Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said during Question Hour that against the demand of about Rs 47,000 crore (Rs 470 billion), the gross budgetary support for 2012-13 is only Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion).
The barren run of skipper Rohit Sharma and the selection conundrum that Virat Kohli's possible return poses are the towering obstacles in India's quest for a series win against England in the second ODI in Cuttack on Sunday.
The change in leadership at the railway ministry comes at a time when the national transporter is grappling with low passenger earnings even as it is trying to increase freight loading and open up its doors to private investment. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge from Piyush Goyal who got the railway portfolio in 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modii dropped Suresh Prabhu from the Union Cabinet. Completing freight corridors, negotiating land for the bullet train, and speeding up monetisation plans would be some of the major focus areas for Vaishnaw.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is all set to issue a diktat to Indian Railways, stating that only permanent employees will be allowed to play in the Cooch Behar Trophy, the board's Under-19 tournament.
