Indian Railway Budget 2010 – 2011 : Complete summary, the Good and the Bad

This is budget month. Railway budget was out a day back and the country’s Union Budget 2010 – 2011 is due now. For the past few years, Lalu Prasad Yadav was giving out a flashy railway budget promising tons of stuffs. Am Not sure, how many of them got the full shape. However this year, central Railway Minister Mamta Banarjee has come out with a quite possible and practical schemes.

Before seeing the full highlights of the Indian Railway Budget 2010 – 2011, I would like to touch upon the few schemes of this budget that I like and dislike …

Woooo :

1. Reduction in service charges when buying railway tickets online.

– Apparently Indian Railways site IRCTC is one of the top 10 most visited sites in India by traffic and also the largest e-commerce portal in the country with total transactions over 3500 crores in a year. Reducing online ticket booking service charges will encourage more people go for button click ticket buying rather than flocking the counters.

– Sleeper Class tickets service charge : lowered from Rs.15 to Rs.10

– AC Class tickets service charge : lowered from Rs.40 to Rs.20

2.
 SMS updates of reservation status and trains arrival/departure timings to passengers. Also SMS updates on wagon movements to freight customers.

– Imagine you getting FedEx or Professional Courier like tracking numbers for your reservation or freights

3. Setting up Railway Research Centre in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) for research in railway technology. And establish strong research partnerships with other premier institutes like IITs, NITs and DRDO.

– I am sure, research students will come up with latest technologies which can modernize our railways.

Boooo :

1. Housing to all railway employees in the next 10 years.

– When a government can rule only for 5 years, I am not sure how 10 year plans are going to work out. In the last election term, Lalu Prasad Yadav announced so many schemes (like DTH, internet, Video On Demand in the train) but I don’t think they saw any light after his tenure.

2. Special efforts to clear outstanding debt of the railways :

– But Mamta didn’t explain on what these special efforts are. Those are very special efforts that even government doesn’t know.

Ok, here is the complete summary of the Indian Railway Budget 2010 – 2011 …

2010/11 PROJECTIONS
- Plan outlay set at 414.26 billion rupees ($9 billion)
- Freight target set at 944 million tonnes
- Gross traffic receipts in year to March 2011 seen at 947.6 billion rupees ($20.5 billion)
- Plan outlay set at 414.26 billion rupees
- Aims to spend 131.4 billion rupees on wagons, other locomotives
- Aims to spend 11.24 billion rupees on telecom, signals
- Proposes to spend 50 billion rupees on new tracks
- Passenger traffic to increase at 5.3 pct

FUNDING
- No increase in freight tariff
- Indian Railways Finance Corp (IRFC) to borrow 91.2 billion rupees ($1.97 billion) from the market in 2010/11
- Aims to increase earnings from non-core activities to 10 bln rupees from 1.5 bln Rs
- Freight cut on food-grains and kerosene by Rs.100/wagon
- Special efforts to clear outstanding debt of the railways
- Railways saved 2,000 cr during the austerity drive
- Rs 1,302 crore allocated for passenger amenities
- 2008-09 combined turnover of Rs 13,641 cr for railway
- Plan to raise Rs 10,000 – 20,000 crore in FY11

EXPANSION
– To introduce dedicated passenger corridor
- To achieve 1000km electrification by 2011
- Routes of 21 trains will be extended
- Railways to acquire 80,000 new wagons
- Tourists trains to be launched on 16 routes
- 5 wagon industries to be set up in JV-PPP mode
- To run 101 suburban trains in Mumbai
- Railways to complete 25,000km of rail lines by 2020
- Mobile e-ticketing centres at hospitals, courts & universities
- Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games
- Railways plans for 6 water bottling plants

NEW MEASURES
- To set up 10 auto, auto-ancillary hubs across India
- To introduce pilot project for fire detection
- To construct more underpasses for safety
- Special train between India and Bangladesh
- Railways to have a master-plan for N-E region
- AC service charges cut to Rs 20 as against Rs 40 earlier
- 10 more Duranto trains to be launched
- 54 new trains to be introduced in FY11
- To provide employment to 1 member of land losers’ family
- Houses to all railway employees in the next 10 years
- Railway exams can be taken in regional languages
- 117 trains will be flagged off by March 31st
- National High Speed Rail Authority to be set up