For Railways, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced an outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2023-24, the highest in almost a decade and four times the last year’s budget.
“This is almost nine times the outlay made in 2013-14,” he underlined, comparing it to the year when the Congress-led UPA ruled the country, just before the Narendra Modi-led BJP came to power. first.
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He also announced Rs 75,000 crore for 100 “critical transport infrastructure projects”, which are also likely to help the railways, especially with its freight business.
Railways have been the priority of almost all the governments so far. In 2016, the government did not present a separate Rail Budget, but it continued to form a major part of the overall budget.
Ahead of the presentation of the budget, the Economic Survey lauded the efforts of the Railways to improve both the passenger and freight sectors following the COVID pandemic. It also gave credit to the government for the substantial increase in wealth.
The government has listed capital expenditure – investment in large infrastructure projects – among its focus areas.
Today, Ms. Sitharaman began her budget speech by declaring it the “first budget of Amrit Kaal” – a term coined by PM Modi’s government to define a brighter future as India celebrates 75 years of independence. completed.
For the financial year 2023-24, he listed seven priorities: “Inclusive growth, reaching the last mile, agriculture and investment, unlocking potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.”