Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the biggest-ever push for Indian Railways with a capital outlay of ₹2.40 lakh crore. Compared to the last fiscal year, it is a rise of 65.6 per cent and nine times higher than the railway allocation in 2013-14.
“The Indian Railways capital outlay has been set at 2.40 lakh crore, highest ever; 9x of what was in 2013,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech on February 1.
The disbursements will be utilised for railway tracks, electrification and station facilities, among others. The ministry of railways is aiming for full electrification by 2023, more Vande Bharat trains and construction of 2,000 km of tracks. The Economic Survey, too, had hailed Vande Bharat as a great initiative of the Indian Railway.
