Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was at his humourous best while presenting the Interim Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with a fair sprinkling of quotable quotes, couplets and witty replies to interventions.
The Budget is expected to make some key announcements, including relief package for farmers, poor and sops for the middle-class.
Determination of rates will no longer be an exercise behind veils where the Railways and the users could only peep covertly at what was happening on the other side.
Presenting the Railway Budget on Friday in the Parliament, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee proposed an outlay of Rs 40,745 crore for 2009-2010, which is 2,840 crore more than the allocation proposed in the interim budget.
As per convention, Railways releases the new time table -- Trains at a glance -- every year on July one across the country. Sources said this year the Railway Time Table Committee, comprising senior officials from various zones, will sit after the Railway Budget is tabled in Parliament.
The NSE Nifty ended at 2,948, up 55 points. The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,528 stocks traded, 1,455 advanced and 970 declined on Friday.
Railway Budget will be presented on July 8.
If a prime minister could be chosen on the basis of announcing new trains, Lalu Prasad would be there already. An unprecedented number of new trains -- 43 in all -- with a majority of them touching one or more cities in Bihar, were announced by him as part of the 2009-10 Interim Railway Budget.
Passenger fares and freight rates were left untouched
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
Stocks might hit new highs even before B-Day.
The 1.4% decline projected for 2025 is driven by a 5.6% (72,000) dip in the strength of railway employees to 1.2 million by next year.
While Andhra Pradesh is expected to receive Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore, Bihar is likely to get Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore in FY25.
The interim Budget proposals that will be presented on February 1 in the backdrop of the general elections scheduled in April/May 2024 are likely to have a hint of populism, believe analysts, but are unlikely to derail the government from its path of fiscal prudence.
The Indian Railways has closed 2013-14 with a 15 per cent increase in revenue, rising to Rs 1,40,485 crore, compared to Rs 1,21,831 crore last year.
The Railway Budget has impressed industry watchers.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
They may be on the same side of political power, but that did not stop Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and her predecessor Lalu Prasad from taking pot-shots at each other during the presentation of Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
'Are all roads in India privatised? Are governments not playing a role in airports or ports? If they (private players) want to set up lines for a specific requirement, I see no reason to object. It will expand the opportunity and passengers will also benefit.'
Lalu laid the two-volume report immediately after he presented the railway budget for 2005-06.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
Goyal is expected to discuss the targets for the banks for 2019-20, as well as priority sector lending, recovery on non-performing assets, and the bankruptcy proceedings of various companies, which owe money to the banks.
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The railway minister said that one-third studies have already been done.
The 66-year-old finance minister underwent a successful kidney transplant surgery in mid-May and was on leave since April due to kidney-related problems and chest infection.
"India's middle class, small traders and farmers are the lifelines of its economic growth. By catering to these ambitions #Budget2019 infuses hopes for millions of dreams."
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Friday left freight rates unchanged in his interim budget to keep traffic from shifting to road transport that has become cheaper following cut in diesel prices.
The 15th Lok Sabha will go down in the history as the most disrupted in Independent India so far including the pepper spray incident which marked a new low in parliamentary conduct.
Railway Board chairman SS Khurana, in an interaction with the media after the Interim Rail Budget, said the railways would lose Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) annually following the fare cut. He also pointed out that the ministry would continue to optimise freight earning through its dynamic pricing policy.
A K Bhattacharya lists three reasons why Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will most likely present a full Budget on February 1, 2019.
Terming infrastructure as the "backbone" of any nation's development, Goyal while presenting the interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha said India aspires to be a USD 10 trillion economy in the next eight years, and on the anvil is next generation infrastructure of roads, railways, seaports, airports, urban transport, gas and electric transmission and inland waterways.
Successive plans have allocated less resources to the Railways.
No increase in passenger and freight fares. Ticket reservations over mobile phones to be introduced soon.
This is Jaitley's first overseas visit since his kidney ailment was confirmed in April last year.
'There is tension between the zones all the time.'
Here are the key highlights of the Interim Budget 2019-20 presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Total subsidy bill could come down to around Rs 2 trillion.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
The Budget sets out a comprehensive vision.
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