Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the union budget for 2022-23 today at a time when India's economy is showing strong signs of recovery from the problems created by COVID-19 and the country has again emerged as among the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to make a big announcement for the railways. Mumbaikars and Maharashtra have high expectations from the railway budget. Until the year 2017, the railway budget was being presented separately. The railway budget was then merged into the central budget. In this year's budget, the railway budget is expected to increase by 20 per cent.
Announcement of new train
New railways and trains are likely to be announced in view of the upcoming elections in five states. High speed trains are also likely to be announced in the railway budget. Plans are being made to strengthen rail traffic in the states and major cities where elections are held. For this, the government can involve some private companies. A bullet train between New Delhi and Varanasi may also be announced. Semi high speed trains like 'Vande Bharat' may be announced on new routes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier announced that Vande Bharat would connect 75 cities. Another new bullet train may be announced
Infrastructure
Emphasis is being laid on the production of lightweight railway coaches. An aluminum train may be announced to increase the number of trains. Apart from that, there could be a big announcement in terms of emphasis on railway infrastructure.
Raise funds from railway land?
Indian Railways needs a lot of funds. Railways have a large amount of land. Discussions are underway to develop these lands. An announcement may also be made in the budget to raise funds from the land owned by the railways.
What will Mumbaikars get?
The eyes of the people of the state are on what new railway projects for Maharashtra will be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget. A demand of Rs 1,000 crore has been made to the Centre for railway infrastructure in Mumbai. If this demand of Mumbai Railway Development Corporation is met, the state government will get a share of Rs.1000 crore and a provision of Rs.2000 crore can be made. A one-way AC local ticket is likely to get cheaper in Mumbai.
Against the backdrop of increasing congestion, the number of locals in Mumbai is increasing. An announcement is likely to be made in connection with the expansion of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. Schemes like 3rd and 4th lanes between Kalyan-Badlapur, 4th lanes between Kalyan and Asangaon, 5th and 6th lanes between Borivali to Virar, extension of harbor train to Borivali, new corridor between Panvel-Karjat etc. are important for development of districts under Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority.