1. Railway Budget 2015-16 tabled in the Parliament, No
increase in Rail Fares
i. Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu has presented his maiden Rail Budget today in the
Parliament. This is the first full-fledged rail – budget of the NDA government.
ii. There has been no increase in the rail fares
in the current budget. Earlier in July 2014, in the first Railway budget of
Narendra Modi government, fares were increased by 14.2 per cent and freight
rates were increased by 6.5 per cent.
iii. According to
the Budget, Wi-Fi facility will be provided in 400 stations. Also, now
passenger can book their rail tickets in 120 days in advance instead of 60 days
provided earlier.
iv. The ministry
had received 20,000 suggestions on social media during the formative phase of
the Railway Budget 2015-16. “We received over 20,000 responses from people
on social media and some of the suggestions are there in the Budget,”
Prabhu said in his maiden Budget speech in Parliament.
Railway Minister has announced 4 Goals for transformation of Indian Railways
which are:
Goal 1-Customer
experience to receive a huge boost
Goal 2 – Safer
Travel
Goal 3 -Modernize
infrastructure
Goal 4- Indian
Railways- Financially self-sustainable
Highlights of Rail
Budget 2015-16:
1. No increase in Rail Fares.
2. Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance instead of 60 days.
3. Plan expenditure to go up to a record Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2015-16 from
Rs 66,000 crore in the previous year
4. All-India 24X7 helpline – 138, to be effective from March 1,2015.
5. Toll free number 182 created for security related complaints
6. Rs 8.5 lakh crore to be invested in Railways over 5 years
7. Allotment for passenger facilities hiked by 67%
8. SMS alert services for passengers to inform them about arrival and
departure of trains
9. Government to introduce Malaviya Chair at IIT/BHU for Railway technology
10. Bio toilets in
trains; airplane type toilets in trains.
11. CCTVs to
be introduced in selective trains and suburban trains for women safety.
12. Rs.2000 cr for
Coastal Connectivity Program
13. Rs.2500 cr through
BOT/Annuity route.
14. 1000 MW Solar plant
15. 100DEMUs to dual fuel
16. In 400 stations wi-fi
facility will be provided
17. 1330% increase in
railway electrification over previous year.
18. By 2019, the proposed
investment in Railways would be in tune of Rs 856021 crore.
19. Operation 5 minutes
to ensure that a passenger travelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within 5
minutes.
20. 492 section of IR –
running at a capacity of more than 100%
21. 228 running between
80-100%
22. Proposed the best
operating ratio in nine years, of 88.5 per cent for 2015-16
23. Hand-held devices for
ticket checkers for moving towards paperless ticketing
24. Centrally managed
railway display network in over 2000 stations in next 2 years
25. .Mobile
application to address complaints of people is also being developed
26. Railway University
will be set up in FY16
27. Online application
for all recruitment process
28. 6608 kms of track to
be electrified
29. Projects worth Rs
96,182 crore to expand capacity of 9,420 km rail lines
30. SMS alert to be
introduced for train timings
31. Skill development and
self-employment to be encouraged on Konkan Railway model
32. Make in India
opportunities – Speedier Railway – 9 hi-speed corridors, high speed trains
33. Satellite railway
terminals in major cities – 10 select stations
34. E-catering introduced
in 108 trains, can order on IRCTC website
35. The speed passenger
trains across nine corridors will be increased to 160-200 km from 110 km
36. Feasibility report of
high speed train between Mumbai and Ahmadabad expected by mid-2015.
37. Rs 6,750 crore
allocated for eliminating 3438 level crossings
38. 970 road-under bridge
and road-over bridge to be constructed.
39. More general class
coaches to be added in identified trains; more AC EMU services for Mumbai
suburban section.
40. Railways will play a
big role in socio-economic development of the country
2. Export-Import Bank of India
extends $55 million credit line to Congo
i. Export-Import
Bank of India has extended a $55 million line of credit (LoC) to the Republic
of Congo to set up a green field 600 tpd rotary kiln cement plant.
ii. The line of credit has been extended for the
third time the government to the Central African
nation.
iii. Earlier, it was given $70 million for financing a rural electrification
project and $89.90 million for developing a transport system.
iv. Under the LoC,
Exim Bank will reimburse 100 per cent of the contract value to Indian
exporters, upfront upon the shipment of equipment and goods/provision of
services.
3. Mumbai University inks deal with Indian
Railways
i. Mumbai University has signed an agreement with
Indian Railways to set up a Rail Innovation and Technology Centre to
train students for expertise in Railway Engineering.
ii. Under the agreement Indian Railways will allocate 142.89
crore rupees budget for the centre over the next five academic years.
iii. Mumbai
University will trained the candidates at university’s campus Kalina, Ratnagiri
and Kalyan.
4. Ratan Tata
honoured with Doctorate of Automotive Engineering
i. Clemson University has honoured
Mr. Ratan Tata with the Doctorate of Automotive Engineering at the South
Carolina Automotive Summit held in Washingotn.
ii. Dean of Clemson’s College of Engineering and
Science AnandGramopadhye said Tata not only is a titan in the automotive
industry in India, but he also is a giant in the global marketplace.
Note: Ratan Tata completed his graduation in architecture
from Cornell University in 1962 and Advanced Management Program at Harvard
Business School in 1975.
5. TRAI amended
the MNP regulations, effective from May 3, 2015
i. Pan India Mobile number portability will be
effective from May 3, 2015 which helps user or subscriber to retain the same
mobile number on relocating to anywhere in India.
ii. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
amended the mobile number portability (MNP) regulations to allow users to
change their service provider in any part of the country while retaining the
number.
iii. At present, number portability within a
telecom circle is possible. To carry a number outside the home circle, a
subscriber pays roaming charges plus applicable STD call rates.
iv. In a statement, TRAI said, it has issued the
sixth amendment to the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation,
2009, which will facilitate nationwide portability with effect from May 3.
6. Government give green signal for 15000 MW
grid-connected solar projects
i. The Government of India has
given the green signal to implement the scheme for setting up of 15,000 Mega
Watt Grid-connected Solar Photo Voltaic Power projects under the National Solar
Mission.
ii. The scheme will be implemented through NTPC
and NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam Limited.
iii. The completion of the projects under the
Mission would accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar
power and also help reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel.