It is that time of the year when the nation waits to know how the money is spent in different spheres. Every year the Indian Government comes up with budget that talks about the income and expenditures that will be taken care of through out the year. The Railway Budget 2016-17 was announced and has attracted mixed reactions from leaders and people in general. We bring you the highlights of the budget, how productive is it and what the opinions and views have to say. All from the bloggers, by the bloggers and for the bloggers.
Railway Budget is a yearly exercise by the government which is looked upon by every national irrespective of age, profession and economical background. The Railway Budget 2016-17 has cheered many and disappointed some. Or is it the other way around? Find out in the highlights by Niraj Mahajan from Indian Tax Blog.
“Q. What is the theme of this Budget?
. To Reorganise, Restructure and Rejuvenate Indian Railways.
. A new approach, a new way of working – “चलो, मिलकर कुछ नया करें”.
. Objectives:
o to improve customer service,
o regain the lost modal share, and
o to introduce a new way of working by relooking the processes
and structures.
. 3 pillars of the strategy:
o Nav Arjan or New revenues (focus on new sources of revenue),
o Nav Manak or New norms (optimising outgo on each activity),
and
o Nav Sanrachna or New Structures (revisiting all processes,
rules, and structures).”
When it is railway budget, the talk is about fares, facilities and ease of commute for our fellow citizens. Dheeraj Sanghi on his blog shares with us what he finds useful, disappointing and welcome in Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu’s second railway budget. Here is an excerpt.
“This year, the expectations were huge. Mr. Prabhu has been one of the few Railway Ministers who has been working hard behind the scenes and not trying to take credit for all populist decisions. Indeed many of the decisions of Railways under his leadership has been anything but popular. While we, the railfans, have criticized some of his decisions, but mostly, we have recognized that he is looking at the medium to long term revival of Indian Railways. We were hoping he will share with us his vision on how to take the huge transporter forward, and he has not disappointed us. To be more precise, he has many great points in his speech, though we have seen that sometimes the devil is in the details.”
Stock Markets usually show the impact on stocks and indexes on important economic events. Things are no different when the country watches rail budget. Krishna Shekhawat talks about the stocks that are likely to become profitable post the budget announcements. Sharing one as an excerpt.
“BEML
The Indian public sector undertaking is making anticipations to get benefited from the modern railways and metros plus from their rapid expansion. There will be an improvement in the defence segment after the Tatra truck demand and Armored recovery vehicle (ARV) order commencement. From the strong coal production plan in India, Antique Stock Broking have a positive attitude on the stock as there could be fine mining equipment growth possibilities.”
It is interesting to see how every year the citizens benefit from the efforts of the government. Time and again the government has made efforts to incorporate citizen ideas on the various initiatives. This year’s rail budget too was seen to continue the trend. Here are the citizen ideas that we came across on a blog by our government.
“Citizen participation plays a vital role in a vibrant democracy. Continuing its efforts to encourage citizen participation in governance, MyGov, in association with Ministry of Railways, invited ideas to be incorporated in the rail budget for the second consecutive year. The discussion received numerous innovative ideas. Some of the ideas were reflected in the budget proposal presented by the Railway Minister Shri. Suresh Prabhu on Thursday, 25th February 2016. MyGov appreciates the contribution of all the citizens who participated in this discussion.
Suggestion 1: International technological solutions
“We should adopt new international technologies like China” – Venkati, Vizag(AP)
Government Budget Proposal
“In line with international best practices, we will rely on technological solutions for project management and monitoring”.
So what was in store for industries, companies and professionals who see railways as one of the biggest employers of the country? The analysis was done ahead of the budget session and here are the impressive efforts and figures by Tanya Singh.
1.Construction of a third railway line between Anuppur and Katni in Madhya Pradesh. This will be a 132 km long railway line that has been approved to cater to an expected surge in coal mining in India. According to reports, the line will be beneficial for additional coal traffic coming from IB Valley coalfield in Odisha, Korba in Chhattisgarh, East Corridor, and Gevra Road-Pendra Road Project in Chhattisgarh. Coal output from these regions will be transferred through this route.
2.Doubling of the 261 km Katni-Singrauli line in Madhya Pradesh. The two Madhya Pradesh projects will be worth Rs. 3,681 crore and will help connect the coal belt in the state. Doubling of this line will mean more coverage for the districts of Katni, Shahdol, Sidhi and Singrauli.
Apart from the initiative to better our rail system in the country, there is something that holds the eyes of everyone. The technological developments and incorporations that the government undertakes. Whether in railways is a question only time can answer but while presenting the budget our rail minister used Periscope. We have Jaideep Khanduja talking about it in detail.
“Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Railways is not only being praised for an excellent Railways Budget 2016 but also for unleashing the power of technology to reach out to his audience in real-time, and that too in an interactive manner. That is the beauty of the human mind. Technology has no limits and boundaries. It is the human brain that sets the limitations based on his thoughts and capabilities. Before releasing railways budget 2016, Suresh Prabhu was seen on Periscope in the morning. He was having a breakfast chat with a large number of audience in real-time. The session was to set expectations from this year’s budget. These are few steps taking India from the status of a developing country to a developed country.”
Let’s take a step further to talk about the use of technology in our railway projects. Kirti Sharma talks about how high was the budget on tech. These inclusions will pave the way for speedy development and progress.
“The top 6 technology related announcement made for the Indian railways in the lower house in Rail Budget 2016-17 are as follows:
1) Radio Stations – Understanding the entertainment need of commuters waiting to board their trains on the train stations, the railway minister has invited the nation’s radio stations to provide their entertainment services through the Indian railway’s personal address system on various railway stations. FM radio stations for trains are also a part of the plan.
2) Clean my coach service – What’s the one thing that concerns the majority while travelling through trains? Hygiene! Yes, the cleanliness of the toilets and the coaches is one of the main reasons many prefer other transport options rather than choosing the railways. The Railway Minister has understood this problem and has launched a new SMS service through which passengers will now be able to make a request for cleaning their coaches. All they will have to do is to drop a message with their PNR number at 58888 and the cleaning staff will attend to their needs at the next station.”
Travel is a debatable topic when one is aging or facing any other physical challenge. They expect some favourable initiatives from the government to ease their ways and means of travel. Patrika covers the provisions and initiatives taken for senior citizens, women and disabled.
“दिव्यांगों के लिए –
– ऑनलाइन टिकटों की बुकिंग करते समय छूट का लाभ उठाने के लिए एकबारगी रेजिस्ट्रेशन
– व्हील चेयर की ऑनलाइन बुकिंग
– सभी नए सवारी डिब्बे ब्रेल एनेबल्ड
– सुगम्य भारत अभियान के तहत पुन: विकसित किए जा रहे सभी स्टेशनों का दिव्यांग इस्तेमाल कर सकेंगे।
– आगामी वित्त वर्ष के दौरान ए1 श्रेणी के स्टेशन के हर प्लेटफॉर्म पर दिव्यांगों के लिए कम से कम एक शौचालय उपलब्ध करवाने का प्रयास किया जाएगा और इस स्टेशनों पर पर्याप्त संख्या में व्हील चेयरों की उपलब्धता भी सुनिश्चित करेंगे।”
Lastly let’s talk about the benefits that actual rail yatris are about to benefit from this year’s budget. Anoy Chakraborty summarises how as a travel you will see changes in the way our railways function.
“No hike in railway fares.
- 33% sub-quota for women under all reserved categories.
- Increase the quota of lower berths for women and senior citizens.
- FM radio via PA system for passenger entertainment proposed.
- Children’s menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers.
- IRCTC will make available local cuisine of choice.”
These were the important notations that we have taken down from this year’s railway budget session. Did we miss something? Or you have a opinion. Let us know in the comments below.