Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday proposed to allocate Rs1,310bn as capital and development expenditure for the Indian railways during fiscal 2017-18. The Union budget emphasised on providing railway passengers with better amenities and more safety, as Jaitley announced a special ‘Rail Safety Fund’ of Rs1tn, which was earlier announced in 2002 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. This is the first time that expenditure, fiscal support and various sector-specific schemes for the railways was announced in the Union Budget.
“Among other things, the railways will focus on four major areas – passenger safety, capital and development works, cleanliness and finance and accounting reforms,” Jaitley said. In addition, the service charge on railway tickets booked through IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) will be withdrawn.