Railways plan outlay to be Rs.40745 crore

August 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Planning Commission Friday approved Rs.10,000-crore (Rs.100 billion) plan outlay for Delhi for the 2009-10 fiscal. The annual plan for the capital was finalised in a meeting between Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Plan Outlay of the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been enhanced from Rs. 1,000 crore in BE 2008-09 to Rs.1,740 crore in 2009-10, registering an increase of 74 per cent.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In keeping with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's inclusive growth mantra, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday announced a slew of schemes for the aam aadmi (common man). The major measures announced in his union budget for 2009-10 are: - Allocation towards National Rural Employment Guarantee Act increased by Rs.39,100 crore - Agriculture debt waiver extended by six months - Outlay for national rural health mission increased by Rs.2,057 crore from the Rs.12,070 crore provided in the interim budget - Allocation for Bharat Nirman scheme increased by 45 percent - Rs.20,000 crore for rural housing - Rural electrification scheme to get Rs.7,000 crore more - Agriculture development fund increased from Rs.2.87 lakh crore to Rs.3.25 lakh crore - Allocation for urban poor schemes to be raised to Rs.39,730 crore - LNG infrastructure to be expanded - National Housing Bank to get Rs.2,000 crore for rural housing funds - Higher education outlay increased by Rs.2,000 crore over interim budget - Income tax exemption limit for senior citizens increased by Rs.15,000, for women and others by 10,000 each - Duties on life saving drugs reduced - Allocation for the minority affairs ministry raised to Rs.1,740 crore - Banking services in under-banked areas to be increased, scheme allocated Rs.100 crore - Rs.1,000 crore to accelerate irrigation projects - Allocation for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission raised by 87 percent to Rs.12,887 crore

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Out of a total plan outlay of Rs.12,165 crore for the civil aviation ministry, a sum of Rs.190 crore will be provided as budgetary support to various organisations under the ministry, the government said Monday after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the annual budget in Parliament. Out of the Rs.190 crore, India's airport developer, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been allocated Rs.99.15 crore for development of airports.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The budget has increased the outlay for the minority affairs ministry from Rs.1,000 crore last fiscal to Rs.1,740 crore with a focus on educational schemes. The funds have been hiked to implement projects for the welfare of the minorities, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced while presenting the union budget Monday.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday increased the 2009-10 budgetary outlay for the national capital by over 200 percent to about Rs.2,500 crore (Rs.25 billion). The city will get more funds for housing, infrastructure and for basic services to the urban poor.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The slowdown and an outgo of Rs.14,600 crore to pay arrears will make the going more difficult for the Railways this fiscal, a senior official said here Friday. "Last year was difficult and this year is going to be more tough for us," said Railway Board chairman S.S.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday proposed several steps, including launch of a premium service for container movement with assured transit time, to improve the freight movement on railways. Presenting her ministry's budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said besides improving the freight movement of its regular cargo like coal, iron ore, cement, fertilisers and food grain, the railways will take measures to increase the share of new items like automobiles and fly ash.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Taking a dig at her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said the target set by him for the railways in the interim budget was "unrealistically high". "Based on the reviews, it is very clear that the unrealistically high targets set in the interim budget are not sustainable and warrant a mid course correction," Banerjee said while presenting her ministry's budget for the current fiscal in the Lok Sabha.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The total earnings of Indian Railways during April-May stood at around Rs.13,709 crore, compared to Rs.13,266 crore earned during the corresponding period last year, reflecting an increase of 3.34 percent. Freight earnings have gone up 2.34 percent to Rs.9,340 crore during the period under review from about Rs.9,127 crore in the year-ago period, the railways ministry said Tuesday.

March 18th, 2009 MUMBAI - The Maharashtra government's interim budget for the current year, presented Tuesday, shows a yawning deficit of over Rs.84.6 billion (Rs.8,462 crore), but no new taxes have been imposed and there has been no cut on developmental expenditure. State Finance Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, unveiling the interim budget in the legislative assembly, emphasised that the Ashok Chavan-led Democratic Front government has earmarked funds to step up power generation, minimise load shedding, augmenting irrigation facilities and focussing on the social sector.

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: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * 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 saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * Frequencies of a host of trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

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: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Plan outlay for 2009-10 kept at Rs.379.05 billion (Rs.37,905 crore) * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Revised freight earnings for this fiscal to Rs.542.93 billion (Rs.54,293 crore) * Freight loading target retained at 850 million tonnes * Estimated freight earnings for next fiscal pegged at Rs.590.59 billion (Rs.59,059 crore) * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * 43 new train services to be started in 2009-10 * Frequencies of 14 trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Extension of 14 trains envisaged * Passenger volume likely to grow by around 7 percent over previous year * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * 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 saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor

January 22nd, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Planning Commission has agreed to allocate an outlay of Rs.100 billion (Rs.10,000 crore) to Haryana for 2009-10, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Friday. The outlay is over 50 percent more than the total outlay of Rs.66.5 billion (Rs.6,650 crore) approved for the state last fiscal.