Indian Railways has helped India connect to remote parts of the country. Also, the prior governments, too, took special measures to keep minimum and affordable ticket prices for the masses. However, this time under the leadership of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, the Indian Railway sector has been allocated the highest budget ever of ₹2.40 lakh crore. The Union Budget 2023 has some interesting news for the railways and the inter-state connectivity of India.
Railway Budget 2023
A capital outlay of ₹2.40 lakh crores has been provided for the Railways. This is the highest ever outlay and about 9x outlay made in 2013-2014: Hon’ble Finance Minister @nsitharaman #Budget2023#AmritKaalBudget pic.twitter.com/aGVAZZXzbx
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) February 1, 2023
The budget allotted to the Indian Railways for the financial year 2023-24 is ₹2.40 lakh crore. This is the highest budget ever for the railway sector. Further, there will be an increase in this budget in coming years as the railway is a frequently used mode of transport. Moreover, the Financial Minister has laid out seven priorities for India as a guide for Amritkaal.
The On-Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) that is responsible for the cleaning of Indian railways will be increased in numbers.
Keeping environmental safety in mind, Indian Railways is set to achieve a net zero carbon emission, further reducing its carbon footprint.
There will be a focus on more private investment in railways as it is predominantly dependent on the public sector.
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Kavach: Safety First
With increasing accidents, the government is making efforts to make safety a priority for people. According to the Finance Minister, as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, 2000 kilometres of railway network will be brought under ‘Kavach’, an automated train protection system.
As per the Indian railways, this is the world’s cheapest and most indigenous train protection system. Through this, train accidents can be avoided. Trains will stop automatically when the system notices an error or malfunction.
Currently, this programme is under development on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai corridors. Besides, the biggest achievement for the makers is that this is an Indian product and will also be exported to other countries.
These were the railway highlights of Budget 2023-24. Keep watching this space for more updates.
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Image