice of not raising the fares and freight rates but the possibility of imposition of a safety cess may not be ruled out, at least on the higher class fares.
The Railways are unlikely to carry out any major changes in passenger fares in the Rail Budget for the eighth year in succession, even as more than 100 new trains could be announced, including a dozen non-stop Durontos.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Budget on February 1.
The Railways will also add two to four 'Deen Dayalu' coaches to some long-distance trains for unreserved travel to enhance the carrying capacity
The Centre could further moderate its divestment target for 2024-25 (FY25), as it does not expect large receipts from asset sales - except some ongoing strategic ones, including IDBI Bank, which could spill over into next financial year. Also, it may drastically reduce its FY24 divestment target of Rs 51,000 crore. "We are still evaluating the Budget estimates for FY25. "New big-ticket asset sales are unlikely.
Even as Indian Railways is gearing up to roll out high-speed passenger services, it seems set to record its worst performance in three years on accidents.
If a minister does not have the freedom of expression, it is anything but democracy. It is a sad day for the very foundations of Indian democracy, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi tells Neerja Chowdhury
On Monday, a new chapter will be written in Ayodhya's and the country's history with the consecration ceremony at the newly-built Ram temple which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and over 7,000 guests.
Industry players believe the new DFI model will be initially risk capital, which will then be used to mobilise additional resources from development agencies such as World Bank.
Speed of trains would be increased up to 200 kilometres/hour.
Countering Communist Party of India-Marxist's allegations that she had made Railways bankrupt, she said, "Their government (in West Bengal) is bankrupt. It has Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 2 trillion) debt. Charity begins at home."
Overall, the populist/ electoral elements in the budget have remained measured with the finance minister being clearly aware of a higher-than-expected rise in oil prices, less-than-planned tax revenues and the wider deficit for FY 17/18, constraining his margin of maneuver, says Claude Claude Smadja.
This was a rare instance when Gandhi raised an issue during the Zero Hour.
The Indian Railways has called a two-day meeting of all zonal railway managers in New Delhi this month to review ongoing projects and discuss measures to improve the financial position in wake of a stiff rise in running cost and fears of the PSU missing earning targets.
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party members and ministers from the Cabinet reacted positively to the Budget. Here are some of the reactions.
The solution for railways lay in understanding the strengths of the system,
They said that massive public investment in infrastructure, social sectors and agriculture would generate employment and the Union Budget should give it a priority and allocate necessary funds for this.
Passengers can now book train tickets 120 days ahead of their travel date.
Railways proposes to complete over 550 kms of new lines in eight sections, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced on Friday.
