Future-ready Railways
February 01, 2021
Weathering Covid, the national transporter has a ₹ 2.08 lakh cr plan
To make Indian Railways future ready, the government proposes to provide ₹1.10 lakh crore next fiscal, of which ₹1.07 lakh crore will be spent as capital expenditure. It is budgetary support portion from the plan size of ₹2,15,058 crore, which also includes borrowing and internal revenue generation.
The national transporter’s total revenues are expected to bounce back to ₹2.08 lakh crore in fiscal 2021-22, according to the Union Budget. Of this, 29 per cent (₹61,000 crore) will be by moving passengers and ₹1,28,000 crore by moving goods like coal, steel automobile, cement, foodgrain.
Railways allocated ‘record’ Rs 1.10 lakh crore; to focus on National Rail Plan 2030 PTI
New Delhi: The Railways has been allocated a ‘record’ Rs 1.10 lakh crore in the Union Budget. Out of it, Rs 1.07 lakh crore accounts for capital expenditure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Monday. While the allocation in 2021-22 has been termed as a ‘record’ for the the Railways, it had a slightly higher allocation of Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the revised budget of 2020-21.
The national carrier will monetise the upcoming ‘Dedicated Freight Corridor’ (DFC) assets for operations and maintenance after commissioning. The Indian Railways will have a National Rail Plan to create a ‘future ready’ Railway system by 2030, Sitharaman said. She also applauded the services provided by the Railways to transport essential goods across the country during the coronavirus lockdown.
FM blows the privatisation bugle
February 01, 2021
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Adding to the resolve is the decision to peg the 2021-22 disinvestment target at a ₹1.75 lakh-crore
In what came as music to the ears of markets and the foreign investor community, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a thumbs up to privatisation, reflecting the government’s commitment to go the whole hog to realise its disinvestment and privatisation target.
Adding to the resolve is the government’s decision to peg the 2021-22 disinvestment target receipts at a whopping ₹1.75 lakh-crore, substantially higher than the ₹32,000 crore pegged at the revised estimate stage for 2020-21. The government had for 2020-21 pegged the divestment target at ₹2.1 lakh-crore, which could not be realised due to Covid-19 lockdown.
The first paperless Union Budget 2021-22 had evinced keen interest as the startup ecosystem tries to redefine its trajectory in the post-pandemic era. Over the years, startups have emerged as the new torchbearers of the Indian economy. As per the statistics, there are approximately 40,729 startups in India. A spate of policy initiatives such as revisiting the definition of startups, simplifying regulations, providing income exemptions, and setting up Fund of Funds has had a multiplier effect in terms of catalyzing entrepreneurship, generating employment, and giving a fillip to innovation besides encouraging the growth of startups.
Bolstered by a conducive policy landscape, the startup ecosystem has leapfrogged the traditional growth patterns to burgeon into the third-largest in the world, encompassing 38 unicorns. The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the significance of startups for exemplifying out-of-the-box thinking, creativity, and innovation. The disruption of the global
UPDATED: February 1, 2021 14:12 IST
Powering Along: India s first engine-less semi-high speed train, manufactured by Chennai s Integral Coach Factory (Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)
On January 7 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned a 351-kilometre section between Khurja and Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh for commercial operations. This marked the first phase of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project. Together, the eastern and western corridors will ferry 70 per cent of the country s freight traffic and are expected to be commissioned by 2022.
The Indian Railways has long been marred by inefficient operations, slow infrastructure development and financially unviable projects. The Railway Board is seriously considering opening up its doors to private players to own and operate trains. On July 1 last year, the process of inviting private players to own, design, build, finance and operate 151 passenger trains to be run on 109 routes was initiated. Private freight trains wi