Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said the aim of Rail Budget is yatri ki garima (passengers pride), rail ki gati (speed of railways) and desh ki pragati (country’s progress).
Prabhu, who presented the Railway Budget for 2016-17 in the Parliament, said the government has in the past one year taken several measures to build the capacity of the organisation to ensure readiness for the accelerated growth envisioned for the Indian Railways.
“The outcome of this exercise has resulted in increased absorption of capital expenditure and reduced project sanction cycle,” he added.
Prabhu said, “Last year I had unveiled a medium term vision for the Railways, which set us on this transformational journey for which we need to reorganise, restructure and rejuvenate this institution.”
“We will revisit rules to revitalise the structure. We will innovate and optimise the way forward,” he added.
Prabhu said the India Railways have a saving of Rs 8,720 crores from the previous budget estimates.
“We hope to generate revenues to the order of Rs 1,84,820 crores,” Prabhu said.
“For 2016-17, the capital plan of Rs 1.21 lakh crore is estimated,” he added.
Prabhu said this is a budget, which reflects the aspirations of each and every member of the Railway’s family.
“A budget that reflects the aspirations of the common citizens of India. This is a budget that has been fashioned by a creative partnership: with ideas from my colleagues in Parliament, industry associations, commuter associations and practically all sections of the society. I would like to thank each one of you,” he added.
Prabhu said co-operation, collaboration and communication are the hallmarks of Indian Railways’ journey forward.
“We need to reorganise and rejuvenate,” he added.
The Railway Minister said three pillars of the strategy: Nav Arjan (New Revenues), Nav Manak (New Norms) and Nav Sanrachna (New Structures) have been laid out to reflect the new thought process.
