- Budget
identifies five objectives relating to growth recovery, private investment,
supply bottlenecks, malnutrition and governance matters
- GDP
growth to be 7.6 per cent (+ 0.25 percent) during 2012-13
- Amendment
to the FRBM Act proposed as part of Finance Bill. New concepts of
“Effective Revenue Deficit” and “Medium Term Expenditure Framework”
introduced
- Central
subsidies to be kept under 2 per cent of GDP; to be further brought down
to 1.75 per cent of GDP over the next 3 years.
- Proposed:
Mobile based fertilizer management system; LPG transparency portal;
scaling up and rolling out of Aadhar enabled payment for government
schemes in at least 50 districts
- Rs.
30,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment
- Efforts
to reach broadbased consensus on FDI in multi-brand retail
- Rajiv
Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme: to allow income tax deduction to retail
investors on investing in equities
- Rs.
15,888 crore to be provided for capitalization of public sector banks and
financial institutions
- A central
“Know Your Customer” depository to be developed
- Swabhimaan:
remaining habitations to be covered; to be extended to more habitations;
ultra small branches to be set up in Swabhimaan habitations
- Investment
in 12th Plan in infrastructure to go uptoRs. 50,00,000 crore; half of this
is expected from private sector
- Tax
Free Bonds of Rs. 60,000 crore to be allowed for financial infrastructure
projects
- Allocation
of Road Transport and Highways Ministry enhanced by 14 per cent to Rs.
25,360 crore
- Financial
package of Rs. 3,884 crore for waiver of loans to handloom weavers and
their cooperative societies; mega handloom clusters in Andhra, Jharkhand;
weaver service centres in Mizoram, Nagaland and Jharkhand ; powerloom mega
cluster in Maharashtra; Rs. 500 crore pilot schemes for geo-textiles in
North-Eastern region
- Rs.
5,000 crore India Opportunities Venture Fund to help small enterprises
- Allocation
to agriculture enhanced; RKVY gets Rs. 9,217 crore; BGREI gets Rs. 1,000
crore; Rs.2242 crore project to improve dairy productivity; Rs. 500 crore
for coastal aquaculture
- Various
other agricultural activities merged into 5 missions
- Target
for agricultural credit raised to Rs. 5,75,000 crore
- Interest
subvention for short-term crop loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest
continues; additional 3 per cent for prompt paying farmers
- Rs. 200
crore for awards to incentivise agricultural research
- Provisions
under rural housing fund increased to Rs. 4,000 crore from Rs. 3,000 crore
- Interest
subvention of 1 percent on housing loans uptoRs. 15 lakh extended for one
more year
- AIBP
allocation raised by 13 per cent to Rs. 14,242 crore
- National
Mission on Food Processing to be started in cooperation with State
Governments
- Scheduled
Caste Sub Plan allocation increases by 18 per cent to Rs. 37,113 crore;
Tribal Sub Plan by 17.6 per cent to Rs. 21,710 crore
- Multi-sectoralprogramme
to address maternal and child malnutrition in 200 high burden districts
- 58 per
cent rise in allocation to ICDS, at Rs. 15,850 crore
- Rural
drinking water and sanitation gets 27 per cent rise in allocation to Rs.
14,000 crore; PMGSY gets 20 per cent rise to Rs. 24,000 crore
- Projects
covering length of 8800 km to be awarded under NHDP against 7,300 km
during 2011-12
- RTE-SSA
gets Rs. 25,555 crore allocation, showing an increase of 21 per cent; 6000
schools to be set up at block level as model schools in the 12th Plan;
Credit Guarantee Fund to be set up for better flow of credit to students ·
National Urban Health Mission is being launched
- 34 per
cent increase in allocation to National Rural Livelihood Mission, to Rs.
3915 crore
- Rs.
1000 crore allocated for National Skill Development Fund
- Bharat
Livelihood Foundation to be established to support livelihood
interventions particularly in tribal areas
- Widow
pension and disability pension raised from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per month
- Grant
on death of primary breadwinner of a BPL family in the age group 18-64
years doubled to Rs. 20,000
- Defence
services get Rs. 193407 crore; any further requirement to be met
- 4000
residential quarters to be constructed for Central Armed Police Forces
- UID-Aadhar
to get adequate funds for enrolment of 40 crore persons, in addition to
the 20 crore persons already enrolled
- White
Paper on Black Money to be laid in the current session of Parliament
- Tax
proposals mark progress in the direction of movement towards DTC and GST
- Income
tax exemption limit raised from Rs.1,80,000 to Rs.2,00,000; upper limit of
20 per cent tax slab raised from Rs.8 lakh to Rs.10 lakh
- Interest
from savings bank accounts deductible upto Rs.10,000; deduction of upto
Rs.5,000 for preventive health check-up
- Senior
citizens without business income exempt from advance tax
- Investment
linked deduction of capital expenditure enhanced for certain businesses;
new sectors eligible for investment linked deduction
- Turnover
limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs.60 lakh to Rs.1
crore
- STT on
cash delivery reduced by 25 per cent to 0.1%
- General
Anti Avoidance Rule being introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance
- A
number of measures proposed to deter generation and use of unaccounted
money
- All
services to attract service tax except those in the negative list
- Central
Excise and Service Tax being harmonized
- Standard
rate of excise duty raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; service tax
rates raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; no change in peak customs
duty of 10 per cent on non-agricultural goods
- Relief
in indirect taxes to sectors under stress; agriculture, infrastructure,
mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and
nutrition, and environment get duty relief
- Certain
cigarettes and bidis attract higher excise duty; large cars attract higher
customs duty
- Excise
imposed on unbranded jewellery also; measures to minimize impact on small
artisans and goldsmiths; branded silver jewellery exempted from excise
duty
- Net
gain of Rs.41,440 crore due to taxation proposals
- Total
expenditure budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore; plan expenditure at Rs.
5,21,025 crore – 18 per cent higher than 2011-12 budget; non plan
expenditure at Rs. 9,69,900 crore
- Fiscal
deficit targeted at 5.1 per cent of GDP, as against 5.9 per cent in
revised estimates for 2011-12
- Central
Government debt at 45.5 per cent of GDP as compared to Thirteenth Finance
Commission target of 50.5 per cent
- Medium-term
Expenditure Framework Statement to be introduced; will set forth 3-year
rolling target for expenditure indicators
The Union Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee is presenting his Union Budget 2012-13 in Parliament. Here are the
brief Highlights of UNION BUDGET 2012-2013.
- Focus to tackle malnutrition in 200 high risk
districts with coordinated efforts on delivery systemsHeadline inflation remained high.
- Only in December 2011 it has moderated Expect
headline inflation to moderate in a few months
- India has achieved diversification of import
and export market
- Agriculture supply constraints partly fuelling
inflation
- GDP is likely to be 3.6 per cent
- We have to accelerate pace of reforms and
improve supply-side management of the economy: FM
- Development in external trade encouraging –
exports grew by 23%, imports grew by 29% Domestic demand driven growth to
be the focus: Pranab
- 7.6 per cent India GDP growth in 2012-13 is
expected
- Economy is now turning around, manufacturing
appears to be on revival, says FM
- Agriculture and serivces continued to perform
well; economy is now turning around; recovery in core sectors Direct
fertiliser subsidy to benefit 9 crore farmers
- From 2012-13 subsidy for food security will be
fully provided for
- Better tracking on utilisation of Central
funds needed
- Use of PAN for payment of direct and indirect
tax have been accepted
- Restrict expenditure on subsidies to 2 per
cent to improve quality of public spending
- Pilot projects for direct transfers of subsidy
are on and Aadhar-enabled payments in 50 selected districts within 6
months
- Better, leakage-proof delivery of subsidies to
be implemented
- Expect average inflation to be lower next
year; expect current account deficit to be lower next yea: FM
- Ahead of the Budget presentation, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Cabinet colleagues had cleared the
proposals in a short meeting inside Parliament House.
- Pilot project for direct transfer of
subsidiary for kerosene has been initiated in Alwar, Rajasthan
- New IT relief for retail investors upto
investment of Rs. 50,000
- Retail investors should invest directly in
equity
- Opening the bond market for direct foreign
investors
- Government to raise Rs 30,000 crore in 2012-13
from disinvestment of stake in PSUs
- Direct Tax Code (DTC) Bill to be enacted at
the earliest, says FM.
- Comment From vamshikrishna Tax exception under
Section 80G should be increase at least 1 lac more. around 2lac is
reasonable for middle income people
- Microfinance Bill 2012 and many other Bill are
proposed to be introduced during the Budget session
- Efforts to arrive at broadbased consensus with
state governments on allowing FDI in multibrand retail up to 51 per cent
- India Micro Finance regulation Bill in Budget
Session
- Current account deficit 3.6% in 2011-12; this put pressure on exchange rate
- Bottlenecks in infrastructure, Simplifying
policies for IPO and Address problem in black money: Pranab
- IPO equity offer above Rs 10 crore will have
to be made electronically in capital market reforms
- Rs 15,888 cr to be provided for capitalisation
of public sector and regional rural banks and NABARD
Indian
economy is estimated to grow by 6.9% in 2011-12 mainly due to weakening
industrial growth. This indicates a slowdown compared not just to the previous
two years, when the economy grew by 8.4%, but also from 2003 to 2011, except
2008-9 economic downturn, when the growth rate was 6.7 percent. The Economic
Survey 2011-12, presented by the Finance Minister, Sh Pranab Mukherjee in the
Lok Sabha, however predicts 7.6% GDP growth in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14.
With agriculture and services continuing to perform well, the slowdown can be
attributed almost entirely to weakening industrial growth.
The
services sector continues to be a star performer as its share in GDP has
climbed from 58% in 2010-11 to 59% in 2011-12 with a growth rate of 9.4%.
Similarly, agriculture and allied sectors are estimated to achieve a growth
rate of 2.5% in 2011-12 with foodgrains production likely to cross 250.42
million tonnes owing to increase in the production of rice in some States.
The
industrial sector has performed poorly, retreating to a 27% share of the GDP.
Overall growth during April-December 2011 reached 3.6% compared to 8.3% in the
corresponding period of the previous year.
Here
are the highlights of Economic Survey 2011-12 :
- Rate of
growth estimated to be 6.9%. Outlook for growth and stability is promising
with real GDP growth expected to pick up to 7.6% in 2012-13 and 8.6% in
2013-14.
- Agriculture
and Services sectors continue to perform well. 2.5 % growth in Agro sector
forecast. Services sector grows by 9.4 %, its share in GDP goes up to 59%.
- Industrial
growth pegged at 4-5 percent, expected to improve as economic recovery
resumes.
- Inflation
on WPI was high but showed clear slow down by the year-end; this is likely
to spur investment activities leading to positive impact on growth.
- WPI food inflation dropped from 20.2% in February 2010 to 1.6% in January 2012;
calibrated steps initiated to rein-in inflation on top priority.
- India
remains among the fastest growing economies of the world. Country’s
sovereign credit rating rose by a substantial 2.98 percent in 2007-12.
- Fiscal
consolidation on track - savings & capital formation expected to rise.
- Exports
grew @ 40.5% in the first half of this fiscal and imports grew by 30.4%.
Foreign trade performance to remain a key driver of growth. Forex reserves
enhanced - covering nearly the entire external debt stock. Central
spending on social services goes up to 18.5% this fiscal from 13.4% in
2006-07.
- MNREGA
coverage increases to 5.49 crore households in 2010-11.
- Sustainable
development and climate change concerns on high priority.
The
Reserve Bank reduced the CRR by 75 basis points from 5.5 per cent to 4.75 per
cent effective March 10, 2012. This measure was necessitated ahead of this
scheduled Mid-Quarter Review to address the persistent structural liquidity deficit
beyond the Reserve Bank’s comfort level, which would have further worsened
during the week of March 12-16 due to advance tax outflows.
Monetary
and Liquidity Measures
On
the basis of the current macroeconomic assessment, it has been decided to:
1.
keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.75 per
cent of their net demand and time liabilities;
2.
and keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF)
unchanged at 8.5 per cent.
Consequently,
the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 7.5 per cent, and
the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 9.5 per cent.
Global
Economy
Since
the Reserve Bank’s Third Quarter Review (TQR) of January 24, 2012, there has
been modest improvement in the global macroeconomic situation. The recent
macroeconomic data for the US economy show some positive signs. In particular,
labour market conditions have improved. However, the US Fed expects that
economic conditions warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate
at least through late 2014.
The
immediate financial market pressures in the euro area have been alleviated to some
extent by the European
Central Bank (ECB) injecting liquidity of more than one
trillion euro through the two long-term refinancing operations. Growth in the
euro area, however, turned negative in Q4. The emerging and developing
economies (EDEs) are showing signs of growth slowdown. As a result, the global
growth for 2012 and 2013 is expected to be lower than earlier anticipated.
Inflation
pressures in both advanced economies and EDEs moderated towards the end of 2011
on account of subdued domestic demand and correction in non-fuel commodity
prices. Global crude prices, however, have spiked suddenly reflecting both
geo-political concerns and abundant global liquidity, accentuating the risks to
growth and inflation.
GDP
Growth:
GDP growth [year-on-year (y-o-y)] decelerated to 6.1 per cent
in Q3 of 2011-12 from 6.9 per cent in Q2 mainly reflecting a slowdown in
industrial activity. On the expenditure side, the growth moderation was mainly
due to a deceleration in investment activity and weak external demand. The
Central Statistics Office (CSO) has estimated the full year growth for 2011-12
at 6.9 per cent, which is in line with the Reserve Bank’s projection.
Growth
in industrial production, as reflected in the index of industrial production
(IIP), moderated to 4.0 per cent during 2011-12 (April-January) from 8.3 per
cent in the corresponding period a year ago. While growth in the capital goods
and intermediate goods sectors was negative, growth in the basic goods and
consumer goods sectors decelerated marginally. Given the significant volatility
in IIP numbers, the Reserve Bank also uses several other indicators to assess
the overall industrial activity. The Manufacturing PMI for February suggested
that industrial activity remained in an expansionary mode. While corporate
sales growth in Q3 of 2011-12 was robust, margins moderated, reflecting
increasing difficulty in passing on rising input prices.
Inflation
After
remaining above 9 per cent during April-November 2011, y-o-y headline wholesale
price index (WPI) inflation rate moderated to 7.7 per cent in December and
further to 6.6 per cent in January 2012, before rising to 7.0 per cent in
February. While moderation in WPI inflation stemmed mainly from primary food
articles, fuel and manufactured products groups also contributed.
Primary
food articles inflation, which was modest at 0.8 per cent in December, turned
negative (-0.5 per cent) in January 2012, before rising to 6.1 per cent in
February. Despite the sharp increase in global crude oil prices, fuel group
inflation moderated from 15.0 per cent in December to 12.8 per cent in
February, reflecting the absence of commensurate pass-through to domestic consumers.
Non-food
manufactured products inflation moderated from 7.9 per cent in December to 5.8
per cent in February 2012, reflecting both a slowdown in domestic demand
following the monetary tightening and moderation in global non-oil commodity
prices. The momentum indicator of non-food manufactured products inflation
(seasonally adjusted 3-month moving average inflation rate) also showed a
moderating trend.
Notably,
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
inflation (as measured by the new series, base year 2010) for the month of
January 2012 was 7.7 per cent suggesting that price pressures persist at the
retail level.
Fiscal
Situation:
The
Centre’s fiscal conditions deteriorated during 2011-12 (April-January) with key
deficit indicators already crossing the budget estimates for the full year.
Apart from sluggishness in tax revenues, Government’s non-plan expenditure,
particularly subsidies, increased sharply. As indicated in the TQR, the
slippage in the fiscal deficit has been adding to inflationary pressures.
Credible fiscal consolidation, therefore, will be an important factor in
shaping the inflation outlook.
Money,
Credit and Liquidity Conditions:
The
y-o-y money supply (M3) growth and non-food credit growth moderated, reflecting
the slowdown in the economy. Liquidity conditions have remained significantly
in deficit mode. In order to mitigate the liquidity tightness, the Reserve Bank
undertook steps to inject primary liquidity of a more durable nature through
open market operations (OMOs) aggregating `1,247 billion during November 2011-
March 9, 2012 and reduced the CRR by 125 basis points (50 basis points
effective January 28 and 75 basis points effective March 10), injecting primary
liquidity of about `800 billion. The liquidity situation has since improved and
it is expected to ease further in the weeks ahead.
External
sector:
While
merchandise exports growth decelerated, moderation in imports growth was less
pronounced leading to a widening of the trade deficit. After the TQR, the rupee
has moved in a range of `48.69 to `50.58 per USD. With sluggish demand
conditions in the advanced economies impeding exports growth and crude oil
prices rising sharply, the current account deficit (CAD) is likely to remain
high. The financing of the CAD will continue to pose a challenge so long as the
global situation remains uncertain.
Outlook:
While
the recovery in the US has been progressing, economic activity in the euro area
has contracted. Although abundant liquidity injection by the ECB has mitigated
the immediate pressures in financial markets, a credible solution to the
sovereign debt problem is yet to emerge. Sluggish global economic activity,
uncertainty in the euro area and rising crude oil prices will hamper growth
prospects of EDEs.
On
the domestic front, while most indicators suggest that the economy is slowing
down, the performance in Q4 of 2011-12 is expected to be better than that in
Q3. Inflation has broadly evolved along the projected trajectory so far.
However, upside risks to inflation have increased from the recent surge in crude
oil prices, fiscal slippage and rupee depreciation. Besides, there continues to
be significant suppressed inflation in fuel, fertilizer and power as
administered prices do not fully reflect the costs of production.
Guidance:
Recent
growth-inflation dynamics have prompted the Reserve Bank to indicate that no
further tightening is required and that future actions will be towards lowering
the rates. However, notwithstanding the deceleration in growth, inflation risks
remain, which will influence both the timing and magnitude of future rate
actions.
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The
Union Minister of Railways Shri Dinesh Trivedi in Parliament presented Railway
Budget 2012-13, on 14th March 2012, which seeks to raise investment in
modernization and upgradation of rail infrastructure. The budget gives very
high priority to rail safety and security while passenger fares have been increased
marginally. Mr. Trivedi proposed a Budget with highest ever plan outlay of Rs.
60,100 crore which provides Rs. 6,872 crore for new railway lines and
significant funds for passengers safety, security and amenities.
Important
Highlights of Railway Budget 2012-13:
- 137
Services New Sub-Urban Services to Come up in Mumbai, Chennai &
Kolkata
- 725 km
New Lines to be Introduced
- A Green
Train and 200 Green Energy Stations Proposed
- Special
Coaches for Differently- Abled Persons
- Emphasis
on Infrastructure Development – 5 Focus Areas Identified
- 19000
km Rail Tracks to BE Modernized
- Mission-mode
approach for rail modernisation
- Minor
increase in passanger fares
- A slew
of passenger amenities being introduced.
In
this Budget, the Railway Minister has focused on five important fields, which
are:
1.
Safety;
2.
Consolidation;
3.
Decongestion & Capacity
Augmentation;
4.
Modernization; and
5.
to bring down the Operating Ratio from
95% to 84.9% in 2012-13.
Full Highlights of Railway Budget 2012-13
TRAIN
FARES:
A
marginal increase in passenger fares is as follows: By 2 paise per km for
suburban and ordinary second class; 3 paise per km for mail/express second
class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC 3
tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2 tier and 30 paise per km for AC
I. The fares will be rounded off to the next nearest five rupees and the
minimum fares and platform tickets will cost Rs. 5.
TRAIN
SERVICES:
In
the Railway Budget, the Minister has proposed 75 new Express trains, 21 new
passenger services, 9 DEMU services and 8 MEMU services. Shri Trivedi also
announced the extension of the 39 trains; increase in the frequency of 23
trains; 75 additional services to run in Mumbai suburban; 44 new suburban
services to be introduced in Kolkata area; 50 new services to be introduced in
Kolkata Metro; and 18 additional services to be run in Chennai area.
CONCESSIONS:
The
Railway Budget for 2012-13 also provides for 50% concession in fare in AC-2,
AC-3, Chair Car & Sleeper classes to patients suffering from ‘Aplastic
Anaemia’ and ‘Sickle
Cell Anaemia’. It also provides for extending the
facility of travel by Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to Arjuna Awardees.
SCHEMES
& BUDGET SUPPORT:
The
travel distance under ‘Izzat Scheme’ has also been increasd from 100 kms to 150
kms. Proposing highest ever plan outlay for the Railway Budget, the Railway
Minister said that it will be financed through Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of
Rs 24,000 crore; Railway Safety Fund of Rs 2,000 crore; internal resources of
Rs 18,050 crore; and Extra Budgetary Resources of Rs 16,050 crore, which
includes market borrowing of Rs 15,000 crore through IRFC.
INFRASTRUCTURE
& DEVELOPMENT:
- The Railway Budget provides for 725 km new
lines; 700 km doubling; 800 km gauge conversion and 1,100 km electrification.
Rs 6,872 crore have been provided for new lines; Rs 3,393 crore for
doubling; Rs 1,950 crore for gauge conversation and Rs 828 crore have been
provided for electrification. The Railway Budget 2012-13 lays emphasis on
safety and security of the passengers.
- Shri Dinesh Trivedi said that drawing from the
recommendations of the Anil Kakodkar and Sam Pitroda Committees, he has
chosen five focus areas. These are: Track; Bridges; Signalling &
Telecommunication; Rolling Stock; and Stations & Freight Terminals. Under
this a Railway Safety Authority has been proposed as statutory regulatory
body; Missions will be created to implement the modernization programme;
and setting up of a Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority is to be
considered. Two new Board Members (Safety/Research and PPP/Marketing) are
to be inducted. Shri Trivedi also announced the setting up of a Rail-Road
Grade Separation Corporation to eliminate level crossings. Three ‘Safety
Villages’ will also be set up at Bengaluru, Kharagpur and Lucknow for skill
development for disaster management. The Railway Minister also announced
that an Indian Railway Station Development Corporation will be set up to
redevelop stations through PPP mode. He also announced that a Logistics
Corporation will be set up for development & management of existing
railway goods sheds and multi-modal logistics parks. A National High Speed
Rail Authority is also to be set-up.
- Highlighting the efforts being made to improve
the amenities and to provide better experience to the passengers at
stations the Railway Minister said that 929 stations will be upgraded as
Adarsh Stations including 84 stations proposed in 2012-13.
- Specially designed coaches for
differently-abled persons will be provided in each Mail/Express trains.
SERVICES
TO PASSENGERS:
- RPF helpline will be integrated with the All
India Passenger Helpline.
- SMS on passenger mobile phone in case of
e-ticket will be accepted as proof of valid reservation. Satellite based
real time train information system (SIMRAN) will be introduced to provide
train running information to passengers through SMS, internet, etc.
- On board passenger displays indicating next
halt station and expected arrival time will be introduced.
- 321 escalators will be installed at important
stations of which 50 will be commissioned in 2012-13.
- Regional cuisine will be introduced at
affordable rates. The Railway Minister also announced launching of
Book-a-meal scheme to provide multiple choice of meals through SMS or
email.
- Coin/currency operated ticket vending machines
will be introduced during 2012-13.
- Rail Bandhu on-board magazines will be
distributed on Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Duronto trains.
- The Railway Budget 2012-13 also proposes
setting up of AC Executive lounges at important stations. The Railway
Minister announced that pre-feasibility studies on six high speed
corridors have already been completed and study on
Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur will be taken up in 2012-13.
BENEFITS
TO EMPLOYEES:
Announcing
the measures for the welfare of railway employees, the Minister proposed a
wellness programme for railway staff at their work places; ensuring proper rest
for skilled and technical staff including the running crew; and institution of
‘Rail Khel Ratna’ Award for 10 rail sports-persons every year.
ENVIRONMENTAL
INITIATIVES:
Caring
for the environment, the Railway Minister announced the introduction of a
‘Green Train’ to run through the pristine forests of North Bengal; 200 remote
railway stations will be set up as ‘green energy stations’ powered entirely by
solar energy; solar lighting system will be provided at 1,000 manned level
crossing gates; 2,500 coaches will be equipped with bio toilets. Shri Dinesh
Trivedi also announced setting up of 72 MW capacity windmill plants in Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES :
The Minister said that during 2011-12
the railways recruited over 80,000 persons to fill up various vacancies; now he
proposes to recruit over one lakh persons during 2012-13 so that backlog of
SC/ST/OBC and other categories will be wiped off. The Minister announced that
freight loading during 2012-13 is expected to be 1,025 MT which will be 55 MT
more than 2011-12. The passenger growth during the year is pegged at 5.4%.
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