Data Signifies Surge In Railway Budget Over The Years

The Indian railway is considered an engine of the national economy, the right direction of the railway sector determines ample factors for the country's growth. IR contributes to commercial activities and maintains passenger mobility across the country for various purposes. The present central government also strive to boost the railway sector, by executing modern technology and increasing the number of trains and cargo to facilitate mobility. 

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As one of the ways to push the Railway sector further, the central government began to inject more allocation of budget that became visible in the financial document year by year.

In 2017, aiming for the same, the central government merged the railway budget with the union budget. In the first budget after coming to the government in 2014-15, total revenue increased by 14 per cent to Rs 1,64,374 crore and total expenditure is projected to increase by 16 per cent to Rs 1,49,176 crore in 2014-15. This budget also planned to construct the Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High-Speed Rail.

In the last few years, the union government tried to focus on the frequency, security, and facilitation of passengers through the implementation of the right technology. The outlay of the railway budget for 2023-24 was nine times higher than the outlay decided for the sector in 2013-14. According to the union budget 2023-24, Indian Railways’ internal revenue for 2023-24 increased by 9 per cent from the previous year to Rs 2,65,000 crore.

Also, the budget 2023-24 aimed to benefit the common Indian citizens in terms of fares and facilities. Along with that, it also emphasises ‘Make In India’ to make the railway sector more profitable for domestic manufacturers and industries. 

Even though there was a high allocation of budget, 2023 was a horrible year for the railway sector as Balasore of Odisha faced a devastating accident in which 291 people lost their lives. After this authorities and stakeholders started to emphasise the application of the right and efficient technological assistance to help the sector deal with machinery failure. Gajraj AI and electrification of the railway were some of the ways to ensure the downfall in the accidents. 

As the upcoming budget will be an interim budget, the railway will be among the major sectors that are expected to be allocated higher funds. The government is highly focusing on the betterment of railway infrastructure also, recently the earthquake sensor has been installed between the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route. After allotting higher revenue in the union budget, the government is spending it all in developing the multi variables. According to the data released by the Ministry of Railway, Indian Railways has witnessed approx. 75 per cent Capital expenditure utilisation (Highest ever) in the first nine months of this Financial Year till December 2023. 

It has also added, Indian Railways has made an expenditure of Rs. 1, 95,929.97 Crores till December 2023 which is approx. 75 per cent of the total capex (Rs. 2.62 lakh crores) of railways during this financial year.

Ahead of the anticipated booming budget for the sector, the shares of railway companies already jumped higher in the last few days. Railway stocks such as Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), and Titagarh Rail System hiked up to 19 per cent before the Union Budget 2024.