Lok Sabha passes Railway Budget by voice vote

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to reply to the general discussion on rail budget on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The Railway budget is still under discussion in both houses of parliament.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Former railways minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday urged his successor Mamata Banerjee to prepare a report on his tenure within seven days and added that he was prepared to apologise to the nation if any irregularities were found. "Within seven days, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials, railway officials and planning commission officials should be called and a report should be published on my tenure, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad said in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the railway budget.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Accusing Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on doing nothing new in the rail budget, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Friday said that she had used his achievements in the ministry to build her case. "Is this a budget? She has just read out what I had announced during my stint...She suffers from a complex," he said.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday welcomed the Railway budget presented by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. "This budget is unique in the way inclusivity and overall development has been the focus without losing focus on safety, technology adoption and commercialization while providing opportunities for industry though its capacity expansion programme and setting up infrastructure through PPP mode", said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in parliament house Friday morning to present her ministry's budget for this fiscal, promising to address the demands of the average passenger. "My budget will be of the people, by the people and for the people," Banerjee told reporters before leaving for parliament house to present the railway budget in Lok Sabha, the lower house.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has arrived in Parliament to present a "pro-people" budget today. Before arriving at Parliament, Mamata said, "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget." She said that she only got 15 days to work on it, as the concerned officials were busy preparing it.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the railway budget would be a "pro-people" budget. "It will be a pro-people budget, a simple budget, people's budget," Banerjee said after an all-party meeting here.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The next session of Parliament will begin on Thursday. The Economic Survey will be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 2.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. The meeting is being held to ensure smooth conduct of the session, which will conclude on August 7.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The budget session of the new Lok Sabha will be held in the middle of June, an official said Friday. Before this, there will be a brief session, on the first two days of which the members elected to the house will be sworn in, while the speaker will be elected on the third day, Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced

February 12th, 2009 BHOPAL - The interim railway budget presented Friday is disappointing for Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. 'The proposals like plying a daily Habibganj-Kurla train, running daily train between Bhopal and Lucknow, making the Puri-Jaipur Express bi-weekly, extending the Shatabdi to Indore, starting a third Bina-Itarsi line and adding a coach from Bhopal to the Jabalpur Mumbai-Garib Rath have not been implemented,' he said in a statement.

February 12th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa has been neglected in interim railway budget presented by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad in Parliament Friday, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here. 'I am disappointed as Orissa has been neglected,' Patnaik told reporters here, adding that only one new express train was proposed to be introduced in the state in 2009-2010.

January 31st, 2009 PATNA - Railways Minister Lalu Prasad is set to gift his home district, Gopalganj in Bihar, a railway division before the next Lok Sabha polls. After Lalu Prasad's ancestral village Phulwaria is connected with his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi's Salar Kalan village, Lalu now plans to give another rare gift to Bihar by announcing the establishment of a railway division in Thawe at Gopalganj.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The central government will present a vote on account on Feb 16, parliament officials said here Thursday. An interim railway budget would be prersented on Feb 13.