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.
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 7th Pay Commission recommendations are a major challenge for the Railways.
A senior railway official said, "It (white paper) isalmost ready and final touches are being given to it."
India's cargo trains run at 19-30 km an hour, they run at 120 km in China - and the difference is only growing.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor were also present with the PM as he interacted with the students inside the train.
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.
Let's take a look at some of the fastest trains in the world.
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.
Finance Minister Pranab mukherjee presents his 7th Budget.
Stepped up public expenditure must be accompanied by focused policies, advises Vinayak Chatterjee.
'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.
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.
Public-sector enterprise stocks have seen a good run thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the S&P BSE PSU Index surging by over 26 per cent during the period, compared to an 11 per cent increase in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
Offering a bonanza for train travellers, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced that the Indian Railways will start new trains.
The Budget sets out a comprehensive vision.
Despite public-private partnership projects announced in several rail budgets, the investment since 2000 has been merely Rs 3,000 crore.
"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".
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Budget on February 1.
Raiwalys in existential crisis but no stock market route: Prabhu.
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.
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 people of Tamil Nadu in particular Chennai know about the double standards of the BJP. Nothing will work for them here.'
Railways internal resources generation has been reduced due to various factors, including cost escalation and pay commission load.
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.
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.
Ritu Beri said the look of the uniform will be an ode to India and her exoticism
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.
'Making the railways better is a different type of a challenge.'
While the second-class fares may not be hiked, AC travel will be more expensive.
'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.
Capital expenditure by 54 large central public sector enterprises and five departmental arms, having a capex minimum target of Rs 100 crore, rose 93 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the April-May period to Rs 1.39 trillion. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Railways have started this financial year's capex cycle on a stronger note. In the first two months of FY24, the 54 CPSEs, along with the departmental arms, achieved 19 per cent of their combined budget target of Rs 7.33 trillion, Business Standard has learnt.
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