Key Features of Budget 2010-2011CHALLENGESTo quickly revert to the high GDP growth path of 9 per cent and then find themeans to cross the ‘double digit growth barrier’.To harness economic growth to consolidate the recent gains in making developmentmore inclusive.To address the weaknesses in government systems, structures and institutions atdifferent levels of governance.OVERVIEW OF THE ECONOMYIndia among the first few countries in the world to implement a broad-basedcounter-cyclic policy package to respond to the negative fallout of the globalslowdown.The Advance Estimates for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2009-10pegged at 7.2 per cent. The final figure expected to be higher when the third andfourth quarter GDP estimates for 2009-10 become available.The growth rate in manufacturing sector in December 2009 was 18.5 per cent – thehighest in the past two decades.A major concern during the second half of 2009-10 has been the emergence ofdouble digit food inflation. Government has set in motion steps, in consultationwith the State Chief Ministers, which should bring down the inflation in the nextfew months and ensure that there is better management of food security in thecountry.CONSOLIDATING GROWTHFiscal ConsolidationWith recovery taking root, there is a need to review public spending, mobiliseresources and gear them towards building the productivity of the economy.Fiscal policy shaped with reference to the recommendations of the ThirteenthFinance Commission, which has recommended a calibrated exit strategy from theexpansionary fiscal stance of last two years.It would be for the first time that the Government would target an explicit reductionin its domestic public debt-GDP ratio.http://indiabudget.nic.in

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Tax reformsOn the Direct Tax Code (DTC) the wide-ranging discussions with stakeholdershave been concluded – Government will be in a position to implement the DTCfrom April 1, 2011.Centre actively engaged with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministersto finalise the structure of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as well as the modalitiesof its expeditious implementation. Endeavour to introduce GST by April, 2011People’s ownership of PSUsOwnership has been broad based in Oil India Limited, NHPC, NTPC and RuralElectrification Corporation while the process is on for National MineralDevelopment Corporation and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam. This will raise aboutRs 25,000 crore during the current year.Higher amount proposed to be raised during the year 2010-11.

Fertiliser subsidyA Nutrient Based Subsidy policy for the fertiliser sector has been approved by theGovernment and will become effective from April 1, 2010.This will lead to an increase in agricultural productivity and better returns for thefarmers, and overtime reduce the volatility in demand for fertiliser subsidy andcontain the subsidy bill.Petroleum and Diesel pricing policyExpert Group to advise the Government on a viable and sustainable system ofpricing of petroleum products has submitted its recommendations.Decision on these recommendations will be taken in due course.Improving Investment EnvironmentForeign Direct InvestmentNumber of steps taken to simplify the FDI regime.Methodology for calculation of indirect foreign investment in Indian companieshas been clearly defined.Complete liberalisation of pricing and payment of technology transfer fee andtrademark, brand name and royalty payments.Financial Stability and Development CouncilAn apex level Financial Stability and Development Council to be set up with aview to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism for maintaining financialstability.This Council would monitor macro-prudential supervision of the economy,including the functioning of large financial conglomerates, and address interregulatorycoordination issues.3http://indiabudget.nic.in

Banking LicencesRBI is considering giving some additional banking licenses to private sector players.Non Banking Financial Companies could also be considered, if they meet the RBI’seligibility criteria.Public Sector Bank CapitalisationRs.16,500 crore provided to ensure that the Public Sector Banks are able to attaina minimum 8 per cent Tier-I capital by March 31, 2011.Recapitalisation of Regional Rural Banks (RRB)Government to provide further capital to strengthen the RRBs so that they haveadequate capital base to support increased lending to the rural economy.Corporate GovernanceGovernment has introduced the Companies Bill, 2009 in the Parliament to replacethe existing Companies Act, 1956, which will address issues related to regulationin corporate sector in the context of the changing business environment.ExportsExtension of existing interest subvention of 2 per cent for one more year for exportscovering handicrafts, carpets, handlooms and small and medium enterprises.Agriculture GrowthGovernment will follow a four-pronged strategy, covering(a) Agricultural productionRs. 400 crore provided to extend the green revolution to the eastern region of the

country comprising Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Eastern UP, West Bengal andOrissa.Rs. 300 crore provided to organise 60,000 “pulses and oil seed villages” in rain-fedareas during 2010-11 and provide an integrated intervention for water harvesting,watershed management and soil health, to enhance the productivity of the dry landfarming areas.Rs. 200 crore provided for sustaining the gains already made in the green revolutionareas through conservation farming, which involves concurrent attention to soilhealth, water conservation and preservation of biodiversity.(b) Reduction in wastage of produceGovernment to address the issue of opening up of retail trade. It will help in bringingdown the considerable difference between farm gate, wholesale and retail prices.Deficit in the storage capacity met through an ongoing scheme for private sectorparticipation – FCI to hire godowns from private parties for a guaranteed period of7 years.(c) Credit support to farmersBanks have been consistently meeting the targets set for agriculture credit flow inthe past few years. For the year 2010-11, the target has been set at Rs.3,75,000crore.4http://indiabudget.nic.in

In view of the recent drought in some States and the severe floods in some otherparts of the country, the period for repayment of the loan amount by farmers extendedby six months from December 31, 2009 to June 30, 2010 under the Debt Waiverand Debt Relief Scheme for Farmers.Incentive of additional one per cent interest subvention to farmers who repayshort-term crop loans as per schedule, increased to 2% for 2010-11.(d) Impetus to the food processing sectorIn addition to the ten mega food park projects already being set up, the Governmenthas decided to set up five more such parks.External Commercial Borrowings to be available for cold storage or cold roomfacility, including for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage ofagricultural and allied produce, marine products and meat.InfrastructureRs 1,73,552 crore provided for infrastructure development which accounts for over46 per cent of the total plan allocation.Allocation for road transport increased by over 13 per cent from Rs. 17,520 croreto Rs 19,894 crore.Rs 16,752 crore provided for Railways, which is about Rs.950 crore more than lastyear.India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL)IIFCL’s disbursements are expected to touch Rs 9,000 crore by end March 2010and reach around Rs 20,000 crore by March 2011.IIFCL has refinanced bank lending to infrastructure projects of Rs. 3,000 crore duringthe current year and is expected to more than double that amount in 2010-11.The take-out financing scheme announced in the last Budget is expected to initiallyprovide finance for about Rs. 25,000 crore in the next three years.

EnergyPlan allocation for power sector excluding RGGVY doubled from Rs.2230 crorein 2009-10 to Rs.5,130 crore in 2010-11.Government proposes to introduce a competitive bidding process for allocatingcoal blocks for captive mining to ensure greater transparency and increasedparticipation in production from these blocks.A “Coal Regulatory Authority” to create a level playing field in the coal sectorproposed to be set up.Plan outlay for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy increased by 61 percent from Rs.620 crore in 2009-10 to Rs.1,000 crore in 2010-11.Solar, small hydro and micro power projects at a cost of about Rs.500 crore to beset up in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.5http://indiabudget.nic.in

Environment and Climate changeNational Clean Energy Fund for funding research and innovative projects in cleanenergy technologies to be established.One-time grant of Rs.200 crore to the Government of Tamil Nadu towards the cost ofinstallation of a zero liquid discharge system at Tirupur to sustain knitwear industry.Rs.200 crore provided as a Special Golden Jubilee package for Goa to preserve thenatural resources of the State, including sea beaches and forest cover.Allocation for National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) doubled in2010-11 to Rs.500 crore.Schemes on bank protection works along river Bhagirathi and river Ganga-Padmain parts of Murshidabad and Nadia district of West Bengal included in the CentrallySponsored Flood Management Programme.A project at Sagar Island to be developed to provide an alternate port facility inWest Bengal.INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENTThe spending on social sector has been gradually increased to Rs.1,37,674 crore in2010-11, which is 37% of the total plan outlay in 2010-11.Another 25 per cent of the plan allocations are devoted to the development of ruralinfrastructure.EducationPlan allocation for school education increased by 16 per cent from Rs.26,800 crorein 2009-10 to Rs.31,036 crore in 2010-11.In addition, States will have access to Rs.3,675 crore for elementary educationunder the Thirteenth Finance Commission grants for 2010-11.HealthAn Annual Health Survey to prepare the District Health Profile of all Districtsshall be conducted in 2010-11.Plan allocation to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare increased from Rs 19,534crore in 2009-10 to Rs 22,300 crore for 2010-11.Financial InclusionAppropriate Banking facilities to be provided to habitations having population inexcess of 2000 by March, 2012.Insurance and other services to be provided using the Business Correspondent model.

By this arrangement, it is proposed to cover 60,000 habitations.Augmentation of Rs.100 crore each for the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) and theFinancial Inclusion Technology Fund, which shall be contributed by Governmentof India, RBI and NABARD.6http://indiabudget.nic.in

Rural DevelopmentRs. 66,100 crore provided for Rural Development.Allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemestepped up to Rs.40,100 crore in 2010-11.An amount of Rs.48,000 crore allocated for rural infrastructure programmes underBharat Nirman.Unit cost under Indira Awas Yojana increased to Rs.45,000 in the plain areas andto Rs.48,500 in the hilly areas. Allocation for this scheme increased to Rs.10,000crore.Allocation to Backward Region Grant Fund enhanced by 26 per cent from Rs.5,800crore in 2009-10 to Rs 7,300 crore in 2010-11.Additional central assistance of Rs 1,200 crore provided for drought mitigation inthe Bundelkhand region.Urban Development and HousingAllocation for urban development increased by more than 75 per cent from Rs.3,060crore to Rs.5,400 crore in 2010-11.Allocation for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation raised from Rs.850 crore toRs.1,000 crore in 2010-11.Scheme of one per cent interest subvention on housing loan upto Rs.10 lakh, wherethe cost of the house does not exceed Rs.20 lakh — announced in the lastBudget — extended up to March 31, 2011. Rs.700 crore provided for this schemefor the year 2010-11.Rs.1,270 crore allocated for Rajiv Awas Yojana as compared to Rs.150 crore lastyear.Micro, Small & Medium EnterprisesHigh Level Council on Micro and Small Enterprises to monitor the implementationof the recommendations of High-Level Task Force constituted by Prime Minister.Allocation for this sector to be increased from Rs.1,794 crore to Rs.2,400 crore forthe year 2010-11.The corpus for Micro-Finance Development and Equity Fund doubled to Rs.400crore in 2010-11.Unorganised SectorNational Social Security Fund for unorganised sector workersNational Social Security Fund for unorganised sector workers to be set up with aninitial allocation of Rs.1000 crore. This fund will support schemes for weavers,toddy tappers, rickshaw pullers, bidi workers etc.Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana benefits extended to all such Mahatma GandhiNREGA beneficiaries who have worked for more than 15 days during the precedingfinancial year.7http://indiabudget.nic.in

A new initiative, “Swavalamban” will be available for persons who join NewPension Scheme (NPS), with a minimum contribution of Rs.1,000 and a maximumcontribution of Rs.12,000 per annum during the financial year 2010-11, whereinGovernment will contribute Rs.1,000 per year to each NPS account opened in theyear 2010-11. Allocation of Rs.100 crore made for this initiative.Skill developmentNational Skill Development Corporation has approved three projects worth aboutRs 45 crore to create 10 lakh skilled manpower at the rate of one lakh per annum.An extensive skill development programme in the textile and garment sector to belaunched by leveraging the strength of existing institutions and instruments of theTextile Ministry to train 30 lakh persons over 5 years.Social WelfarePlan outlay for Women and Child Development stepped up by almost 50 per cent.The ICDS platform being expanded for effective implementation of the Rajiv GandhiScheme for Adolescent Girls.“Saakshar Bharat” to further improve female literacy rate launched with a targetof 7 crore non-literate adults which includes 6 crore women.Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana to meet the specific needs of womenfarmers to be launched with a provision of Rs 100 crore as a sub-component of theNational Rural Livelihood Mission.Plan outlay of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment enhanced by 80per cent to Rs.4500 crore. With this enhancement, the Ministry will be able torevise rates of scholarship under its post-matric scholarship schemes for SCs andOBC students.Plan allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs increased by 50 per cent fromRs.1,740 crore to Rs.2,600 crore for the year 2010-11.STRENGTHENING TRANSPARENCY & PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILTYFinancial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission to be set up to rewrite and cleanup the financial sector laws to bring them in line with the requirements of thesector.Rs 1,900 crore allocated to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)for 2010-11. UIDAI will be able to meet its commitments of issuing the first set ofUID numbers in the coming yearA Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP) to be set up to lookinto various technological and systemic issues for effective tax administration andfinancial governance.Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) chaired by the Deputy Chairman, PlanningCommission to be set up to evaluate the impact of flagship programmes.8http://indiabudget.nic.in

Security and JusticeAllocation for Defence increased to Rs. 1,47,344 crore including Rs 60,000 crorefor capital expenditure.About 2,000 youth to be recruited as constables in five Central Para Military Forcesfrom Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2010.Planning Commission to prepare an integrated action plan for the thirty-three leftwing extremism affected districts. Adequate funds will be made available to support

the action plan.Government has approved the setting up of the National Mission for Delivery ofJustice and Legal Reforms to help reduce legal backlog in courts from an averageof 15 years at present to 3 years by 2012.BUDGET ESTIMATES 2010-11The Gross Tax Receipts are estimated at Rs. 7,46,651 croreThe Non Tax Revenue Receipts are estimated at Rs. 1,48,118 crore.The net tax revenue to the Centre as well as the expenditure provisions in 2010-11have been estimated with reference to the recommendations of the ThirteenthFinance Commission.The total expenditure proposed in the Budget Estimates is Rs. 11,08,749 crore,which is an increase of 8.6 per cent over last year.The Plan and Non Plan expenditures in BE 2010-11 are estimated at Rs. 3,73,092crore and Rs. 7,35,657 crore respectively. While there is 15 per cent increase inPlan expenditure, the increase in Non Plan expenditure is only 6 per cent over theBE of previous year.Fiscal deficit for BE 2010-11 at 5.5 per cent of GDP, which works out to Rs.3,81,408crore.Taking into account the various other financing items for fiscal deficit, the actualnet market borrowing of the Government in 2010-11 would be of the order ofRs.3,45,010 crore. This would leave enough space to meet the credit needs of theprivate sector.The rolling targets for fiscal deficit are pegged at 4.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent for2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively.Against a fiscal deficit of 7.8 per cent in 2008-09, inclusive of oil and fertilizerbonds, the comparable fiscal deficit is 6.9 per cent as per the Revised Estimates for2009-10.Conscious effort made to avoid issuing bonds to oil and fertilizer companies.Government would like to continue with this practice of extending Governmentsubsidy in cash, thereby bringing all subsidy related liabilities into Government’sfiscal accounting.9http://indiabudget.nic.in

PART B TAX PROPOSALSThe Centralized Processing Centre at Bengaluru is now fully functional and isprocessing around 20,000 returns daily. This initiative will be taken forward bysetting up two more Centres during the year.The Income Tax department has introduced “Sevottam”, a pilot project at Pune,Kochi and Chandigarh through Aayakar Seva Kendras, which provide a single windowsystem for registration of all applications including those for redressal of grievancesas well as paper returns. The scheme will be extended to four more cities in the year.Automation of Central Excise & Service Tax, has already been rolled out throughoutthe country this year. Similarly, a Mission Mode Project for computerization ofCommercial Taxes in States has been approved recently. With an outlay ofRs. 1133 crore of which the Centre’s share is Rs. 800 crore, the project will lay thefoundation for the launch of GST.The income tax department to notify SARAL-II form for individual salaried

taxpayers for the coming assessment year.Scope of cases which may be admitted by the Settlement Commission expanded toinclude proceedings related to search and seizure cases pending for assessment.Scope of Settlement Commission also expanded in respect of Central Excise andCustoms to include certain categories of cases that hitherto fell outside itsjurisdiction.Bi-lateral discussions commenced to enhance the exchange of bank related andother information to effectively track tax evasion and identify undisclosed assetsof resident Indians lying abroad.Direct TaxesIncome tax slabs for individual taxpayers to be as followsIncome upto Rs 1.6 lakh NilIncome above Rs 1.6 lakh and upto Rs. 5 lakh 10 per centIncome above Rs.5 lakh and upto Rs. 8 lakh 20 per centIncome above Rs. 8 lakh 30 per centDeduction of an additional amount of Rs. 20,000 allowed, over and above theexisting limit of Rs.1 lakh on tax savings, for investment in long-term infrastructurebonds as notified by the Central GovernmentBesides contributions to health insurance schemes which is currently allowed as adeduction under the Income-tax Act, contributions to the Central Government HealthScheme also allowed as a deduction under the same provision.Current surcharge of 10 per cent on domestic companies reduced to 7.5 per cent.Rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) increased from the current rate of 15 percent to 18 per cent of book profits.10http://indiabudget.nic.in

To further encourage R&D across all sectors of the economy, weighted deductionon expenditure incurred on in-house R&D enhanced from 150 per cent to 200 percent. Weighted deduction on payments made to National Laboratories, researchassociations, colleges, universities and other institutions, for scientific researchenhanced from 125 per cent to 175 per cent.Payment made to an approved association engaged in research in social sciencesor statistical research to be allowed as a weighted deduction of 125 per cent. Theincome of such approved research association shall be exempt from tax.Benefit of investment linked deduction under the Act extended to new hotels oftwo-star category and above anywhere in India to boost investment in the tourismsector.Allow pending projects to be completed within a period of five years instead offour years for claiming a deduction of their profits, as a one time interim relief tothe housing and real estate sector. Norms for built-up area of shops and othercommercial establishments in housing projects to be relaxed to enable basic facilitiesfor their residents.Limits for turnover over which accounts need to be audited enhanced to Rs. 60lakh for businesses and to Rs. 15 lakh for professions.Limit of turnover for the purpose of presumptive taxation of small businessesenhanced to Rs. 60 lakh.If tax has been deducted on payment by way of any expense and is paid before the

due date of filing the return, such expenditure to be allowed for deduction. Interestcharged on tax deducted but not deposited by the specified date to be increasedfrom 12 per cent to 18 per cent per annum.To facilitate the conversion of small companies into Limited Liability Partnerships,transfer of assets as a result of such conversion not to be subject to capital gainstax.“The advancement of any other object of general public utility” to be considered as“charitable purpose” even if it involves carrying on of any activity in the nature oftrade, commerce or business provided that the receipts from such activities do notexceed Rs.10 lakh in the year .Proposals on direct taxes estimated to result in a revenue loss of Rs. 26,000 crorefor the year.Indirect TaxesRate reduction in Central Excise duties to be partially rolled back and the standardrate on all non-petroleum products enhanced from 8 per cent to 10 per centad valorem.The specific rates of duty applicable to portland cement and cement clinker alsoadjusted upwards proportionately. Similarly, the ad valorem component of exciseduty on large cars, multi-utility vehicles and sports-utility vehicles increased by 2percentage points to 22 per cent.11http://indiabudget.nic.in

Restore the basic duty of 5 per cent on crude petroleum; 7.5 per cent on diesel andpetrol and 10 per cent on other refined products. Central Excise duty on petrol anddiesel enhanced by Re.1 per litre each.Some structural changes in the excise duty on cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos to bemade coupled with some increase in rates. Excise duty on all non-smoking tobaccosuch as scented tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco etc to be enhanced. Compoundedlevy scheme for chewing tobacco and branded unmanufactured tobacco based onthe capacity of pouch packing machines to be introduced.Agriculture & Related SectorsProvide project import status with a concessional import duty of 5 per cent for thesetting up of mechanised handling systems and pallet racking systems in ‘mandis’or warehouses for food grains and sugar as well as full exemption from service taxfor the installation and commissioning of such equipment.Provide project import status at a concessional customs duty of 5 per cent with fullexemption from service tax to the initial setting up and expansion of♦Cold storage, cold room including farm pre-coolers for preservation or storageof agriculture and related sectors produce ; and♦Processing units for such produce.Provide full exemption from customs duty to refrigeration units required for themanufacture of refrigerated vans or trucks.Provide concessional customs duty of 5 per cent to specified agricultural machinerynot manufactured in India;Provide central excise exemption to specified equipment for preservation, storageand processing of agriculture and related sectors and exemption from service taxto the storage and warehousing of their produce; and

Provide full exemption from excise duty to trailers and semi-trailers used inagriculture.Concessional import duty to specified machinery for use in the plantation sector tobe, extended up to March 31, 2011 along with a CVD exemption.To exempt the testing and certification of agricultural seeds from service tax.The transportation by road of cereals, and pulses to be exempted from service tax.Transportation by rail to remain exempt.To ease the cash flow position for small-scale manufacturers, they would bepermitted to take full credit of Central Excise duty paid on capital goods in a singleinstallment in the year of their receipt. Secondly, they would be permitted to payCentral Excise duty on a quarterly, rather than monthly, basis.EnvironmentTo build the corpus of the National Clean Energy Fund, clean energy cess on coalproduced in India at a nominal rate of Rs.50 per tonne to be levied. This cess willalso apply on imported coal.12http://indiabudget.nic.in

Provide a concessional customs duty of 5 per cent to machinery, instruments,equipment and appliances etc. required for the initial setting up of photovoltaicand solar thermal power generating units and also exempt them from Central Exciseduty. Ground source heat pumps used to tap geo-thermal energy to be exemptedfrom basic customs duty and special additional duty.Exempt a few more specified inputs required for the manufacture of rotor bladesfor wind energy generators from Central Excise duty.Central Excise duty on LED lights reduced from 8 per cent to 4 per cent at par withCompact Fluorescent Lamps.To remedy the difficulty faced by manufacturers of electric cars and vehicles inneutralising the duty paid on their inputs and components, a nominal duty of 4 percent on such vehicles imposed. Some critical parts or sub-assemblies of suchvehicles exempted from basic customs duty and special additional duty subject toactual user condition. These parts would also enjoy a concessional CVD of 4 percent.A concessional excise duty of 4 per cent provided to “soleckshaw”, a productdeveloped by CSIR to replace manually-operated rickshaws. Its key parts andcomponents to be exempted from customs duty.Import of compostable polymer exempted from basic customs duty.InfrastructureProject import status to ‘Monorail projects for urban transport’ at a concessionalbasic duty of 5 per cent granted.To allow resale of specified machinery for road construction projects on paymentof import duty at depreciated value.To encourage the domestic manufacture of mobile phones accessories, exemptionsfrom basic, CVD and special additional duties are now being extended to parts ofbattery chargers and hands-free headphones. The validity of the exemption fromspecial additional duty is being extended till March 31, 2011.Medical SectorUniform, concessional basic duty of 5 per cent, CVD of 4 per cent with full

exemption from special additional duty prescribed on all medical equipments. Aconcessional basic duty of 5 per cent is being prescribed on parts and accessoriesfor the manufacture of such equipment while they would be exempt from CVDand special additional duty.Full exemption currently available to medical equipment and devices such asassistive devices, rehabilitation aids etc. retained. The concession available toGovernment hospitals or hospitals set up under a statute also retained.Specified inputs for the manufacture of orthopaedic implants exempted from importduty.13http://indiabudget.nic.in

InfotainmentTo address the difficulties experienced by film industry in importing digital mastersof films for duplication or distribution loaded on electronic medium vis-a-vis thoseimported on cinematographic film, owing to a differential customs duty structure,customs duty to be charged only on the value of the carrier medium. The samedispensation would apply to music and gaming software imported for duplication.In all such cases the value representing the transfer of intellectual property rightswould be subjected to service tax.Provide project import status at a concessional customs duty of 5 per cent with fullexemption from special additional duty to the initial setting up “Digital Head End”equipment by multi-service operators.Precious MetalsRates on precious metals indexed as follows:♦On gold and platinum from Rs.200 per 10 grams to Rs.300 per 10 grams♦On silver from Rs.1,000 per kg to Rs.1,500 per kg.Basic customs on Rhodium – a precious metal used for polishing jewellery reducedto 2 per cent.Basic customs duty on gold ore and concentrates reduced from 2 per cent ad valoremto a specific duty of Rs.140 per 10 grams of gold content with full exemption fromspecial additional duty. Further, the excise duty on refined gold made from suchore or concentrate reduced from 8 per cent to a specific duty of Rs.280 per 10grams.Other ProposalsFull exemption from import duty available to specified inputs or raw materialsrequired for the manufacture of sports goods expanded to cover a few more items.Basic customs duty on one of key components in production of micro-wave ovens,namely magnetrons, reduced from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.Value limit of Rs. 1 lakh per annum on duty-free import of commercial samples aspersonal baggage enhanced to Rs. 3 lakh per annum.Outright exemption from special additional duty provided to goods imported in apre-packaged form for retail sale. This would also cover mobile phones, watchesand ready-made garments even when they are not imported in pre-packaged form.The refund-based exemption is also being retained for cases not covered by thenew dispensation.Toy balloons fully exempted from Central Excise duty.Reduction in basic customs duty on long pepper from 70 per cent to 30 per cent;

Reduction in basic customs duty on asafoetida from 30 per cent to 20 per cent;Reduction in central excise duty on replaceable kits for household type water filtersother than those based on RO technology to 4 per cent;14http://indiabudget.nic.in

Reduction in central excise duty on corrugated boxes and cartons from 8 per centto 4 per cent;Reduction in central excise duty on latex rubber thread from 8 per cent to 4 percent; andReduction in excise duty on goods covered under the Medicinal and ToiletPreparations Act from 16 per cent to 10 per cent.Proposals relating to customs and central excise are estimated to result in a netrevenue gain of Rs. 43,500 crore for the year.Service TaxRate of tax on services retained at 10 per cent to pave the way forward for GST.Certain services, hitherto untaxed, to be brought within the purview of the servicetax levy. These to be notified separately.Process of refund of accumulated credit to exporters of services, especially in thearea of Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing, made easy bymaking necessary changes in the definition of export of services and procedures.Accredited news agencies which provide news feed online that meet certain criteria,exempted from service tax.Proposals relating to service tax are estimated to result in a net revenue gain of Rs3,000 crore for the year.Proposals on direct taxes estimated to result in a revenue loss of Rs. 26,000 crorefor the year. Proposals relating to Indirect Taxes estimated to result in a net revenuegain of Rs.46,500 crore for the year. Taking into account the concessions beinggiven in the tax proposals and measures taken to mobilise additional resources, the

net revenue gain is estimated to be Rs. 20,500 crore for the year.

Highlights of the Interim Budget 2009-10Last updated on: February 16, 2009 13:08 IST

Presenting the interim Budget for 2009-10 in Lok Sabha, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ] claimed in Parliament on Monday that every effort has been made to fulfil promises made to the common man.

Highlights of the Interim Budget 2009-10:

The Gross Domestic Product increased by 7.5 per cent, 9.5 per cent, 9.7 percent and 9 per cent in the first four years from fiscal year 2004-05 to 2007-08 recording a sustained growth of over 9 per cent for three consecutive years for the first time. The growth drivers for the period were agriculture, services, manufacturing along with trade and construction.

Fiscal deficit down from 4.5 per cent in 2003-04 to 2.7 per cent in 2007-08 and Revenue deficit from 3.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent in 2007-08. The domestic investment rate as a proportion of GDP increased from 27.6 per cent in 2003-04 to 39 per cent in 2007-08. Gross Domestic savings rate shot up from 29.8 per cent to 37.7 per cent during this period. The Gross capital formation in agriculture as a proportion of agriculture GDP increased from 11.1 per cent in 2003-04 to 14.2 per cent in 2007-08. The tax to GDP ratio increased from 9.2 per cent in 2003-04 to 12.5 per cent in 2007-08. Annual growth rate of agriculture rose to 3.7 per cent during 2003-04 to 2007-08. The foodgrain production recorded an increase of 10 million tonnes each year during this period and touched an all time high of 230 million tonnes in 2007-08. While manufacturing sector recorded growth of 9.5 per cent per annum in the period 2004-05 to 2007-08, communication and construction sectors grew at the rate of 26 per cent and 13.5 per cent per annum, respectively. Exports grew at an annual average growth rate of 26.4 per cent in US dollar terms in the period 2004-05 to 2007-08. Foreign trade increased from 23.7 per cent of GDP in 2003-04 to 35.5 per cent in 2007-08.

Outlook For The Year 2008-09

Despite the global financial crisis which began in 2007 impacting most emerging market economies, 7.1 per cent rate of GDP growth in the current year makes India [ Images ] the second fastest growing economy in the world. Fallout of global slowdown on Indian economy were countered with fiscal stimulus packages announced on December 7, 2008 and January 2, 2009 providing tax relief to boost demand and increasing expenditure on public projects. Government accorded approval to 37 infrastructure projects worth Rs 70,000 crore from August, 2008 to January, 2009 alone. Under PPP mode, 54 Central Sector infrastructure projects with a project cost of Rs 67,700 crore given in-principal or final approval and 23 projects amounting to Rs 27,900 crore approved for viability gap funding in 2008-09. India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) to refinance up to 60 per cent of commercial bank loans for PPP projects involving total investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore in infrastructure over the next eighteen months. In addition to RBI taking number of monetary easing and liquidity enhancing measures such as reduction in cash reserve ratio, statutory liquidity ratio and key policy rates, Government has taken specific measures which include extension of export credit for labour intensive exports, improving pre and post shipment credit availability, additional allocations for refund of Terminal Excise Duty/CST and export incentive schemes besides removal of export duty and export ban on certain items. A Committee of Secretaries set up to address procedural problems faced by exporters. Record US$ 32.4 billion FDI received in 2007-08 and notwithstanding financial uncertainty and slowdown, FDI inflows during April-November, 2008 were US$ 23.3 billion recording a growth of 45 per cent over the same period in 2007. FRBM targets for the current year and for fiscal 2009-10 relaxed to provide much needed demand boost. However, medium term objective is to revert to fiscal consolidation at the earliest.

Initiatives and Achievement

Agriculture

Plan allocation for agriculture increased by 300 per cent from 2003-04 to 2008-09. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna launched in 2007-08 with an outlay of Rs 25,000 crore to increase growth rate of agriculture and allied sector to 4 per cent per annum during Eleventh Plan period. Agriculture credit disbursement increased three times from Rs 87,000 crore in 2003-04 to about Rs 2,50,000 crore in 2007-08. To strengthen short-term cooperative credit structure, revival package in 25 states involving financial assistance of about Rs 13,500 crore is being implemented. Interest subvention to be continued in 2009-10 to ensure that farmers get short term crop loans upto Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent per annum. The Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 was implemented by June 30, 2008 as scheduled. Debt waiver/debt relief amounting to Rs 65,300 crore covers 3.6 crore farmers. Despite higher procurement cost and higher international prices during the last 5 years, the central issue prices under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) maintained at July, 2000 level in case of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) categories and at July, 2002 levels for Above Poverty Line (APL) category. Minimum Support Price (MSP) for common variety of paddy increased from Rs 550 per quintal in 2003-04 to Rs 900 per quintal for the crop year 2008-09. In case of wheat, increase was from Rs 630 per quintal in 2003-04 to Rs 1080 per quintal for the year 2009. Rural Development The corpus of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) increased from Rs.5,500 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 14,000 crore for the year 2008-09. A separate window for rural roads created with a corpus of Rs 4,000 crore for each of the last three years. As against 60 lakh houses to be constructed under Indira Awaas Yojana by 2008-09, 60 lakh twelve thousand houses constructed between 2005-06 to December, 2008. Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Scheme (PEAIS) proposed to be expanded. 'Project Arrow' to provide new technology enabled services through post offices to common man and support effective implementation of social sector schemes like NREGS, while promoting financial inclusion.

Education

Major initiatives including a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched to universalize education at secondary stage in the year 2008-09. Outlay on Higher Education increased 9 fold in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Ordinance promulgated for establishing 15 Central Universities. In addition to 6 new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan [ Images ], Orissa, Punjab [ Images ] and Gujrat which started functioning in 2008-09, two more IITs in Madhya Pradesh [ Images ] and Himachal Pradesh [ Images ] are expected to commence their academic session in 2009-10. 5 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) announced earlier have become functional. 2 new schools of Planning and Architecture at Vijayawada and Bhopal have started functioning. Teaching is expected to commence from academic year 2009-10 in four out of six

new Indian Institute of Management proposed for the Eleventh Plan in Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. Due to revision in Educational Loan Scheme by the Government number of beneficiaries increased from 3.19 lakh to 14.09 lakh and amount of loan outstanding increased from Rs 4,500 crore as on March, 31, 2004 to Rs 24,260 crore as on September 30, 2008. 500 ITIs upgraded into centers of excellence. National Skill Development Corporation created in July, 2008 with initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore.

Social Sector

Authorised capital of National Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) is being raised from Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore. Scope of the pre-metric scholarship for children of those engaged in unclean occupations expanded and rates of scholarship doubled in 2008-09. Annual ad-hoc grant increased by about 50 per cent as compared to earlier rates. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh to be strengthened by enhancing its authorized capital. 'Priyadarsini Project' a rural women's employment and livelihood programme will be implemented as pilot in the district of Madhubani and Sitamarhi in Bihar and Shravasti, Bahraich, Rai Bareli and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh [ Images ]. 146 lakh persons benefited under Indira Gandhi [ Images ] National Old Age Pension Scheme in the current financial year. Two new schemes 'Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme' to provide pension of Rs� 200 to widows between age groups of 40-64 years and 'Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme' to provide pension for severely disabled persons. Widows in the age group of 18-40 years to be given priority in admission to ITIs, Women ITIs and National/Regional ITIs for women. Government to bear cost of their training and provide stipend of Rs 500 per month. 22 States and Union Territories initiated process to implement Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for BPL familities in the unorganised sector and 60 lakh thirty two thousand persons covered for death and disability under 'Aam Admni' Bima Yojana (AABY). Public Sector Enterprises Turnover of Central Public Sector Enterprises increased from Rs 5,87,000 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 10,81,000 crore in 2007-08 and profits grew from Rs 53,000 crore to Rs 91,000 crore. While number of loss making enterprises came down from 73 in 2003-04 to 55 in 2007-08, number of profit making enterprises has gone up from 143 to 158 during the same period. Government approved implementation of Guidelines on Corporate Governance in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in June, 2007. Corpus of National Investment Fund created out of disinvestment proceeds from Central PSUs stood at Rs 1,815 crore as on December 31, 2008.

Financial Sector Reforms

NPAs of Public Sector Banks declined from 7.8 per cent on March 31, 2004 to 2.3 per cent on March 31, 2008.

As a result of initiating process of amalgamation and recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) with negative net worth, 196 RRBs merged into 85 RRBs. The Government has contributed Rs 652 crore for capitalization of RRBs upto December 31, 2008. Number of reforms undertaken in the last four years to deepen and widen the securities markets and strengthen the regulatory mechanisms for these markets. The Companies Bill, 2008, undertaking comprehensive revision of Companies Act, 1956 to enable adoption of internationally accepted best practices, has been introduced in the Parliament.

Tax Effort

Comprehensive reforms of tax system both direct and the indirect tax system have enabled the tax administration to enhance its functional efficiency and provide better tax payer services leading to increased compliance. Rates of Union Excise Duties and Service Tax rationalized for eventual shift to the Goods and Service Tax on 1st April, 2010. 109 marine vessels sanctioned for the Customs Department to prevent movements of contraband goods across the country's sea borders.

Administrative Reforms

The enactment of the Right to Information Act at the Centre and in many States ushering in greater accountability of the public servants. Recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission approved by the Government has benefited over 45 lakh Central Government employees including Defence Forces and Para-Military forces and over 38 lakh pensioners.

Revised Estimates

The total expenditure at Rs 7,50,884 crore in B.E. 2008-09 revised to Rs 9,00,953 crore in R.E. 2008-09 showing an increase of Rs 1,50,069 crore. Plan Expenditure gone up from Rs 2,43,386 crore in B.E. 2008-09 to Rs 2,82,957 crore in R.E. 2008-09. Non-Plan expenditure increased by Rs 1,10,498 crore in R.E. 2008-09 over B.E. 2008-09. Revised Estimate 2008-09 for Non-Tax Revenues increased from Rs 95,785 crore in Budget Estimate 2008-09 to Rs 96,203 crore. Revised Estimates of gross tax collection projected at Rs 6,27,949 crore as against B.E. 2008-09 of Rs 6,87,715 crore, primarily due to pro-active fiscal measures initiated to counter the impact of global slowdown on the Indian economy. Revised Revenue deficit to be at Rs 2,41,273 crore (4.4 per cent of GDP) as against budgeted figure of Rs 55,184 crore (1 per cent of GDP). Fiscal deficit to go up from Rs 1,33,287 crore (2.5 per cent of GDP) in B.E. 2008-09 to Rs 3,26,515 crore (6 per cent of GDP).

Budget Estimates

Total expenditure for fiscal 2009-10 estimated at Rs 9,53,231 crore. Plan expenditure estimated at Rs 2,85,149 crore and Non-Plan expenditure at Rs 6,68,082 crore.

Budgetary support in Plan B.E. 2009-10 in comparison to B.E. 2008-09 increased for Department of Rural Development, Department of Road Transport & Highways, Railways, Ministry of Power, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and Department of Information Technology to meet the requirements of rural and infrastructure development along with higher allocation for Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Ministry of Culture to ensure adequate resources for hosting of the Commonwealth Games [ Images ]. Allocations to flagship programme which directly impact 'Aam Aadmi' fully protected. Rs.30,100 crore allocated for National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for the year 2009-10. In 2008-09 employment of 138.76 crore person days covering 3.51 crore household already generated. About 98 per cent habitations covered by primary schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Allocation for this programme increased by 571 per cent between 2003-04 and 2008-09. Allocation of Rs 13,100 crore proposed for 2009-10. Rs 8,000 crore allocated for Mid-day Meals Scheme for the year 2009-10. Allocation of Rs 6,705 crore proposed for Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) for the year 2009-10. New WHO child growth standards adopted for monitoring growth of children under ICDS. 386 projects amounting to Rs 39,000 crore sanctioned till December 31, 2008 under Jawaharlal Nehru [ Images ] National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Allocation of Rs.11,842 crore proposed for the year 2009-10. Rs.7,400 crore allocated for Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ] Rural Drinking Water Mission, Rs 1,200 crore for Rural Sanitation Programme, Rs 12,070 crore for National Rural Health Mission, Rs 40,900 crore allocated for Bharat Nirman for the year 2009-10. A provision of Rs 100 crore in the Annual Plan 2009-10 made for Unique Identification Authority of India. RIDF-XV proposed with a corpus of Rs 14,000 crore. Separate window for rural roads to continue with a corpus of Rs 4,000 crore. Interest subvention of 2 per cent on pre and post shipment credit for certain employment oriented sectors i.e. Textiles (including handlooms & handicrafts), Carpets, Leather, Gem & Jewellery, Marine products and SMEs extended beyond March 31, 2009 till September 30, 2009 involving an additional financial outgo of Rs.500 crore. Government to recapitalize the public sector banks over the next two years to enable them to maintain Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 12 per cent. Allocation for Defence increased to Rs 1,41,703 crore which includes Rs 54,824 for Capital Expenditure. Major subsidies including food, fertilizer and petroleum estimated at Rs 95,579 crore. For the fiscal 2009-10, with Centre's net tax revenue estimated at Rs 5,00,096 crore and Revenue expenditure at Rs 8,48,085 crore, revenue deficit is estimated at 4 per cent of GDP and fiscal deficit at 5.5 per cent of Gdp

1

Speech of Mamata Banerjeeintroducing the Railway Budget 2010-11on 24th February 20101. Madam Speaker, I rise to present my second Railway Budget of the

present UPA Government, within a span of less than eight months. I deem it aprivilege to present the Budget Estimates for the year 2010-11 to this augustHouse.2. I am grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for his wise counsel and hisencouragement to me. I am obliged to my fellow colleagues in this House, allMPs, Chief Ministers and political representatives, Chambers of Commerce andthe common people for bringing to me invaluable suggestions on new lines andprojects.3. I am proud of the 14 lakh members of my railway family - officers, staff,gangmen, each member who are working day and night. With their cooperationand support, I am presenting this Budget.4. Madam, while formulating my proposals, which I shall discuss later, Ihad two considerations. First, I looked into the economic viability of theprojects, in the conventional way of rate of returns, etc. Most of the projectsproposed by me fall in this category.5. But there was another consideration which I had to weigh while taking adecision and that consideration was social responsibility. Railways, being thelifeline of the Indian economy, has to provide connectivity to most parts of thecountry. Should commercial viability be the only criterion to judge this need ofconnectivity? Or, should social responsibility be an important consideration? Iprefer the latter. Our objective is inclusive growth. Growth for all is notpossible, if there is no connectivity. If we cannot include all in the ambit of ourgrowth process, then growth will remain just a statistical expression. We do notwant that type of growth.2

6. We cannot and should not have a myopic view of viability. What is notviable today, if connected, will become viable tomorrow. I believe, Railwayscannot ignore this responsibility of making investments for future growth.7. Now I want to say that we must not waste our time and opportunities anylonger. We must try to do our best to bring out what we have and not go fromyear to year and display our poverty before others. Our vision is our strength.Our mission is country’s development. Our action is constructive andinnovative. Idea is our creativity. Our goal is to unite the country through railconnectivity.8. Vision 2020 spells out:“Indian Railways shall provide efficient, affordable, customer-focussed andenvironmentally sustainable integrated transportation solutions. It shall be avehicle of inclusive growth, connecting regions, communities, ports and centresof industry, commerce, tourism and pilgrimage across the country. The reachand access of its services will be continuously expanded and improved by itsintegrated team of committed, empowered and satisfied employees and by use ofcutting-edge technology.”9. Madam, I appreciate the Hon’ble members for their high expectationsfrom the railways. This is quite natural, because Railways is the lifeline of thenation and a major catalyst that triggers socio-economic growth.10. I want to help everybody within limited infrastructure facilities. I believethat in everyone’s right to demand. India is a democratic country. Every voiceshould be respected. Our dilemma is that we have received more than 5,000requests.

Hamara dard hamara dard nahi haiHum apne saath hazaron ki baat karte hain(My pain is not my suffering aloneI voice the agony of the millions along)11. All the proposals have been scrutinised. It is not possible to accommodateall the requests due to operational and technical constraints. Railways wouldface enormous difficulties in meeting these demands. Even the current services3

are being run with great difficulty. There is shortage of rakes. All these cannotbe achieved overnight. Even then, we have tried our best. It is better to dosomething than nothing at all. Please pardon me if some proposals could not beconsidered for operational, infrastructural or financial reasons. Planning being aprecondition for meeting these demands, we have prepared Vision 2020, whichis to be realised in a decade.12. The goals have been broken up into short, medium and long term ones.The short term goals we can do now. For the medium and long term, we have toplan and arrange funds. This will take time but within five years of UPAgovernment, I think larger section of population will get connectivity, if we getspecial support.13. Madam, I would like to bring the attention of the august House to theinformation that the route-kilometres of the Railways was 53,596 kms in 1950.After a span of 58 years, we have now reached only 64,015 kms, adding just10,419 kms, an annual average of only 180 kms. Looking at the world, youfind that both developed and developing nations are spending hundreds ofbillions of dollars each year, adding more and more route- kilometres of new

lines. This is why we have to move faster, to connect peoples and places acrossthis nation.14. Ever since independence, it is a fact, Madam Speaker, that the populationhas increased; so has the economy grown. However, the acute needs of thecommon people for proper infrastructure, particularly rail infrastructure, haveremained unfulfilled. That is why we are going for innovative financing, whichwe have strongly pursued for the last six months. Yes, we need connectivity forindustries, ports, tourist centres, universities, religious places, coal mines andother places, but with the limited funds available we cannot meet all thedemands.15. That is why our target is to add 25,000 kms of new lines in the next tenyears, as outlined in Vision 2020. This has to be achieved by breaking theshackles of constraints. We have to make a beginning.4

16. The time has come for the business community to come and join handsto build partnerships with the Railways. Sometimes they have problems.They are keen to invest, but their proposals are unduly delayed by a “typicalnegative approach”. Please pardon me for saying so. But it is a fact thatadministrative and procedural delays, external and internal, do take place,discouraging prospective investors. We need to overcome this situation. Ibelieve a business culture needs to be developed. I will discuss with the Hon’blePrime Minister, the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission regarding earlyclearance of projects. I have decided to set up a special task force to clear

proposals for investments within 100 days. Our policy guidelines will bemade easy, simple and investment friendly. In creating infrastructure withprivate capital we will create wealth for all, and we will be benchmarked withthe best.17. Madam, I would like to inform that Railways is taking this issueseriously. Railways’ core competence is operations and management. Its 14lakh employees are performing their job day and night with full dedication.However, no business models have been developed within the railways forcommercial utilisation of land, air space and other assets and leveraging ourservices to generate revenues. The need of the hour is to develop new businessmodels and invite domestic investment through PPP mode in areas like newlines to world class stations, auto hubs to ancillary industries, manufacturingunits of rolling stock to multi–modal logistic parks, high speed train corridors toport connectivity and multi-level parking to mine connectivity etc. Domesticinvestors have tremendous scope in Railways and that will be our hope in thefuture. It will facilitate large quantum of investment in Railways and provideready business to investors. Therefore, it will be a win-win option for all.18. A separate structure will be created within the Railways forimplementation of the business models, so that operations and management isnot disturbed. I will take care of both the parts and I would like to take guidancefrom our Hon’ble Prime Minister in this matter. At this point, I would like toassure my Railway family that we are not going for privatisation of theRailways. It will remain a government organisation.Abhi to Shuruaat hai. Lambaa aur suhana safar baaki hai

(This is just the beginning. A long and pleasant journey lies ahead)5

19. Madam, the budget proposals will bring out our seriousness. In line withour Vision, for the first time ever we are planning a major jump to complete1,000 route-kms of new lines in one year with our limited resources. This isa path-breaking step, considering the annual average of 180 route kms of newlines in the last 58 years and 219 route-kms in the last five years. If we canachieve this target of 1,000 route-kms, we can also reach the Vision 2020 goalof 25,000 kms. I appeal to the House for your support. Standing here, I amraising the voice of the people. If it is not heard, we cannot achieve our dreamof inclusive growth and a developed India.20. I had presented the last Railway Budget on 3rd July 2009 and had madeseveral announcements. Our commitments have been fulfilled to the maximumin a span of only seven months. I would briefly mention some of them.i. The House would be glad to know that of the 120 new trains, extensionsand increase in frequencies announced, 117 would be flagged off by theend of March 2010. The remaining three would be started oncompletion of gauge conversion works.ii. As assured, the recruitment policy of the Railway Recruitment Boards(RRBs) has been reviewed and several measures initiated. Besides,waiving of the examination fee for woman candidates and thosebelonging to minority and economically backward classes having annualfamily income less than Rs 50,000, all question papers will henceforthbe set in Hindi, Urdu and English as well as in local State languages andexamination for a particular post will be held on the same datesimultaneously by all RRBs.

iii. The Izzat Scheme, concessions to press correspondents and extension ofstudents’ concessions to madrasas, higher madrasas and senior madrasaswere implemented within three months of announcement.iv. Work has been initiated in all the 67 Multi-functional Complexes(MFCs). Development of Adarsh Stations has also started in phases.v. The announcement regarding issue of tickets from post offices could notbe taken forward because of financial reasons but we are compensatingthat by expanding the scope of Mushkil Aasaan mobile vans.6

Passenger Amenities/Services21. Madam, you will be happy to note that I have spared no effort to give amajor thrust to the development of passenger amenities. Financial powers offield officers have been increased for quick execution of works. Railways isprojected to spend a record Rs 1,302 crore in 2010-11 on passenger amenities.22. We are going for a special drive for improving passenger amenities andcleanliness. We have already introduced Janata Ahar, economically pricedfood in many stations. Since we have received several complaints, we havedecided to provide catering departmentally in selected trains. The CateringPolicy is under revision and will be finalized as early as possible.Upgradation of Stations23. Keeping in view our continued focus to enhance passenger comforts,facilities, ambience and aesthetics, the following 94 stations have been furtherdeclared as Adarsh Stations:Alappuzha, Aluabari Road, Ambalapuzha, Andal, Angul, Ausgram, BadarpurJn., Bagalkot, Bally, Ballyghat, Basti, Belpahar, Bethuadahari, Bhadreswar,Bhatar, Birshibpur, Bobbili, Chakda, Chandauli, Chandrakona Rd.,

Changanacheri, Changrabandha, Chas Road, Cherthala, Chhapra Jn., Chhatna,Chikballapur, Radhamohanpur (Debra), Dahod, Dantan, Debagram,Devanahalli, Dhanuvachapuram, Dinhata, Dodballapur, Doikallu, Domohani,Fuleswar, Galsi, Garbeta, Gauribidanur, Ghatera, Gokak Road, Gourinathdham,Gudur, Haldibari, Haripad, Hijli, Himmatnagar, Jagdispur, Jakhopura,Jamalpur, Jamnagar, Jamuria, Jharsuguda, Kalaikunda, Karuvatta, Kashinagar,Kayankulam Jn., Kochuveli, Kotdwara, Kulgachia, Lanjigarh Road, Lapanga,Lingampalli, Mavelikara, Maynaguri, Meramandali, Miraj, Narasaraopet, NasikRoad, Ochira, Parbhani, Purna, Raghunathpur, Ramnagar, Ratlam, Rengali,Sangli, Shankarpalli, Siddharth Nagar, Solapur, Sonamukhi, Sultanpur, Taldi,Tandur, Thiruvarur, Thiruvizha, Tikiapara, Titlagarh Jn., Vayalar, Vikarabad,Vishrambaug and Yelahanka Jn.24. I have also identified 10 more stations to be converted to World ClassStations. They are Ambala Cantt, Bolpur, Ernakulam, Gorakhpur, Jammu,Jhansi, Kharagpur, Kota, Surat and Thane.7

25. I propose to take up construction of another 93 Multi-functionalComplexes in the coming year at Abu Road, Agartala, Anara (Adra), Asansol,Aurangabad, Balasore, Ballyganj, Bankura, Bareilly, Barrackpore, BathindaCantt., Bellary Jn., Belughat, Belur Math, Bharatpur Jn., Bhavnagar, Bhilai,Bishnupur, Brahmapur, Davangere, Dhakuria, Dhanbad Jn., Dharmavaram (nearPuttaparthi), Dibrugargh Town, Dimapur, Durgapur, Erode Jn., Gondia,Gorakhpur, Gulbarga, Hisar Jn., Jamalpur Jn., Jhargram, Jharsuguda Jn., Jhusi,Junagadh Jn., Kalyani, Karimnagar, Kasaragod, Katihar Jn., Kishangarh, Korba,Krishnanagar City Jn., Kurnool Town, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Mumbai,

Ludhiana, Madarihat, Majerhat, Malda Town, Mavelikara, Miraj Jn.,Murshidabad, Nabadwipdham, Nadiad Jn., Nagercoil Jn., Naihati, Nellore, NewFarakka, New Mal, Nizamabad, Orai, Patiala, Patna Saheb, Raigarh, Raja-Ki-Mandi, Ramnagar, Raxaul Jn., Rayagada, Rewa, Salem, Sambalpur, Sanchi,Sawai-Madhopur Jn, Shegaon, Shimoga Town, Sikar Jn., Siuri, Somnath,Sonipat, Srikakulam Road, Tarakeshwar, Tatanagar, Tiruchi Fort, Tiruttani,Tumkur, Udhampur, Vasai Road, Vijaywada, Vizianagram Jn., Wardha,Yesvantpur and Zahirabad (Medak).26. Madam, air-space at stations in large cities will be leveraged to buildmulti-level parking complexes through the PPP route. A few pilot projectswill be taken up during the year.27. As the House is aware, that 1.8 crore passengers need water, food, toilets,cleanliness, safety and security. To provide basic facility of clean drinkingwater, I propose to start six bottling plants at Ambala, Amethi, Mal, Nasik,Farakka and Trivandrum through the PPP route with the mandate that bottledFresh Water will be provided at stations at much cheaper rates.28. The following initiatives for improving passenger and customersatisfaction are being taken:i. SMS updates of reservation status and punctuality of trains topassengers,ii. SMS updates on the movement of wagons to freight customers,iii. Double-decker train-sets matching the best in global standards, in twotrains each from Delhi and Kolkata as a pilot project,8

iv. RFID technology for tracking of wagons carrying coal and iron oreon three zonal railways.29. Railways propose to introduce modern trolleys at all important stations

which will be handled by uniformed attendants to assist senior citizens andwomen passengers in boarding and alighting from coaches, along with theirluggage comfortably.30. We have received many complaints about allotment of rakes. Theprocedure will be streamlined. To start with, allotment of iron ore rakeswould be made on a scientific basis and this would be accessible through theweb to ensure transparency. This system will be personally monitored byMember Traffic.31. Madam, to expand the scope of Mushkil Aasan, I propose to induct eticketbased mobile vans for issuing reservation tickets in government medicalcollege hospitals, High Courts, Districts Courts, university campuses, IT hubs,IITs and IIMs. To give more facilities to the common people, Railways alsopropose to open ticket centres at district headquarters and villagepanchayats with infrastructure support from local government/semigovernmentauthorities and private organizations.Safety & Security32. Safety and security never sleeps and zero tolerance for accidents is ourvision and mission. Madam Speaker, 17,000 trains run every day, carrying 18million passengers over 64,015 route-kms. In such a vast operation, and due totechnical problems, sabotage, fog, rail roko, natural disaster and human failure,there are some unfortunate incidents of accidents and a few precious lives arelost. We the Railway family deeply value every life of our passengers andemployees and sincerely care for their total safety.33. To address this, we have placed before you a twin strategy of adopting

the highest level of technology and pressing into force well-trained manpower,as emphasised in Vision 2020.34. Madam, we have to go in for new, cutting-edge equipment to preventaccidents. Anti-collision device (ACD) and train protection warning system9

(TPWS) are two such devices. The former has already been installed on NFRailway and is now proposed to be extended to three more zonal railways. Fourprojects of TPWS covering 828 route-kms for improving safety and preventingcollision accidents will be implemented during the year. Railways are alsodeveloping crashworthy coaches and locomotives, and will provide automaticfire and smoke detection system in 20 pairs of long-distance trains as pilotproject.35. Madam Speaker, accidents at unmanned level crossings are a source ofdeep concern to all of us. Even now, there are about 17,000 unmanned levelcrossings. The House will be happy to know that manning of around 3,000level crossings was approved in 2009-10 and a further 1,000 level crossings willbe taken up next year. A special drive in this regard is being launched so that inthe coming five years, all the unmanned LCs are manned.36. Madam, it is observed that people do not use foot over-bridge and walkalong or cross the track, resulting in loss of lives. Therefore, Railways wouldconstruct more under-passes, limited height sub-ways besides ROB/RUBs.37. Railways will explore the possibility of using jute geo-textiles whereverthe soil formation of the railway track is unstable and weak.38. Intensifying security of passengers and property is a matter of grave

challenge. General impression of the people is that Railways is solelyresponsible for this task. Hon’ble members are aware that law and order being astate subject, security cannot be ensured without the whole-hearted cooperationof state governments. In fact, Railways bear 50% of the cost of Stategovernment railway police (GRP).39. Madam, Railways is a soft target as it is very visible. We losesubstantial revenue due to frequent rail-rokos on various issues where there isno connection with the railways. If any local issue happens, grievances findtheir outlet on railways. As a result, passengers suffer, business suffers, and oureconomy suffers. Our operations are also disrupted resulting in loss of revenue.10

I would therefore, appeal to the people not to target the railways because itis your own service. I seek your support and good wishes.40. Madam, we have to strengthen our Railway Protection Force as anorganisation. We need to modernise our RPF and we are giving full support.Railways will bring a comprehensive bill for providing security to ourpassengers.41. Security of women passengers will be improved by raising 12 companiesof women RPF personnel to be named ‘Mahila Vahini’. RPSF will also bestrengthened. Priority will be given to women especially those belonging tominorities, SC/ST, OBC, and economically backward classes.42. Madam, we are proud of our brave jawans who are performing anexcellent job for the country. As security is an important area, I have decided toinvolve our ex-servicemen to strengthen RPF, who can give real protection toour people. We salute our brave jawans and we remember them every momentas they are the asset of our countryJab ghayal hua Himalaya….Jo shaheed hue hai unkiZara yaad karo kurbani

(Let us remember the sacrifice of the martyrs)Sports43. We are proud of our sportspersons for their excellent performances.Indian Railways, a great patron of sports, is the first recipient of the newlyinstituted, prestigious Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, awarded for theencouragement of sports. To strengthen the present sports infrastructure, Ipropose to set up five Sports Academies at Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai,Kolkata and Mumbai. It is also proposed to provide astro-turfs for thedevelopment of hockey at more places. Railways will provide increasedemployment opportunities.44. Madam, you will be happy to know that Indian Railways will be the LeadPartner of the Commonwealth Games being hosted by India this year. To11

mark this event and also to spread the message, Railways proposes to run aCommonwealth exhibition train.Culture & Heritage45. The 14 lakh members of the Rail Parivar come from diverse cultures andsocial backgrounds. There is a need to bring solidarity amongst this vast groupthrough intermingling and interchange. I propose to set up a Railway Cultural& Heritage Promotion Board which will be responsible for coordinating andsupervising all related activities on the railways.46. Madam, 2010 marks the 150th birth anniversary of KabiguruRabindranath Tagore. In commemoration, I propose to set up a RabindraMuseum at Howrah and Gitanjali Museum at Bolpur, the place whereVisva-Bharati international university is located, of which our Hon’ble Prime

Minister is the Chancellor. I also propose to re-model Bolpur station, inspiredby the architecture of Shantiniketan.47. To provide state of the art infrastructural facilities for the promotion ofculture, I propose to set up Shambhu Mitra Cultural Complex withperforming arts and a music academy at Howrah.Staff Welfare & Health48. I am proud of the 14 lakh employees of Indian Railways – from officersto gangmen. This is a collective family which is dedicated to serve fellowcountrymen. We also need to look after their welfare. They toil day and night toensure that our nation moves. I sincerely thank all of them.49. I propose a new scheme of “House for All”, that will provide residencesto all railway employees in the next ten years with the help of Ministry of UrbanDevelopment.50. We are grateful to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of HumanResource Development with whom the Ministry of Railways have recentlysigned two Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of hospitals andeducational institutions on surplus railway land. With the cooperation ofthese ministries, it is expected that about 522 hospitals and diagnostic centres,12

50 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 10 residential schools on the pattern of NavodayaVidyalaya, model degree colleges and technical and managementinstitutions of national importance will be set up, which will benefit railwayemployees and their children in a big way.51. Outpatient Departments (OPD) and diagnostic centres will be set upat Adoni, Agartala, Agra Cantt, Ahmednagar, Akbarpur, Akola, Aligarh Jn.,

Alipurduar Jn., Amethi, Amritsar, Amroha, Anantapur, Annavaram, Ara,Arrariya Court, Asansol, Aurangabad, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Babina, Badnera,Bagaha, Bahadurgarh, Bahugaon, Bakhtiyarpur, Balasore, Ballia, Ballabhgarh,Ballarshah, Balugaon, Banda, Bandel, Bangalore City, Bangarapet, BanmankhiJn., Baptla, Barabanki, Barauni, Barh, Berhampur, Bareilly, Barkakana,Barrackpore, Barsoi Jn., Basar, Beas, Begusarai, Bellary, Belthra Road, Bettiah,Betul, Bhadohi, Bhadrachalam Road, Bhadrak, Bhadravati, Bhagalpur,Bharatpur, Bathinda, Bhatni, Bhimavaram Town, Bhimawaram Jn.,Bhubaneswar, Bhusawal, Bidar, Bihar Sharif, Bina, Binnaguri, Birur, BokaroSteel City, Bongaigaon, Brahmapur, Burdhman, Burhanpur, Buxer, Chakia,Chakki Bank, Chakradharpur, Chalisgaon, Chandausi, Chandigarh, Chandrapur,Chengalpattu, Chhapra Jn., Chirala, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Daltonganj, Damoh,Danapur, Daund, Dehradun, Delhi Cantt., Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Delhi Shahdara,Deoband, Devlali, Deoria Sadar, Deonagar, Dhanbad, Dharmavaram, Dhone,Dhupguri, Dibrugarh Town, Dildar Nagar, Dimapur, Diphu, Dornakal, Dumka,Durgapur, Ernakulam, Erode Jn., Faizabad, Falna, Faridabad, Faridkot,Fatehpur, Firozabad, Firozpur, Gadag, Gangapur City, Ganj Basoda, GarhwaRoad, Ghaziabad, Ghataprabha, Ghatsila, Ghazipur City, Ghoradongari,Gomoh, Gonda, Gooty, Gorakhpur, Gudur, Gulbarga, Guna, Guntakal,Gurgaon, Gwalior, Hajipur, Hanumangarh, Hapur, Hardoi, Haridwar, Harihar,Hasanpur Road, Hatia, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Hindupur, Hoshangabad, Hospet,Hosur Town, Howrah, Itanagar, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Jajpurkeonjhar, Jaisalmer,Jalandhar Cantt., Jalandhar City, Jalna, Jamalpur, Jammu Tawi, Janghai,Jaunpur, Jhajha, Jhansi, Jhargram, Jharsuguda, Jind, Jodhpur, Kakinada Town,Kalka, Kalyan, Kalyani, Kannur, Kantabanji, Kaptanganj Jn., Karnal, Karur Jn.,

Kasargod, Kathua, Katihar, Katni, Katpadi Jn., Kavali, Kazipet, Kesinga,Khagaria, Khajuraho, Khalilabad, Khammam, Khandawa, Kharagpur, KhurdaRoad, Kishanganj, Kiul, Koderma, Kokrajhar Jn, Kolhapur, Kolkata Station,Kollam Jn., Kopargaon, Koraput Jn., Kota, Krishnanagar City Jn,Kumbakonam, Kurduwadi, Kurukshetra, Lakhimpur, Lakheesarai, Laksar,13

Lalgarh, Lalitpur, Lonavala, Londa, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Lumding,Machilipatnam, Madhepura, Madhubani, Madhupur, Mahaboobnagar,Mahbubabad, Mahoba, Maihar, Mairwa, New Mal Jn, Malkapur, Manchiryal,Manduadih, Mandya, Manmad, Mansi, Mantralayam Road, Matheran, Mathura,Mau Jn., Meerut Cantt, Meerut City, Merta Road, Midnapore, Miraj, Mirzapur,Mokama Jn, Moradabad, Morena, Mudkhed, Mughalsarai, Mumbai CST,Mumbai LTT, Muzaffarnagar, Muzaffarpur, Nadikudi, Nagarsol, Nagaur,Nagercoil Jn., Naihati, Nalgonda, Nanded, Nandyal, Nangloi, Narkatiaganj,Narsingpur, Nasik Road, Naugachia, Nellore, New Alipurduar, NewBongaigaon, New Cooch Behar, New Delhi, Nidadavolu, Nizamabad, Ongole,Orai, Pachora, Pakala, Palakollu, Pali Marwar, Palwal, Panipat, Parasnath, ParliVaijnath, Partapgarh, Pathankot, Patiala, Patna, Patna City, Phagwara, Pipariya,Prayag, Purna, Rae Bareli, Raichur, Raiwala, Raja Ki Mandi, Rajahmundry,Rajendranagar Terminus, Rajgangpur, Rajgir, Rameswaram, Rampur,Rampurhat, Ranchi, Rangapara North, Rangiya, Rani, Raniganj, Raxaul,Rayagada, Renigunta, Renukoot, Rewa, Rishikesh, Rohtak, Roorkee, Rourkela,Sagour, Saharanpur, Saharsa, Sahibganj, Sahibabad, Sainthia, Salempur,Samastipur, Sambalpur Jn., Sangli, Sasaram, Satna, Sawai Madhopur, Sealdah,Secunderabad, Sewagram, Shahganj, Shakurbasti, Shegaon, Shirdi, ShoranurJn., Silchar, Siliguri Jn., Singrauli, Sirpur Kagaznagar, Sitamarhi, Siwan Jn.,Solapur, Sonipat, Sonpur, Sri Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam, Srikalasthi,

Srirampur, Sugauli Jn., Sultanganj, Sultanpur, Suraimanpur, Tadepalligundem,Tandur, Tanuku, Tatanagar, Tenali, Tezpore, Thane, ThiruvananthapuramCentral, Tinsukia, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli Jn., Titlagarh, Trichur, Tumkur,Tuni, Udhampur, Unahimachal, Vidisha, Vikarabad, Villipuram Jn.,Virudunagar Jn., Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Warangal, Wardha, Yadgirand Yashvantpur.52. Secondary-level General Speciality Hospitals will be set up atAdilabad, Aligarh Jn., Ambala Cantt, Asansol, Aurangabad, Azamgarh,Ballarshah, Bally, Ballygunge, Bankura, Barasat, Barauni, Basar, Betul,Bhadrachalam Road, Bhadrak, Bhimavaram Jn., Birur, Bokaro Steel City,Brahmapur, Budge Budge, Burdhman, Canning, Chakki Bank, Chandigarh,Chandrapur, Coochbehar, Daund, Dharmavaram, Dharwad, Eluru, GangapurCity, Gaya, Gooty, Guwahati, Hapur, Hatia, Hosur Town, Hubli, Itarsi,Jadavpur, Jajpurkeonjhar Road, Jalna, Jhargram, Jharsuguda, Jind, KakinadaPort, Kanpur, Kantabanji, Katihar, Khagaria, Khandawa, Koraput Jn., Kota,14

Kurduwadi, Kurukshetra, Lalgarh, Lonavala, Machilipatanam, Mahaboobnagar,Malda Town, Mansi, Mathura, Mau Jn., Mecheda, Midnapur, Miraj, Nagarsol,Naugachia, New Bongaigaon, New Coochbehar, New Farakka, New Jalpaiguri,Paglachandi, Pakala, Palakollu, Palasa, Paliakalan, Partapgarh, Purna, Purulia,Raichur, Rampurhat, Ranchi, Rangapara North, Rayagada, Secunderabad,Siliguri Jn., Sitapur, Siuri, Solapur, Sonipat, Sultanganj, Sultanpur, Tanuku,Tiruchirapalli Jn., Tirupati, Udhampur, Uluberia, Vijaywada andVisakhapatnam.53. Tertiary-level Multi-speciality Hospitals will be established at Asansol,Bandikui, Bharatpur, Bhuj, Bhusawal, Bina, Bokaro Steel City, Chalisgaon,

Chandigarh, Dankuni, Garden Reach, Guwahati, Haldia, Howrah, Kanchrapara,Kantabanji, Katihar, Kharagpur, Kota, Krishnaraja Nagar Old Station, MaldaTown, Miraj, Mughalsarai, Nalgonda, New Bongaigaon, New Farakka, NewJalpaiguri, New Mal, Paglachandi, Purna, Rajkot, Rampur, Rampurhat,Ranaghat, Rangapara North, Rewari, Sawai Madhopur, Siliguri Jn., Vijayawadaand Wardha.54. Madam, we care for our 80,000 women employees. It is, therefore,proposed to set up 50 crèches for children of women employees and 20hostels. Railways will also provide more numbers of community centres andstadiums.55. Hon’ble members would be happy to know that Railways has decided toenhance the contribution to Central Staff Benefit Fund from Rs 350 peremployee to Rs 500. The increased allocation will be used for welfare ofgangmen and similar categories and their families.56. The scope of safety-related retirement scheme is proposed to beexpanded to cover all safety category staff with a grade pay of Rs 1800.57. In fulfilment of our corporate social responsibility, I propose to extendthe Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to all licensed porters, vendors andhawkers, who are from the unorganised sector and are socially challenged.15

Training58. To strengthen the skills and abilities of loco pilots, a state-of-the-artadvanced loco pilot training centre is proposed to be set up at Kharagpur. It isalso proposed to open an advanced railway track training centre at Beleghata

for training of gangmen and gatemen. The railways will also set up four multidisciplinarytraining centres at Cuttack, Coochbehar, Malda and Jabalpur.Railway Research59. Madam, I am well aware that the Indian Railways’ ambitious vision ofexpansion and modernization requires for its fulfilment a strong emphasis ondeveloping indigenous research and development capabilities. I am not happywith the functioning of RDSO (Research, Design and Standards Organization).I have, therefore, decided to revamp it and bring it in line with modernresearch organizations.60. A Centre for Railway Research is proposed to be set up in IndianInstitute of Technology, Kharagpur for research in key areas of railwaytechnology and to give a thrust to indigenisation. A Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) has already been signed with IIT, Kharagpur on 13th

February 2010. Railways will establish strong research partnerships withpremier institutes like IITs, NITs, CSIR and DRDO.Industrial Relations61. We are proud of our workforce. Industrial relations have remainedpeaceful and cordial during the year. I want to assure my Rail Parivar that I donot believe in privatisation or corporatisation. Railways will continue to be agovernment department.62. We have the best of relationship with our recognized unions andassociations, of both employees and officers. We involve our unions in policymakingand management of railways. They are equal partners in developmentactivities and have also been co-opted in the Expert Committee on investments.Modernization of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW)63. We are proud of CLW. We want their expansion and modernisation. I,

therefore, propose to modernize and augment the capacity of CLW from itspresent level of 200 locomotives to 275. In addition, a centre for excellence in16

the design, development and evaluation of new technology required for electricrolling stock will also be set up here.Coach Production64. With the upsurge in the economy, there has been an unprecedentedgrowth of passenger traffic during the last five years resulting in increasedrequirement of passenger coaches. While other goods and commodities arereadily available in the market, coaches and wagons are not available off theshelf. Our manufacturing capacity is less and we have to plan years in advance.We also need to develop special types of coaches for the physicallychallenged and senior citizens.65. To overcome the shortage of coaches, steps are being taken to set up newcoach factories at Rae Bareilly, Kancharapara and Palakkad. Progress onsetting up of coach factory at Rae Bareilly will pick up during the year and arange of activities will be initiated. The establishment of coach factories atKancharapara and Palakkad is in process. Work on the loco factories atMadhepura and Marhora is also progressing. A Diesel Multiple Unit(DMU) factory in JV/PPP mode would be set up at Sankrail.66. Railways has received a request from the Government of West Bengal toset up a coach factory in Singur. Ministry of Railways has conveyed itswillingness, provided the State Government hands over the requisite land to theMinistry of Railways after returning 400 acres of land to the unwilling farmers.

67. In addition, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai would be furthermodernised and expanded by installing a second unit so as to equip it tomanufacture a larger number of technologically upgraded coaches from itspresent level of about 1500 coaches per year.Wagon Repair Shop68. I propose to set up a wagon repair shop for undertaking periodicoverhaul of wagons at Badnera to handle the maintenance work of the largefleet of wagons that will be acquired in the future. It is also proposed todevelop Centres of Excellence in Wagon Prototyping in Railway Workshops.The first such Centre of Excellence will be set up at Kharagpur Workshop.17

Rail Axle Factory69. While Railways have made long-term plans for achieving self-sufficiencyin wheels, similar plans have not been formulated for the enhancement of axlemanufacturing capacity. I now propose to set up a new Rail Axle Factorythrough PPP/JV mode in New Jalpaiguri to achieve self-sufficiency in axlemanufacturing, eliminating the present dependence on imports.Setting up of Design, Development and Testing Centre of Wheels70. In keeping with our long-term plan for achieving self-sufficiency inwheels, a Design Development and Testing Centre for Wheels will be set up atRail Wheel Factory, Bangalore.Coach Mid-life Rehabilitation (MLR) Workshop71. Mid-life rehabilitation is an essential mainstream activity which breatheslife into old coaches and contributes immensely to improving not only theresidual service life but also rejuvenates the interiors. Presently, there is ashortfall in capacity to meet the demand for MLR. I, therefore, propose to setup a new MLR workshop at Anara (Adra) with an annual capacity of 250

coaches.Wagon Manufacturing Factories72. The procurement target for wagons in the next year has been set at18,000. To augment the production capacity of wagons, I propose to set up fivestate-of-the-art wagon factories in JV/PPP mode at Secunderabad,Barddhaman, Bhubaneshwar/Kalahandi, Guwahati and Haldia. This will go along way in helping Railways meet the transportation demands of the economy.IOH/POH Workshops for Heavy Axle Load Wagons73. I propose to set up two workshops for POH of high axle load wagonsrequired for moving traffic on the western and eastern Dedicated FreightCorridors in Maharashtra and Dankuni.Refrigerated Container Factory74. We are proud of our farmers. But it is unfortunate that about Rs 35,000crore worth of produce perishes every year and they are forced to do distress18

sale, and some even commit suicide. Railways will lend its small shoulder tothis big cause of helping out farmers.75. I am happy to inform the august House that the Kisan Vision Project hasbeen initiated by identifying six locations, namely Dankuni, Mechheda, Nasik,New Jalpaiguri, New Azadpur and Singur for implementation as pilot projects.Railways do not own any refrigerated container. To meet the requirement, Ipropose to set up a refrigerated container factory, on a PPP mode at BudgeBudge, to save the farmers’ plight in the future.Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)76. All the eleven PSUs under the administrative control of the Ministry of

Railways have performed well in 2008-09 and achieved a combined turnover ofRs 13,641 crore, earning a net profit of Rs 1,328 crore. These PSUs paid adividend Rs 286 crore to the Railways.Freight Business77. Madam, I will now present some new initiatives in freight business whichis our bread earner.i. Railways will introduce a modified wagon investment scheme for highcapacity general purpose and special purpose wagons. It will also coveriron ore, coal and cement. A detailed scheme will be notified shortly.ii. A policy to permit private operators to invest in infrastructure, on thelines of container train operators, and run special freight train forcommodities such as automobiles, vegetable oil, molasses, chemicals andpetrochemicals and bulk traffic like fly ash and cement will be notifiedshortly.iii. Taking further the concept of mega-logistics hubs announced in my lastBudget, we have decided to set up automobile and ancillary hubs at 10locations. The first such auto hub has been launched.iv. Madam, the roll-on-roll-off service which I announced as RailwayMinister in 2000, is now proposed to be extended to zonal railways in aphased manner.v. In order to provide multi-modal door-to-door service to our freightcustomers, one rake of road-cum-railer vehicle will be introduced ontrial basis.19

vi. A premium tatkal service for parcel and freight movement is underconsideration.vii. Railways will also examine the need for special wagons for iron ore, flyash, automobiles etc.Reducing carbon foot-print78. We have to take care of Nature and be sensitive to climate change. It is

our common and collective responsibility to take care of mother earth,since she cares for all of us. Railways has always been environment friendly.Steps taken by the Railways include distribution of 2.6 million CFLs and settingup 10 eco-parks.79. We also propose to introduce at least ten rakes with green toilets andinstall on diesel locomotives a GPS-based optimised driver guidance systemwhich has shown 8-10% saving in fuel consumption. We will work closely withthe Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change and the Bureauof Energy Efficiency.80. Railways propose to set up Rail Eco-parks to conserve, protect andpromote Railways’ wetlands and forest areas. Ten are planned for the yearincluding Naopara, which was recently inaugurated.Dedicated Corridors81. Dedicated Freight Corridor is our Prime Minister’s dream project. I amconcerned about the pace of progress and DFCCIL will be revamped within ashort span of time to ensure timely implementation of the project. We willimplement it in time. For western corridor of the DFC, agreement for main loanfor Phase I would be signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) next month.82. We have given our guidelines that there will be no forcible acquisition ofland. Sometime it leads to delays. We will negotiate with land owners and ifrequired different options will be explored including overhead alignment so thatthere is minimum inconvenience to the people.20

83. For eastern corridor of the DFC, negotiations for funding up to Sonnagarare on. I propose to start execution of Sonnagar-Dankuni section during theyear. Funding for this section will be arranged through domestic investment onPPP mode.84. For the remaining four corridors, that is north-south (Delhi, Haryana, UP,MP, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu), east-west (West Bengal,Jharkahnd, Orissa, Chhtisgarh, Maharashtra), east-south (West Bengal, Orissa,Andhra Pradesh) and south-south (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Goa), Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Survey (PETS) will be taken up thisyear.85. Madam, I had declared DFC as the “Diamond Rail Corridor” project ofthe Indian Railways. On the lines of DFC, we are now planning to go in forDedicated Passenger Corridor (DPC), which I declare as the “Golden RailCorridor” of the Indian Railways.86. Construction of high speed passenger rail corridors is anothertransformational initiative that Railways will embark upon in the coming years.Indian Railways propose to invest in developing high speed corridors of 250 to350 kmph speed. Already six corridors have been identified. These projectswould require large investments and will be executed through PPP mode.87. Madam, I am confident that high speed rail corridor will become acatalyst for India’s economic growth, a stimulus for the development of satellitetowns and reduction of migration to metropolises. Therefore, I propose to set upa National High Speed Rail Authority for planning, standard setting,implementing and monitoring these projects.

International Cooperation88. We maintain good relations with our neighbours. Railway systems inthese countries are facing several problems due to their relatively small andisolated networks. The Trans-Asian Railway network provides a greatopportunity for their integration. Our Prime Minister and the Prime Minister ofBangladesh recently agreed to undertake the work to provide rail link between21

Akhaura on Bangladesh side and Agartala on Indian side. This link wouldalso provide a shorter rail route between West Bengal and the north-easternregion via Bangladesh.89. I have also decided to open our training institutions for the benefit ofrailway personnel from south and south-east Asian countries. I also propose tomake available the facilities of the Research Design and Standards Organisation(RDSO) for cooperative research and standardisation undertaken through theAsian Railways’ Association.Progress on Accounting Reforms90. Railways have already initiated an accounting reforms project that wouldenable it to move over gradually to an accrual based accounting system. Oncompletion of this project, a road map for future will emerge enabling phasedmigration to a new accounting system within the broad framework as envisagedby GASAB (Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board.Earnings from non-core business91. The untapped revenue potential from branding/advertising of railwayproperties will be harnessed to significantly increase earnings. The revenue isestimated to go up from Rs 150 crore to Rs 1,000 cr and will support the plan

investment of the Railways.Performance during 2009-1092. The august House is aware that the Budget for the current year wasformulated in the backdrop of VI Central Pay Commission and slowdown of theeconomy. A loading target of 882 million tonnes was set for the year alongwith growth of 4.8% in the passenger segment. I am happy to report that IndianRailways will surpass the freight loading target by at least 8 MT. Thisperformance has been heartening. However, passenger segment has been belowexpectations and adverse weather conditions during winter in the northern partof India and rail rokos and agitations have severely impacted passengerearnings.93. Madam, the impact of VI Pay Commission has greatly affected therevenue generation capacity of the railways. The provisions made for meetingthe arrears and enhanced salaries and allowances in the Budget Estimates have22

proved inadequate. Railways have made efforts to absorb the additionalrequirements for staff expenses along with post-budgetary increases in dieselprices to a sizeable extent. This has been possible because of several austerityand economy measures implemented on the Railways to regulate and controlexpenditure. I believe in austerity and would impress on each railway employeeto observe it strictly. Despite all our efforts to save, Railways had to provideadditional funds of Rs 2,600 crore for meeting its mandatory liabilities ofsalaries and allowances against a higher requirement of Rs 4,590 crore. Pensionliabilities have also been revised upward and are likely to be Rs 15,000 crore

compared to Rs 14,000 crore in the Budget Estimates.Revised Estimates, 2009-1094. Madam, considering the revised loading target of 890 MT, the freightearnings have been increased to Rs 58,716 crore which is Rs 191 crore morethan the BE, while passenger earnings have been scaled down by Rs 252 croreto Rs 24,057 crore. Along with revised Other Coaching earnings of Rs 2,526crore and Sundry Other earnings of Rs 2,982 crore, the total gross earnings hasnow been fixed at Rs 88,281 crore. The budgeted target of clearing Rs. 75 crorefrom Traffic Suspense has been maintained in the Revised Estimates. GrossTraffic Receipts have been reduced marginally from the Budget Estimates ofRs. 88,419 crore to Rs. 88,356 crore.95. Ordinary Working Expenses have been raised to Rs 65,500 crore from Rs62,900 crore in the BE 2009-10. After providing for Rs 4,500 crore and Rs13,440 crore towards Depreciation Reserve Fund and Pension Fund respectivelyin the Revised Estimates, the Total Working Expenses are likely to be Rs83,440 crore. After accounting for Miscellaneous Receipts of Rs 2,357 croreand Misc. Expenditure of Rs 783 crore, Net Revenue of the Railways is nowrevised to Rs 6,490 crore. After meeting the full Dividend liability of Rs 5,539crore, the ‘Excess’ comes to Rs 951 crore. This would be appropriated toDevelopment Fund to meet the Plan requirement.96. To meet the shortfall in earnings and higher working expenses, the planexpenditure has been regulated in such a manner as to ensure that the progressof safety and other targeted works is not allowed to suffer. However, to achieve

this, additional market borrowing of Rs.350 crore by the Indian RailwayFinance Corporation would be necessary. With this the total market borrowings23

will increase from Rs. 9,170 crore to Rs. 9,520 crore. The revised planinvestment is projected at Rs 40,284 crore including the investment on NationalProjects.Budget Estimates for 2010-1197. Madam, I shall now deal with the Budget Estimates for 2010-11. Thetarget for freight loading for 2010-11 has been kept at 944 MT, an increase of54 MT over RE 2009-10. Freight throughput has been projected at 623 billionNTKM. Budget Estimates for freight, passenger, sundry other earnings andother coaching earnings have been kept at Rs 62,489 crore, Rs 26,127 crore, Rs3,171 crore and Rs 2,778 crore respectively. I intend to initiate special efforts toclear the outstanding dues of the Railways and thus a target of clearance of Rs200 crore has been kept in the Budget Estimates. Gross Traffic Receipts havethus been projected at Rs 94,765 crore.98. Madam, provision for Ordinary Working Expenses for 2010-11 has beenkept at Rs 65,000 crore which is Rs 500 crore lower than the Revised Estimatesfor 2009-10. Appropriation to Depreciation Reserve Fund has been increasedfrom Rs 4,500 crore in Revised Estimates 2009-10 to Rs 7,600 crore.Appropriation to Pension Fund has also been kept at Rs 14,500 crore. Thus theTotal Working Expenses will be Rs 87,100 crore and Net Revenue Rs 9,782crore. After meeting the estimated Dividend liability of Rs 6,609 crore, theprojected ‘Excess’ is Rs 3,173 crore with the targeted Operating Ratio of

92.3%. The Excess is proposed to be appropriated to Development Fund (Rs2,800 crore) and Capital Fund (Rs 373 crore).Annual Plan 2010-1199. Madam, the Annual Plan outlay for the year 2010-11 has been proposedat Rs 41,426 crore, which is highest ever plan investment. The plan would befinanced through Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 15,875 crore, Diesel Cess ofRs 877 crore, internal resources of Rs 14,523 crore and EBR of Rs 10,151 croreincluding market borrowing through IRFC of Rs 9,120 crore.100. I am thankful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the Budgetary Support.However, as brought out categorically in the Vision 2020, the Railways’ requiremuch higher investment in order to fund the projects on hand including thelarge shelf of socially desirable works.24

101. Within the limited resources available, thrust is being given to expansionof the network. To achieve the target of 1,000 kms of new line set for year, theallocation has been increased substantially from Rs 2,848 crore to Rs 4,411crore. Funding of Metropolitan Transport Projects has been increased by 55%.To continue Railways drive to improve passenger amenities, an allocation of Rs1,302 crore has been compared to Rs 923 crore in 2009-10.Socially Desirable Rail Connectivity Proposals102. In my last budget speech, I had highlighted the need to take up sociallydesirable projects connecting backward areas. Many proposals for suchconnectivity have been pending for a long time. It is proposed to update thesurveys for the following lines and thereafter these will be processed throughPlanning Commission for necessary approvals:

1 Abohar-Tohana via Fatehabad 58 Kharagpur-Dhankuni2 Ajmer-Kota 59 Kharhagola-Santhalpur3 Almatti - Yadgir 60 Krishna-Vikarabad4 Amethi-Shahganj viaSultanpur61 Lalabazar-Vairengte5 Bahadurgarh-Jhajjar 62 Lekhapani-Kharsang6 Barajamda-Tatina 63 Lohardaga-Korba7 Baramulla-Kupwara 64 Madurai-Kottayam8 Baran-Shivpuri 65 Madurai-Tuticorin9 Barpeta Road-Tihu. 66 Mantralayam Road-Kurnool10 Barwadih-Chirimiri 67 Murkongselek-Pasighat11 Beas-Kapurthala 68 Mysore-Medikere-Mangalore12 Bhadrachallam-Kovvur 69 Naginimora-Amguri13 Bhadrachellam Rd(Kothagudem)-Vishakapatnam70 Navrangpur-Jeypore14 Bhavnagar-Tarapore 71 Nawadah-Giridih viaSatgawan15 Bhavnagar-Mahuva 72 Nizamabad-Ramagundam25

16 Bhind-Orai-Mahoba 73 Nokha-Sikar17 Bhojudih-Mohuda 74 Orai-Jalaun-Konch18 Bilaspur to Leh via Kullu &Manali75 Palwal-Alwar19 Bilaspur-Rampur Bushahr 76 Pandurangpuram-Bhadrachalam20 Biyavra Rajgarh-Bina 77 Panipat-Meerut21 Chandigarh-Dehradun viaJagadhari78 Parwanoo-Darlaghat22 Chaparmukh-Dibrugarh 79 Patiala-Jakhal/Narwana viaSamana23 Dangri-Dhola 80 Patiala-Kurushetra24 Daurala-Bijnor via Hastinapur 81 Pattancheru - Adilabad25 Dehradum-Kalsi 82 Pendra Rd-Korba/Gevra Rd26 Devli-Tonk-Sakatpura 83 Phulbari-Berhampur27 Dhule-Amalner 84 Port Blair-Diglipur28 Dindigul-Kumli 85 Puri-Konark29 Erumeli-Punalur-Trivendrum 86 Pushkar-Merta30 Etah-Kasganj 87 Qadian-Beas

31 Etawah-Mainpuri 88 Raigarh-Mand Colliery toBhupdeopur32 Gadag-Harihar 89 Raipur-Jharsuguda33 Gua-Manoharpur 90 Rameswaram-Dhanushkoti34 Gunupur-Theruvali 91 Ramnagar-Chaukhutiya35 Haldibari-Mekhliganj-Changrabandha92 Ramtek-Gotegaon via Sioni36 Hansdiha-Godda 93 Ranchi-Kandra37 Haridwar-Kotdwar-Ramnagar 94 Rangpo-Gangtok38 Hasnabad-Pratapadityanagar 95 Rishikesh-Doiwala39 Hisar-Sirsa via Agroha,Fatehabad96 Roorkee-Haridwar40 Hyderabad-Gazwal-Siddipet-Sircilla-Jagityal97 Rupai-Parashuramkund viaMahadevpur, Namsai,Chingkham41 Jabalpur-Panna via 98 Salna-Khumtai26

Kundalpur, Damoh42 Jagadhri-Paonta Sahib-Rajban 99 Sambhal-Gajraula43 Jagdalpur-Dantewara 100 Sardarshahr-Hanumangarh44 Jaggayyapet-Miryalgudda 101 Sarthebari - Changsari45 Jaisalmer-Barmer 102 Sitapur-Bahraich46 Jalna-Khamgaon 103 Somnath-Kodinar-Pipavav47 Jammu-Poonch via Akhnoor,Rajouri,104 Thalassery-Mysore48 Jeypore-Malkangiri 105 Tori-Chatra49 Jhajha-Girdih via Sonuchakai 106 Tuli-Tuli Road50 Jhansi-Sawai Madhopur viaShivpuri, Sheopurkalan107 Tumkur-Davangere51 Jogighopa to Silchar viaPanchratna108 Udhampur/Katra - Bhairawah,Doda to Kishtwar52 Jogindernagar to Mandi 109 Una-Hoshiarpur53 Jolarpettai-Hossur viaKrishnagiri110 Una-Jaijon Doaba

54 Kachiguda-Chityal 111 Wardha-Katol55 Kaithal-Karnal 112 Warora-Umrer56 Kandra-Namkom 113 Yamunanagar-Patiala57 Kathua-Basoli-Bhadarwah-Kishtwar114 Zaheerabad-SecunderabadSurveys103. On the basis of requests received from the Hon’ble Members, StateGovernment and others, the following surveys are proposed to be taken up:New Line Surveysi. Giddalur-Bakrapetii. Baptala-Nizampatnam-Reppalleiii. Mellacheruvu-Janpahadiv. Pagidipalli-Shankarpalliv. Vijayanagaram-Palasa via Rajamvi. Jogigopa to Guwahati via Barpeta, Sarthebarivii. North Lakhimpur-Along-Silapathar27

viii. Majhi-Lar Road via Raghunathpur, Darauli & Guthaniix. Somnath-Kodinarx. Rohtak-Hansixi. Bijwasan-Jhajjar-Charkridadrixii. Delhi-Sohna-Nuh-Firozpur Jhirka-Alwarxiii. Ghanoli-Dehradun via Baddi, Nalagarh, Jagadhari, Surajpur-Kala Amb-Paonta Sahebxiv. Bijapur-Athani-Shedbalxv. Chikaballapur - Gowribidanurxvi. Padubidri-Karkala-Belthangady-Dharmashthala-Nettanxvii. Byndoor-Kolluru-Halady-Hebri-Karkal-Moodabidri- Venoor-Belthangady-Dharmashthala-Nettanexviii. Belur-Sringherixix. Nangli-Chittoorxx. Krishnagiri-Chamrajnagarxxi. Mysore-Kushalnagar-Madikerexxii. Belgaum-Bagalkot-Raichurxxiii. Marikuppam-Kuppamxxiv. Belgaum-Samantwadixxv. Chenganur - Trivandrum via Adoor-Kottarakara.xxvi. Gadchandur - Adilabad

xxvii. Bodhan-Bidarxxviii. Nasik-Dhanu Roadxxix. Badisadri-Neemachxxx. Guna-Aron-Sironj-Vasoda-Vidishaxxxi. Sagar-Chatarpur-Khajuraho-Bhopalxxxii. Talcher-Phulbani-Lanjigarhxxxiii. Junagarh-Jaypore-Malkangiri-Bhadrachalamxxxiv. Tanda-Hoshiarpurxxxv. Bhiwani-Loharu-Pilani-Churuxxxvi. Pushkar-Mertaxxxvii. Jaisalmer to Sanu via Hamiraxxxviii. Bharatpur-Deeg-Kama-Kosixxxix. Hamirpur - Hamirpur Roadxl. Phaphund-Konchxli. Hastinapur-Meerutxlii. Bacharwan-Lalganj28

xliii. Kapilvasthu-Basti via Bhansixliv. Piran Kaliyar Sharif- Haridwarxlv. Tanakpur-Bageshwarxlvi. Tanakpur-Jauljivixlvii. Digha-Raichak-Kulpixlviii. Dimond Harbour-Budge Budge-Akraxlix. Digha-Balichak (Debra)l. Kanthi-Beldali. Ikra-Churuliya-Gourandilii. Pandabeswar-Ikraliii. Panathur – Kaaniyurliv. Bongaon-Kalyanilv. Ranaghat-DattaphuliaGauge Conversion Surveysi. Lucknow- Sitapur-Lakhimpur- Pilibhitii. Ahmedabad-Botad & Dhasa-JetalsarDoubling Surveysi. Manikgarh-Gadchandurii. Guwahati- Lumding- Tinsukhia- Dibrugarhiii. Kiul-Gayaiv. Kanpur-Manikpurv. Mathura-Jhansi 3rd linevi. Sirhind-Nangal Damvii. Guntur-GuntakalOther Surveysi. Howrah-Sealdah link

ii. Chhatarpatti Shivaji Terminal Mumbai-Churchgate linkiii. Bye-pass line at Rewari from Alwar to Sadulpuriv. Byepass line with direct connection to Andal-Sainthia branch linev. Grade separator at Kurla YardNational Projects104. Madam I propose to draw up a Master Plan for the development of railinfrastructure in the Northeast region in consultation with the NortheastDevelopment Council and the state authorities concerned.29

105. On completion of the Quazigund-Anantnag section of Quazigund-Baramulla rail line in Kashmir Valley, train services were introduced fromOctober 28, 2009. After review by the Expert Committee, work on Katra-Quazigund section has restarted. Priority is being given in construction ofbalance portion of the line from Udhampur to Katra and Katra to Quazigund.106. In the northeast, ten projects have been declared as National Projects andadequate funds are being provided. The progress on some of the projects isgetting affected by adverse law and order condition. However, Lumding-Silchargauge conversion project has been given special priority for expeditiouscompletion.107. The work of Byrnihat-Shillong has also been included in this Budget as aNational Project for providing rail connectivity to the capital of Meghalaya.New Lines108. The sections which have either been completed or will be completedduring 2009-10 are:i. Quazigund – Anantnag of Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramullaii. Nagapattinam – Velankanniiii. Jagdishpur-Nekpur of Rajgir – Tilaiyaiv. Sitamarhi – Runnisaidpur and Muzaffarpur – Jubbasani ofMuzaffarpur - Sitamarhi

v. Tarakeswar-Talpur of Tarakeswar - Bishnupurvi. Maheshpur – Nawadih of Giridih – Kodermavii. Lanjigarh – Bhawanipatna of Lanjigarh – Junagarhviii. Churaru Takrala – Amb Andura of Nangaldam – Talwaraix. Rewari – Jhajjar of Rewari – Rohtakx. Phulwaria-Bathuabazarxi. Lohardaga-Barkichampixii. Rainagar-Matnasibpur of Bankura Damodar River Valley linexiii. Kottur-Harihar30

109. The sections covering 1021 kms proposed to be completed in 2010-11are:i. Ajmer - Pushkarii. Chandurbazar – Narkhed of Amravati – Narkhediii. Azimganj-Murshidabad with bridge over Bhagirathiiv. Mandarhill – Hansdia and Rampurhat- Piragaria of Mandarhill –Rampurhatv. Deoghar-Chandan of Deoghar-Sultanganjvi. Biraul-Kusheshwarsthan of Sakri-Hassanpurvii. Bhawanipatna – Junagarh of Lanjigarh – Junargarhviii. Khurda – Begunia of Khurda – Bolangirix. New Coochbehar – Golakgunj of New Maynaguri – Jogighopax. Jhajjar-Rohtak of Rewari – Rohtakxi. Taran Taran – Goindwalxii. Abohar - Fazilkaxiii. Lalitpur – Udaipura of Lalitpur –Satna, Rewa – Singraulixiv. Agra – Fatehabad-Bah of Agra – Etawahxv. Salem – Namakkal of Salem – Karurxvi. Kadur-Kannihali of Kadur - Sakleshpurxvii. Runnisaidpur – Jubbasani of Muzaffarpur – Sitamarhixviii. Nawadih – Dhanwar of Giridih – Kodermaxix. Daniawan-Biharsharif of Neora-Sheikhpuraxx. Barkakhana-Khajju of Koderma-Ranchixxi. Phulwarisharif-Patliputraxxii. Nossam – Banganpalli of Nandyal – Yerraguntalaxxiii. Jagityal – Mortad of Peddapally – Nizamabadxxiv. Gadwal – Pandurangswami of Gadwal – Raichurxxv. Khanapur – Homnabad of Bidar – Gulbargaxxvi. Ramganjmandi – Jhalawar of Ramganjmandi – Bhopalxxvii. Lonad- Phalton of Baramati – Lonadxxviii. Bathua Bazar-Panchdewari of Hathua-Bhatnixxix. Maharajganj-Bisunpur Mahawari of Maharajganj-Rewaghat

xxx. Matnasibpur-Masagram of Bankura Damodar River Valley linexxxi. Nagore-Karaikalxxxii. Ghormara-Dumkaxxxiii. Vishnupuram-Janpahad31

110. The following new line projects have been included in the Budget:-i. Rishikesh-Karanprayagii. Digha-Jaleshwariii. Bagalkot-Kudachiiv. Hasnabad-Hingalganjv. Balurghat-Hillivi. Bhadrachalam Road-Sattupallivii. Kaliyaganj-Buniadpurviii. Bowaichandi-Arambaghix. Tarakeshwar-Magra111. The works of the sections Tarakeshwar-Champadanga, Arambagh-Irphalaof Arambagh-Ghatal, Machlandpur-Swarupnagar, Budge Budge-Pujali, Prantik-Siuri, Tarakeshwar-Dhaniakhali, New Mal-Maynaguri Road, Dankuni-Furfurasharif, Gaya-Natesar (Nalanda), Nidamangalam-Mannargudi and MandirHasaud-Naya Raipur are being taken up.112. Madam, Government is giving priority in providing rail connections tothe neighbouring countries. Surveys for the five new lines have beenconducted for rail connectivity with Nepal. Out of these lines, it is proposed totake up new line from Jogbani to Biratnagar and gauge conversion of Jayanagarto Bijalpura with extension to Bardibas.Gauge Conversion113. The sections which have either been completed or will be completedduring 2009-10 are:i. Pandharpur – Miraj of Miraj - Laturii. Ajmer – Phulera of Ajmer – Phulera – Rewariiii. Cuddalore – Sirkazhi of Thanjavur – Villupuramiv. Shimoga – Anandpuram of Shimoga – Talguppav. Saharsa – Dauram Madhepura of Mansi – Saharsa – Purneavi. Mathura – Achnera

vii. Fakiragaram – Dhubri32

viii. Haibargaon – Mairabariix. Sadulpur – Ratangarh – Deganax. Balaghat – Katangi of Jabalpur – Gondia, Balaghat – Katangixi. Madanapalle – Dharmavaram of Dharmavaram – Pakalaxii. Vellore – Villupuramxiii. Podanur-Coimbatorexiv. Quilon – Punalur of Quilon – Tiruchchendur and Tenkasi –Virudunagarxv. Baripada – Bangriposi of Rupsa – Bangriposixvi. Dabhoi –Bodeli of Pratapnagar – Chota Udepurxvii. Wansjaliya – Jetalsarxviii. Surendranagar – Dhrangadhraxix. Bhildi – Samdari114. Madam, target of 800 km has been fixed for Gauge Conversion in 2010-11 including the following sections:i. Barddhaman – Balgona of Barddhaman – Katwaii. Krishnanagar – Santipuriii. Tirunelveli – Tenkasi of Quilon - Tiruchendur and Tenkasi –Virudunagariv. Mayiladuturai – Thiruvarur of Mayiladuturai – Karaikkudiv. Bharuch – Samni – Dahejvi. Aluabari – Siligurivii. Dindigul – Palani of Dindigul – Pollachi - Palakkadviii. Anandpuram – Talguppa of Shimoga – Talguppaix. Chintamani – Chikballapur of Kolar – Chikballapurx. Kaptanganj – Thawe of Kaptanganj – Thawe – Chhapraxi. Ratangarh – Bikaner of Sadulpur – Bikanerxii. Mavli – Nathdwaraxiii. Katihar-Tejnarayanpurxiv. Sitamarhi-Bairgania of Jaynagar-Darbhanga-Narkatiaganjxv. Bodeli-Chotta Udepur of Pratapnagar-Chotta Udepur115. The following new gauge conversion works are proposed to be taken up:i. Chhindwara-Nainpur-Mandla Fort33

ii. Gwalior-Sheopurkalan with extension to Kotaiii. Dholpur-Sirmutra with extension to Gangapur City.Doubling116. During the current year doubling of about 500 km is likely to be

completed. The target for doubling of 700 km has been fixed for 2010-11. Thefollowing new doubling works have been included in the Budget:i. Godhani-Kalumnaii. Talcher-Sambalpuriii. Sondalia-Champapukuriv. Delang-Puriv. Ambikakalna-Nabadwipdhamvi. Bethuadahari-Plasseyvii. Katwa-Patuliviii. Jalandhar Cantt-Suchi Pindix. Sahibganj-Pirpaintix. Santipur-Kalinarayanpurxi. Lalgola-Jiaganjxii. Azimganj-Manigramxiii. Ambala Cantt-Dhapperxiv. Chakki Bank-Bharolixv. Basantar Bridge on Sambha-Vijaypur Jammuxvi. Nalhati-Sagardighixvii. Bhadohi-Janghaixviii. Kathua-Madhopur Punjabxix. Bhagat ki Kothi-Lunixx. Abu Road-Sarotra Roadxxi. Sarotra Road-Karjodaxxii. Swaroopganj-Abu Roadxxiii. Keshavganj-Swaroopganjxxiv. Manchiryal-Peddampetxxv. Tamluk-Basulya Sutahataxxvi. Sini-Adityapur 3rd linexxvii. Champajharan-Bimalgarhxxviii. Dangoaposi-Rajkharswan 3rd linexxix. Durg-Rajnandgaon 3rd line34

xxx. Birur-Shivanixxxi. Mile 5 B-New Aliporexxxii. Hosdurga Road-Chikjajurxxxiii. Ernakulam-Kumbalamxxxiv. Viramgam-Surendarnagarxxxv. Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Vasco-De-Gama117. Madam, several State Governments are already sharing cost of some ofthe projects in their States. Further, State Governments of Karnataka,

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have come forward for cost sharing of thefollowing ongoing projects:i. Hassan – Bangalore new lineii. Kadur – Chickmagalur – Sakleshpur new lineiii. Doubling of Arasikere – Biruriv. Gauge conversion of Kolar – Chikballapurv. Ahmednagar – Beed – Parli Vaijnath new linevi. Kotapalli – Narsapur new line118. In addition, State Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and AndhraPradesh have proposed to take up new projects on cost sharing/PPP. Theseinclude the following new lines and doublings:i. Wadsa – Desaiganj - Gadchiroli,ii. Gadchandur – Adilabadiii. Manmad – Indoreiv. Talguppa – Honavarv. Shimoga – Hariharvi. Whitefield – Kolarvii. Gadag – Haveriviii. Tumkur – Davangereix. Bijapur – Shahabadx. Dharwad – Belgaumxi. Nadikudi – Srikalahastixii. Bhadrachalam Road – Kovvurxiii. Manuguru – Ramagundamxiv. Akkanapet – Medak – Medchal35

xv. Kondapalli – Kothagudemxvi. Cumbum – Proddaturxvii. Gadwal – Macherlaxviii. Doubling of Vijayawada–Gudivada–Machlipatnam–Bhimavaram–Narsapur/ Nidadavoluxix. Doubling of Guntur – Tenali – Repalle119. Madam, Railways will consider on priority new proposals from StateGovernments for construction of rail infrastructure in their states if they agree tofunding on PPP basis.Port Connectivity120. In order to promote industrial activity, the State Governments and the

Centre are giving thrust on the development of the ports. Ports are expected inthe States of Gujarat - Porbander, Sutrapada, Dholera, Mahuva, Hazira, Tuna;Maharashtra - Revas, Dharamtar, Dighi; Karnataka – Karwar; Kerala -Azhikkal, Beypore, Thalassery; Orissa - Astranga, Chudamani, Gopalpur;Andhra Pradesh - Vodarevu, Nizampatnam; West Bengal – Sagar KapilMuni, Haldia.121. Railways will welcome participation under PPP for providing railconnectivity to such ports.Railway Electrification122. I am happy to inform the Hon’ble Members that Indian Railways wouldbe completing about 2,300 route kms of electrification in the first three years ofthe XI Plan against the target of 3500 kms for the five year period. Another2,000 kms are planned in the remaining two years. Of the 14,000 route kmsidentified as prospective routes for electrification in the Vision 2020, followingsections would be taken up in the next year:i. Gondia-Ballarshah via Nagbhirii. Daund-Manmadiii. Khana-Sainthia-Pakur & Pandabeshwar-Sainthia123. The following sections are under active consideration:36

i. Vizianagram-Raigadaii. Mathura-Alwar-Rewari-Hissariii. Guntakal-Bellary-Hospet-Vasco de gama124. In addition to above, feasibility studies for the following sections will beundertaken:i. Bardhaman-Katwa-New Farakka including Katwa-Ahmadpurii. Chheoki-Manikpur-Itarsiiii. Chhapra-Varanasi-Allahabad including Bhatni-Aunrihar and Phephna-Indaraiv. Garwa Road-Chopan-Singrauli including Chunar-Chopanv. Pakur-Kumedpur including Gumani-Sahibganj

vi. Angul-Sambalpur-Jharsugudavii. Kiul-Tillaiyya-Manpurviii. New Bongoigaon-Jogighopa-Kamakhyaix. Bankura-Rainanagarx. Fatwa-Islampur-Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgirxi. Vijaywada-Niduduvolu including Machhlipatnam & Narsapurxii. Falaknuma – Umdanagarxiii. Secunderabad – MedchalOptic Fibre Cables125. Indian Railways already has a network of 37,000 kms of optic fibrecables and work on adding another 12,000 kms is in progress. The balance15,000 kms is proposed to be taken up through PPP route, thus covering theentire railway network. It is also proposed to utilise this OFC infrastructureto extend broadband services with last mile connectivity on PPP basis tourban and rural areas.Kolkata Metro126. Kolkata Metro is the only metro with the Indian Railways. The section fromTollygunge to Garia Bazar has been commissioned recently. The balance section up toNew Garia is likely to be completed soon. Extension from Dum Dum to Baranagarhas also started. Railways proposes to redevelop / re-model and rename the metro37

stations of Park Circus as Mother Teresa, Maidan as Gostho Pal, M.G. Roadas Thakurbari, Chandni Chowk as Tipu Sultan and Rash Behari as BhagatSingh.127. To further strengthen metro network, the following extensions havebeen included in the Budget:i. Joka-BBD Bag via Majerhatii. Noapara – Barasat via Bimanbandariii. Dum Dum – New Garia via Rajarhativ. Baranagar – Barrackpore and Baranagar - DakshineshwarNew ServiceSuburban services

128. Suburban services are the lifeline of major metropolitan cities.129. Suburban services will be augmented over the Mumbai area, 101additional services are proposed to be introduced with 32 services inThane/Kalyan to Kasara/Karjat/Khopoli, 16 services on the Mainline, 18services on the Harbour line and 35 services on trans-Harbour line.130. Works for the improvement of Mumbai suburban area under MUTPPhase I is likely to be completed by end of this year. Work under MUTPPhase II has been planned and is targeted for completion by March 2014.131. In Chennai region, new services will be introduced over ChennaiCentral – Sullurpeta – Chennai Beach, Chennai beach – Velachery- ChennaiBeach (on the MRTS), Chennai Beach- Tiruttani – Chennai Central, ChennaiCentral- Arakkonam- Chennai Central. Work on the extension of MRTSPhase II from Velachary to St. Thomas Mount is in progress and targeted forcompletion by March 2012.38

132. Similarly, new services will be introduced in Kolkata area in the sectionsof Sealdah-Kalyani, Sealdah-Canning, Sealdah-Namkhana, Sealdah-Bangaon,Howrah-Tarakeswar-Bandel–Barddhwan, Sealdah–Ranaghat and Sealdah–Kolkata (via Ballygunge- Majerhat–B.B.D. Bagh). A survey will be conductedlinking Howrah and Sealdah.133. Ballygunge is a very important junction station but has no basic facilitiessuch as waiting hall, toilets and approach road. I propose a new station buildingin Ballygunge to overcome these shortcomings, and rename the station asBahadur Shah Zafar station.Sanskriti Express – Epar Bangla, Opar Bangla

134. To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Kabiguru RabindranathTagore and to disseminate his legacy to the young generation, Railwayspropose to run a special train – Sanskriti Express - across the country.135. Tagore is the only poet in the world whose poems have been adopted asNational Anthems by two countries – Amar Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh andJana Gana Mana for India. Tagore lived and produced many of his literaryjewels in undivided Bengal. In homage to this great savant and to strengthen themaitree between Bangladesh and India, it is proposed to run a special train inconsultation with the Government of Bangladesh across the border so that thetwo countries share the opportunity of celebrating the 150th birth anniversaryjointly.Matribhoomi Trains136. Madam, mothers nurture the future generations of the country and wetake pride that they have now stepped out of their houses to make contributionsas a workforce in the country. In order to improve their travel on rail, I haveintroduced 21 ladies specials on the railway network in major cities of Kolkata,Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai. In recognition of their role in the Nation’sdestiny, I have named these trains Matribhoomi specials. The followingMatribhoomi specials will be run in the suburban sections of the majormetropolises:i. Delhi-Panipat39

ii. Kolkataa. Barasat – Sealdahb. Krishnanagar - Sealdahiii. Falaknuma – Lingampalliiv. Mumbaia. Thane-Vashi

b. Panvel – Nerul - ThaneKarmabhoomi Trains137. The following unreserved trains are being proposed for the commonpeople:i. Darbhanga-Mumbai Express (Weekly)ii. Guwahati-Mumbai(Weekly) via Howrah-Tatanagar-Jharsuguda-Bilaspur-Nagpuriii. New Jalpaiguri – Amritsar (Weekly) via Katihar - SitapurJanmabhoomi Trains138. The country is proud of our men in uniform who protect our bordersunder very difficult conditions. For a very long time there were no railconnections among different cities in the western sector. The infrastructuredevelopment by the railways by way of gauge conversion and new line workshas now facilitated a direct connectivity. I, therefore, dedicate a new expresstrain service, Janmabhoomi, between Ahmedabad and Udhampur every weeklinking Jodhpur, Phalodi, Lalgarh, Biradhwal, Pilibanga, Mahajan, Suratgarh,Hanumangarh, Bhatinda, Faridkot, Firozpur, Jalandher, Chakki bank, Samba,Bari Brahman, Jammu-Tawi and Udhampur.Bharat Tirth Trains139. To support government’s effort of promoting tourism in our country,Railways will launch special tourist trains called “Bharat Tirth” connectingpopular tourist sites in different parts of the country - from the Himalayas toKanyakumari, from Dwarka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharief toGangasagar and from Madurai to Patna Sahib. The running of “Bharat Tirth” isto emphasise our “Unity in Diversity” and will bring to reality Kabiguru’swords in our National Anthem:40

Punj_ba Sindhu Gujar_t Mar_th_Dr_vida Utkala BangaVindhya Him_chala Yamun_ Gang_

140. The “Bharat Tirth” trains are proposed to be run on the following routescovering places of tourist importance, the detailed itineraries of which will beadvertised from time to time:-i. Howrah-Gaya-Agra- Mathura- Vrindavan -New Delhi-Haridwar-Varanasi-Howrahii. Howrah-Chennai- Puducherry- Madurai – Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari-Bangalore – Mysore – Chennai-Howrahiii. Howrah- Vizag- Hyderabad- Araku- Howrahiv. Howrah – Varanasi- Jammu Tawi- Amritsar- Haridwar- Mathura-Vrindavan- Allahabad- Howrahv. Howrah-Ajmer- Udaipur- Jodhpur- Bikaner- Jaipur- Howrahvi. Mumbai- Pune- Tirupati- Kancheepuram- Rameshwaram- Madurai-Kanyakumari-Pune- Mumbaivii. Pune-Jaipur-Nathdwara-Ranakpur-Jaipur-Mathura-Agra-Haridwar-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Puneviii. Pune-Ratnagiri-Goa-Bangalore-Mysore-Tirupati-Puneix. Ahmedabad-Puri-Kolkata-Gangasagar-Varanasi-Allahabad-Indore-Omkareshwar-Ujjain-Ahmedabadx. Bhopal-Dwarka-Somnath-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur-Jaipur-Mathura-Vrindavan -Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Bhopalxi. Bhopal-Tirupati-Kanchipuram-Rameshwaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum-Cochin-Bhopalxii. Madurai-Chennai-Kopargaon-Mantralayam-Chennai-Maduraixiii. Madurai-Erode-Pune-Ujjain-Veraval-Nasik-Hyderabad-Chennai-Maduraixiv. Madurai-Chennai-Jaipur-Delhi-Mathura -Vrindavan -Allahabad-Varanasi-Gaya-Chennai-Maduraixv. Madurai-Varanasi-Gaya-Patna Sahib-Allahabad-Haridwar-Chandigarh-Kurukshetra-Amritsar-Delhi-Maduraixvi. Madurai-Mysore-Goa-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Hyderabad-MaduraiDuronto Services141. For the first time in our history, a new train service called Duronto wasintroduced. These provide non-stop point to point services between cities41

offering large volumes of traffic. This service is cheaper and faster compared to

Rajdhani trains and has been very well received by the travelling public. I have,therefore, decided to introduce the following Duronto train services this year:i. Yeswantpur (Bangalore) -Delhi (AC) (Weekly)ii. Mumbai-Secunderabad AC (Bi-weekly)iii. Pune –Howrah AC (Bi- weekly)iv. Mumbai-Ernakulam AC (Bi-weekly)v. Indore- Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly)vi. Jaipur-Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly)142. I propose to introduce the following Durontos, to run in the day time:i. Chandigarh -Amritsarii. Chennai – Coimbatoreiii. Puri - Howrahiv. Howrah- Digha143. In addition to the above, in view of the increasing demand of thepassengers, the following long distance new services are being proposed:i. Sultanpur-Mumbai Express (via Nihalgarh) (Weekly)ii. Sultanpur-Ajmer Express (via Nihalgarh) (Weekly)iii. Asansol-Digha Express (Weekly)iv. Howrah-Katpadi(Vellore)-Puducherry Express via Bhubaneswar(Weekly)v. Kishanganj-Ajmer Express (Weekly)vi. Kolkata-Ajmer Express via Singrauli-Katni-Bhopal-Nagda-Ratlam(Weekly)vii. Kolkata- Anandpur Sahib- Nangaldam Express (Weekly)viii. Una-Haridwar Link Express (Tri-weekly)ix. Siuri-Prantik-Howrah Express (Daily)x. Haldia - Chennai Express (Weekly)xi. Hyderabad-Ajmer Express (Bi-weekly)xii. Rajgir-Howrah via Tilaiya-Koderma (Tri-weekly)xiii. Mumbai-Shirdi Intercity Express (Tri-weekly)xiv. Haridwar- Mumbai CST AC Express (Bi-weekly)42

xv. Valsad-Haridwar Express (Weekly)xvi. Ajmer –Indore Link Express (Daily)xvii. Nagercoil-Bangalore Express (Weekly) via Madurai-Hosurxviii. Kanpur - Chitrakoot Express (Daily)xix. New Jalpaiguri - Chennai Express (Weekly)xx. Delhi Sarai Rohilla - Sri Ganganagar Express (Tri-weekly) via Bhatinda

xxi. Mangalore -Tiruchchirapalli Express (Weekly)xxii. Bhubaneswar-Pune Express (Weekly)xxiii. Habibganj-Jabalpur Intercity Express (Daily)xxiv. Calicut-Thiruvananthpuram Janshatabdi Express (5 days a Week)xxv. Pune - Ernakulam Superfast (Bi-weekly) via Panvelxxvi. Coimbatore-Tirupati Intercity Express via Salem (Tri-weekly)xxvii. Shimoga-Mysore Intercity Express (Daily)xxviii. Bangalore-Tirupati Intercity Express via Bangarapet (Tri-weekly)xxix. Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) - Solapur Express(Daily)xxx. Jaipur-Pune Express (Weekly)xxxi. Ranchi-Jaynagar Express (Tri-weekly)xxxii. Madurai-Tirupati Express (Bi-weekly)xxxiii. Tirupati -Secunderabad Express (Bi-weekly) via Pakalle - MadanpalleRoadxxxiv. Sambalpur-Howrah Express (Weekly)xxxv. Ahmedabad-Agra Express (Tri-weekly)xxxvi. Gonda- Manduadih (Varanasi) Intercity (Daily)xxxvii. Running of independent trains between Bangalore - Hubli and Bangalore-Nanded by delinking of 6591/6592 Bangalore-Hubli Hampi Express from6593/6594 Bangalore-Nanded Expressxxxviii. Running of independent trains between Hyderabad-Tirupati(Daily),Hyderbad-Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Bi-weekly) and Tirupati-Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Daily) by delinking7416/7429/7430 Haripriya and Rayalseema Expressxxxix. Secunderabad-Manuguru Express (Tri-weekly)xl. Alipurduar – Lumding Intercity Express (Daily)xli. Guwahati - Mariani Intercity Express (Daily)xlii. Gandhidham - Jodhpur Express via Bhildi (Tri-weekly)xliii. Rajkot – Porbander Express (via Jetalsar) (Tri-weekly)xliv. Kolkata – Darbhanga Express (Bi- weekly)43

xlv. Howrah – Berhampur Express (Tri- weekly)xlvi. Baripada – Shalimar Intercity Express (Tri – weekly)xlvii. Kharagpur – Purulia Intercity Express (Tri- weekly)xlviii. Gwalior – Chhindwara Express (Bi- weekly)xlix. Rampurhat – Sealdah Intercity Express (Tri- weekly)l. Howrah – Shirdi Express (Weekly)li. Puri – Valsad Express (Weekly) via Katni- Bhopal – Vadodara

lii. Puri-Digha Express (Weekly)144. Madam, I would further like to assure the House that 2937/2938Gandhidham–Howrah Express will be started by the 10th of March, 2010.Passenger trains145. A large volume of Rail travel consists of short distance traffic. Thistraffic which utilizes conventional passenger trains, MEMUs and DEMUs hasbeen showing encouraging growth and to address to this segment of traffic, thefollowing passenger trains are proposed to be introduced during the year 2010-11:i. Chittaranjan-Kolkata Passengerii. Sealdah-Krishnanagar Passengeriii. Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri Passengeriv. Balaghat-Katangi Passengerv. Tatanagar-Hatia Passenger via Chandil-Purulia-Murivi. Miraj-Parli Passengervii. Miraj-Pandharpur Passengerviii. Jhansi-Banda Passengerix. New Jalpaiguri-Dinahat-Bamanhat Passengerx. Nilambur Road-Shoranur Passengerxi. Tiruchendur-Tirunelveli Passengerxii. Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur Passengerxiii. Bhubaneswar-Khurda Road Passengerxiv. Bangalore-Neelamangala Passengerxv. Bagalkot – Gadag Passengerxvi. Kozhikode- Kannur Passengerxvii. Dharmanagar-Manu Passenger44

xviii. Patna – Sasaram via Ara Passenger (to be extended to Bhabua Road upondevelopment of terminal facilities)xix. Coimbatore-Pollachi Passenger(after gauge conversion)xx. Aunrihar -Jaunpur Passenger (after gauge conversion)xxi. Bareilly-Lalkuan Passenger (after gauge conversion)xxii. Katihar-Teznarayanpur Passenger (after gauge conversion)xxiii. Fakiragram-Dhubri Passenger (after gauge conversion)xxiv. Rewari-Degana Passenger via Ratangarh (after gauge conversion)xxv. Bhildi-Samdari Passenger(after gauge conversion)xxvi. Naupada-Gunupur Passenger (after gauge conversion)xxvii. Hospet- Harihar Passenger (after gauge conversion)

xxviii. Tirupati-Madanpalle Road - Kurabakota Passenger (after gaugeconversion)MEMUsi. Tirupati-Nellore-Chennaiii. Salem-Katpadiiii. Vijaywada-Guntur-Tenaliiv. Coimbatore-Erodev. Howrah-Midnapurvi. Dhanbad- Jhargram via Puruliavii. Ghatsila -Howrahviii. Ernakulam-Kollamix. Restoration of Andal-Jasidih via Jamuria-BarbaniDEMU Service146. On gauge conversion of the Aluabari-Siliguri section, I propose tointroduce DEMU service in this section which will provide a ring-rail typeservice between Aluabari, Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri. The followingDEMU services will also be introducedi. Kacheguda-Mahboobnagarii. Kacheguda-Miryalgudaiii. Qazigund-Baramullaiv. Krishnanagar-Farakkav. Malda Town-Coochbeharvi. Malda Town-Balurghat45

vii. Bakhtiyarpur-Gayaviii. Hoshiarpur - AmritsarIncrease in frequency of trainsi. 2245/2246 Howrah-Yesvantpur Duronto Express from weekly to 4 daysii. 3149/3150 Sealdah-Alipurduar Kanchen Kanya Express from 4 days todailyiii. 2377/2378 Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Padatik Express from 3 days to 6daysiv. 2295/2296 Patna-Bangalore Sanghamitra Express from 6 days to dailyv. 2251/2252 Korba-Yesvantpur Express from weekly to 2 daysvi. 6605/6606 Mangalore-Kochuveli Ernad Express from 3 days to dailyvii. 2933/2934 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Express from 6 days to daily

viii. 2215/2216 Bandra Terminus-Delhi Sarai Rohilla from 3 days to 4 daysix. 2807/2808 Visakhapatnam-Nizamuddin Samata Express from 3 days to5 daysx. 4705/4706 Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Sadulpur Express from 3 days to 6 daysxi. 2981/2982 Udaipur City- Delhi Sarai Rohilla Chetak Express from 3days to 4 daysxii. 2447/2448 Manikpur – Hazrat Nizammudin Uttar Pradesh SamparkKranti Express from 3 days to dailyExtension of trainsi. 7001/7002 Secunderabad-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)ii. 7205/7206 Kakinada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)iii. 1405/1406 Kakinada -Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)iv. 7207/7208 Vijaywada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)v. 6341/6342 Thiruvanthapuram-Ernakulam Express to Guruvayur (Daily)vi. 7639/7640 Kacheguda-Nanded Express to Akola (Daily)vii. 2187/2188 Mumbai CST-Jabalpur Express to Allahabad (Bi-weekly)viii. 2235/2236 New Delhi - Guwahati Rajdhani Express to Dibrugarhix. 2777/2778 Yesvantpur-Kochuveli Express to Hubli (weekly)x. 2831/2832 Bhubaneswer-Hatia Express to Dhanbad (Tri-weekly)xi. 8425/8426 Puri –Raipur Express to Durgxii. 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Koraput Express to Jagdalpurxiii. 209/210 Puri-Dhenkanal Passenger to Talcher Road (Daily)46

xiv. 1629 Sangali-Miraj to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur)(Daily)xv. 1610 Miraj-Pune to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur)(Daily)xvi. 1551/1552 Pune-Daund to Baramati (Daily)xvii. 531A/532A Parli-Nizamabad Passenger to Pandharpurxviii. 623/624 Mangalore-Kannur Passenger to Kozhikodexix. 353/354 Dharwar-Gadag Passenger to Solapurxx. 1704 Chirmiri-Damoh Passenger to Sagourxxi. 1703A Damoh-Katni Passenger to SagourA Gesture147. Hon’ble members are well aware of the hardship being faced by thecommon people by the high inflationary trend especially in food prices. I

understand their distress. Despite Railways’ own tight resource position, Iannounce a reduction of Rs 100 per wagon in freight charges for food-grainsfor domestic use and kerosene. This is a small gesture to express our concern.Concessions148. Madam, in the last Budget, I had announced several concessions underIzzat scheme, for Press Correspondents and students of madrasas, highmadrasas and senior madrasas. These have been very popular and I propose tocontinue with these concessions.149. The enormous contribution of the Indian film industry to the promotionof art and culture is known to all of us. There are people behind the screenwhose contribution is not so well known to many of us. I propose thattechnicians of regional film industry when travelling for film productionrelated work will be eligible for 75% concession in Second Sleeper, 50%concession in First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier in all trainsincluding Rajdhani/Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdis.150. Madam, Railways at present grant a concession of 75% in 3 AC andSleeper Class to cancer patients going for treatment, together with an escort. Inow propose to enhance this concession to cancer patients up to 100% in 3 ACand Sleeper Class.151. Press correspondents are currently extended a concession of 50% for theirtravel along with spouse, once a year. I now propose to extend this concession47

to companion of those correspondents who do not have a spouse, anddependent children up to 18 years, once a year.Service Charge on e-ticket152. Indian Railways provide the facility of issuing e-tickets, through IRCTC,

by utilising internet services. At present, a maximum service charge of Rs 15for Sleeper Class and Rs.40 for AC Class tickets is levied. I propose to reducethe maximum limit of service charge to Rs.10 for Sleeper Class and Rs.20 forAC Class.153. Madam, I am aware that the hon’ble members are anxiously waiting tohear my announcement about tariffs. In the present economic situation, whenthe country is about to return on a high growth path, I do not wish to impose anyburden on the citizens. Therefore, I do not propose any increase in thepassenger fares of any class or category of trains. Similarly, I do not intendto increase freight tariffs.154. This year’s budget is a humble yet earnest effort to move in the directionof Vision 2020. I assure the Hon’ble Members that better days are ahead for theIndian Railways. Just as highway, telecom, IT, airport and port sectors havetaken off, the Railway sector will also see exponential growth in the years tocome.155. In seven months, whatever best was possible we tried and we fulfilled ourcommitments on a range of issues. Within limited funds, we have to make abeginning. We will need to plan for the coming years to achieve the goals ofVision 2020.156. I am always positive and optimistic. I believe in the phrase “never sayno”, and I cannot say no. My response always is “Yes we will”. Let us do jobswith transparency. We can conquer the minds of the people through ouractivities. Strength is our medicine and spirit is our morale. Let us be bold,

determined, devoted and sincere in our efforts.Nahi Nahi Bhay, Hobey Hobey JaiKhule Jabe Ei Dwar(Fear not, victory is inevitable and the door will swing open)157. With these words, Madam, I commend the Railway Budget for 2010-11to the House.******