The minister said a premium service for container movement with assured transit time was under consideration for time sensitive cargo.
With an eye on the forthcoming general elections, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Friday presented a feel good, populist interim Railway Budget in Parliament, cutting mail and express train fares by 2 per cent and keeping freight rates unchanged.
'The government must understand that the Indian Railways is like a Kamdhenu cow. It can look after your GDP, it can look after the health of the nation. But the Kamdhenu cow also needs nourishment.' 'You have not at all looked after the Indian Railways, you have ill treated the Indian Railways, you have mistreated the Indian Railways and you have given the Indian Railways step motherly treatment.' 'I don't think this government has understood the Indian Railways.'
Presenting the Interim Railway Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the minister said that Palej, Panoli, Kosamba and Kim in the districts of Surat and Bharuch in Gujarat, Roshanara Garden and Sultanpuri in Delhi, Shastrinagar and Model Town of Ludhiana in Punjab and Vasarpadi in Tamil Nadu will be considered on priority for construction of ROBs and RUBs.
Railway Safety Plan for 12th Plan would be Rs 16,842 crore (Rs 168.42 billion), the Railway Minister informed the Lok Sabha.
Railways minister Mamata Banerjee announced the proposal to construct 6,560 staff quarters during the year 2009-10. A thrust would be given under the Corporate Welfare Plan for improvement of staff quarters and colonies. The Budget also proposes to set up indoor stadia in major railway divisions and zones to promote sports and cultural activities among the railway employees.
The government's indirect tax collection is expected to increase by 8.3 pc in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), according to a report by ICICI Bank. The report also noted that this growth is higher than the 7.1 per cent increase seen in FY25 and is mainly driven by rise in GST revenue from strong urban consumption. It said "The increase is driven by higher goods and services tax collections which in-turn is explained by boost to urban consumption".
Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda presented the Railway Budget in the Parliament on Tuesday.
Mamata-wary corporate heads hope economics wins over politics in Budget.
The railways is expecting a revenue of Rs 1,84,820 crore during the current financial year (FY17).
The General Budget will be presented on July 6 and the Railway Budget will be presented on July 3.
Suresh Prabhu's maiden Railway Budget presentation, peppered with personal references and quotes, turned out to be a smooth affair.
It is a Budget 'high on promises but low on design,' the agency said.
"The 6th Pay Commission disbursement led to an increase in our working expenses," Chairman of the Railway Board S S Khurana said. He also said the Railways had saved Rs 655 crore. "Our cash surplus before the dividend was Rs 17,399 crore and operating ratio was 90.4 per cent," he said.
Railway Budget will be presented on July 8.
The Indian Railways proposes to introduce 58 new trains which includes five Jansadharan Trains, five Premium Trains, six AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains.
Though the Railway Minister did not propose any increase in basic rail fares, the hike in reservation fees and supplementary charges will mean an increase of Rs 5 to Rs 25 in fares for all classes in superfast trains.
Abheek Barua analyses varied nuances of the Union Budget.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
In a few hours Union Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav will announce his first Rail Budget. Take the Rediff Business Quiz and find out how much you know about the Indian Railways.
The minister said that the objective of larger investment is to increase the transport capacity of the Railways and to reduce the unit cost of operations. Railways' investment outlays have been stepped up from Rs 13,394 crore (Rs 133.94 billion) in 2003-04 to Rs 36,773 crore (Rs 367.73 billion) in 2008-09.
However, he made it clear that he would resign the moment Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Mamata Banerjee ask him to do.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the Maha Kumbh as a "Mrityu Kumbh" (Death Kumbh), accusing the Uttar Pradesh government of suppressing the actual toll in the stampede that occurred at the religious gathering. Banerjee also criticized the lack of planning and management at the event, highlighting the plight of Bengal residents who died in the stampede. The BJP, however, has condemned Banerjee's remarks, calling her an "anti-Hindu chief minister" and accusing her of political opportunism.
'When people have money in their hands, they make their judgment about whether they want to spend it entirely or spend some out of it.'
The Budget and related appropriation bills were passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Use the opportunity to increase equity exposure because these are short-term blips.
Presenting his fourth Railway Budget in succession, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday said that the Indian Railways had registered a profit of Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) for the fiscal year 2006-07.
The Railway Budget for 2003-04 has been fixed at Rs.10,607 crore (Rs 106.07 billion), Rs 603 crore (RS 6.03 billion) higher than the revised estimates of the current year.
Stocks might hit new highs even before B-Day.
The Annual Plan for Railways in 2013-14 financial year is proposed at Rs 63,363 crore, Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.
Angry over the hike in passenger fares in the Railway Budget, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove her party nominee Dinesh Trivedi from the post of railway minister.
It was the humble 'jhola' rather than the traditional leather briefcase Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee preferred to bring her budget papers to Parliament on Friday.
The Indian Railways will earn a profit of Rs 951 crore (Rs 9.51 billion) in 2009-10, down 93 per cent from the 2007-08 level.
You will see purified drinking water, focus on cleanliness, and ticketing reforms.
The dream-run in railway stocks may soon run out of steam, caution analysts. The rally, which has lasted nearly a year, may meet time-wise correction post the Union Budget announcements as investors begin scalping profits. "There is going to be a build-up in expectations for the sector from the Union Budget, which is still two-odd months away.
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