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 Lok Sabha will apply guillotine on discussions on demands for grants by the third week so as to complete the entire budgetary process in Parliament by July 27.
The railways was not intimated about a Dussehra event along the tracks that led to the deaths of at least 61 people in Amritsar.
India is only on the starting block.
In an unpopular decision, railway passenger fare was on Friday increased by 14.2 per cent in all classes while freight charge was hiked by 6.5 per cent with effect from Friday.
A senior railway official said, "It (white paper) isalmost ready and final touches are being given to it."
Trivedi's resignation came amidst the exodus from Mamata Banerjee's party ahead of the West Bengal assembly poll.
India's cargo trains run at 19-30 km an hour, they run at 120 km in China - and the difference is only growing.
A new scheme -- 'Izzat' was unveiled on Friday by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for the workers in the unorganised sector who can now travel upto 100 kms with a monthly season ticket of Rs 25.
The 7th Pay Commission recommendations are a major challenge for the Railways.
"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.
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.
Let's take a look at some of the fastest trains in the world.
Finance Minister Pranab mukherjee presents his 7th Budget.
Presenting his fifth Rail Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad said that the Railways had set up new profit records in 2007-08 attaining a profit of Rs 25,000 crore.
The Budget sets out a comprehensive vision.
Stepped up public expenditure must be accompanied by focused policies, advises Vinayak Chatterjee.
Offering a bonanza for train travellers, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced that the Indian Railways will start new trains.
'You can never bring about a change if you only bring in outsiders. Consultants will never feel what changes are necessary and where,' says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
"The Rail Budget is likely to be presented on July 8. The ministry is preparing a status report to be presented before the Railway Minister. The report is to be submitted in a day or two and after that the budget outline will be drawn by the minister," a senior ministry official said.
Government has been trying to get rid of the impression that it is caught in "policy paralysis".
Despite public-private partnership projects announced in several rail budgets, the investment since 2000 has been merely Rs 3,000 crore.
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.
The reassessed Plan size for the railways in 2012-13 has already shrunk to Rs 56,950 crore (Rs 569.5 billion) from Rs 60,100 crore (Rs 601 billion) after the first quarter.
Raiwalys in existential crisis but no stock market route: Prabhu.
Railways internal resources generation has been reduced due to various factors, including cost escalation and pay commission load.
The minister outlined proposals on cleanliness.
Soon after Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the Union Budget 2013 in Parliament, Trinamool Congress leader and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi joined us for the Budget chat.
Total subsidy bill could come down to around Rs 2 trillion.
The welfare of the common man continues to be the top priority. The minister has reduced fares for the fourth successive year.
With Mamata Banerjee leaving passenger fares untouched and announcing a slew of concessions for technicians of regional film industry, cancer patients and press correspondents, railways' earnings from passenger operations may be strained further.
Ram Narayan Sahu (Samajwadi Party) complained during a discussion on the Railway Budget that he did not get a glass for drinking water even in a first class coach.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the Eastern and Western Freight Corridor proposals of the railway ministry.
While the second-class fares may not be hiked, AC travel will be more expensive.
Ritu Beri said the look of the uniform will be an ode to India and her exoticism
'Making the railways better is a different type of a challenge.'
The Indian Railways is set to record a marginal surplus in the current financial year -- much lower than the Rs 5,258 crore (Rs 52.58 billion) budgeted in February 2011. But, the fall is only a trailer, considering the country's largest passenger and goods transport network is likely to go into deficit next year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Budget on February 1.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Saturday presented the Rail Budget for 2005-06 in the Lok Sabha amidst an Opposition walkout on the issue of 'tainted' ministers in the UPA government.
