2016 Railway Budget of India
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| Submitted by | Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister |
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| Presented | 25 February 2016 |
| Parliament | Indian Parliament |
| Party | Bhartiya Janta Party |
| Website | www |
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‹ 2015
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2016 Railway Budget of India refers to the Railway Budget of the Indian Railways in the fiscal year 2016-17. The budget was presented by the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Parliament on 25 February 2016.
There were no fare hikes. It was announced that the freight tariffs would be changed to make them more competitive to the cost of transport by road. The capital outlay for 2016-17 was set at ₹1.21 lakh crore (US$19 billion), a 20% increase from last year. The revenue from traffic was projected at ₹1.85 lakh crore (US$29 billion).
It was announced that 17,000 bio-vacuum toilets would be installed on various trains. These toilets use a bacterium developed by the DRDO in the compost tank. Additional toilets would be built in 475 stations. A "Clean My Coach" initiative was announced which will allow passengers to request cleaning service by SMS.
A target to eliminate all unmanned railway crossings by 2020 was announced. There are about 11,000 unmanned crossings in India. The 2015 budget had allocated ₹6,581 crore (US$1 billion) to eliminate 3,500 of these crossing. But by February 2016, work had been completed on only 1,000 of them. CCTVs will be installed in major stations. It was also announced that travel insurance will be offered to passengers.
New SMART (Specially Modified Aesthetic Refreshing Travel) coaches will be introduced, which will be roomier and have automatic doors, entertainment and vending machines. FM radio stations will be invited to provide entertainment at selected stations. The railway magazine, Rail Bandhu, will be now published in all regional languages and would be available for purchase to reserved passengers.
The budget introduced some new facilities for senior citizens, women and differently-abled persons. The number of lower berths reserved for senior citizens was increased by 50% to about 120 per train. Under the reserved category, 33% was earmarked for women travelers. In all coaches, the middle bays were reserved for women. A 24-hours helpline for women was announced. Women traveling with infants will provided with baby foods, milk, hot water and diaper-changing boards on trains and stations under the "Janani Seva" initiative.
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