Speech of Sh. Pawan Kumar Bansal introducing the Railway Budget, 2013-14 26th February 2013
1. Madam Speaker, I rise to present before this august House the
Revised Estimates for 2012-13 and a statement of estimated receipts and
expenditure for 2013-14. I do so with mixed feelings crossing my mind.
While I have a feeling of a colossus today, it is only ephemeral and is
instantaneously overtaken by a sense of humility. Democracy gives
wings to the wingless, cautioning us all the while, that howsoever high
or wide our flight may be, we must remain connected to the ground.
For giving me this opportunity, I am grateful to the Hon’ble Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia
Gandhi and pay my homage to the sacred memory of Sh. Rajiv Gandhi
who introduced me to the portals of this highest Temple of Indian
democracy.
2. Madam Speaker, as I proceed, my thought goes to a particularly
severe cold spell during the recent winter, when it was snowing heavily
in Kashmir valley, and suspension of road and air services had brought
life to a grinding halt. Photographs in Newspapers showing a train
covered with snow emerging from a similar white background, carrying
passengers travelling over the recently commissioned Qazigund -
Baramulla section instilled in me a sense of immense pride.
I recall here the inspirational words of Christine Weatherly:
When you travel on the railway,
And the line goes up a hill,
Just listen to the engine
As it pulls you with a will.
Though it goes very slowly
It sings this little song
“I think I can, I think I can,”
And so it goes along. 2
3. That is the strength of this organization, supported by
determination, commitment and dedication to duty demonstrated by
each member of the 14 lakh strong Rail Parivar.
4. Indian Railways is a vital organisation, playing an unparalleled
role in integrating the nation. From Baramulla in the north to
Kanyakumari in the south, Dwarka in the West to Ledo in the East,
trains of Bhartiya Rail always on the move, carrying people and
material, creating opportunities and fostering development is a single
most important catalyst in the growth story of our great Nation. Madam,
I have hardly completed four months with Railways but it is a great
feeling indeed to find myself identifying with the stupendous task
assigned by the people of India to the railways.
5. In these few months, I have been overwhelmed by demands for
new projects, new trains, and varied suggestions for improving the
services, reflecting aspirations of the people of India. While Railways
undoubtedly contribute significantly to the growth, progress and
development of the country and is a powerful vehicle for mainstreaming
remotest corners of the nation, the growth of Railways itself is
inextricably linked with the overall growth of the country.
Dilemmas & Concerns
6. I wish to share with this august House some of the concerns that
Railways are faced with today.
7. IR must remain financially sustainable so that resources generated
can be ploughed back for efficient upkeep, operation and maintenance
of the system itself for the benefit of the rail users. Major segments of its
business, freight as well as passenger need, therefore, to be based on
sound economic principles and provide value for money to all
customers. This august House is aware that growth of this crucial
transport sector has not always conformed to these principles. Steep
increase in input costs had to be met primarily through adjustment in
freight rates. As a result, the ability of the railways to generate enough
resources to meet its operational expenditure as well as investment in 3
crucial planned activities such as enhancing safety, throughput capacity,
users’ amenities etc. suffered.
8. The number of passenger trains has increased from 8897 in 2001-02
to 12335 in 2011-12. Yet, the losses on these operations continue to
mount, increasing from Rs 4,955 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 22,500 crore in
2011-12 and is estimated to be Rs 24,600 crore in 2012-13. This has also
resulted in deterioration of services extended to our esteemed
passengers.
9. Mounting scarcity of resources continues to stare us in the face.
Thin spread of funds has only compounded the problem. In fact, I find
that many of the projects which would help railways in debottlenecking
and decongesting its over-saturated network are not getting funded in a
time bound manner. During the XI Plan, Railways could meet the target
of new lines and electrification but fell short of the targets for doubling
and gauge conversion, achieving only 2758 km and 5321 km
respectively. Considering the vastness of our country, and taking into
account large areas still aspiring for rail connectivity, the targets need to
be much higher and the rail network has to be expanded at a much
faster rate than has been possible till now.
10. Planning Commission has tentatively pegged the Railways’ 12th
Plan at Rs 5.19 lakh crore with a Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 1.94
lakh crore, internal resources of Rs 1.05 lakh crore, and market
borrowing of Rs 1.20 lakh crore, with another Rs 1 lakh crore expected to
be raised through public private partnership route. The internal resource
target, which is 1.6 times that of XI Plan, also appears a tall order as we
could allocate only Rs 10,000 crore in the first year of the 12th Plan. The
onerous task of raising the balance amount of Rs 95,000 crore in the next
four years calls for a paradigm shift in our approach to tariff and nontariff segments of earnings.
Safety & Security
11. The railway family is deeply grieved over the most unfortunate
and tragic incident which occurred at Allahabad station during the 4
ongoing holy Kumbh. I am particularly pained that such an incident
happened despite the most meticulous planning and efforts put in by
the railways to take care of the comforts, safety and other requirements
of the pilgrims. While monetary support provided to the victims’
families does not provide balm for the pain and misery caused, the
incident has shaken us and we would strive to build in a higher level of
contingency margin in our future planning.
12. Madam Speaker, rail passengers deserve safe and comfortable
travel. Safety is a necessary mandate for running trains. With the
untiring endeavour of the railway family to address human failure and
technical deficiencies, there has been a significant reduction in the
incidence of rail accidents. Even though the volume of passenger and
freight traffic increased manifold, the number of consequential train
accidents per million train kilometre has decreased from 0.41 in 2003-04
to 0.13 at the end of 2011-12. The target of bringing this figure to 0.17 by
2012-13, stipulated under the Corporate Safety Plan introduced since
2003 was surpassed in the year 2011-12 itself. We will strive to work
towards a zero accident situation.
13. The Committees headed by Dr. Anil Kakodkar and Sh. Sam
Pitroda have laid down a roadmap for improving safety and bringing
about modernisation of Railways. While some of the recommendations
of the two Committees have been taken up for implementation, the rest
are under active consideration of the Ministry.
14. A disquieting issue which weighs my mind down is accidents at
level crossings. 40% of consequential accidents and 60% of fatalities are
accounted for by level crossings. While railways regularly undertake
awareness drives, a permanent solution lies only in eliminating the
crossings. Railway Safety Fund set up to finance safety works at level
crossings has been very useful, but is proving to be inadequate.
Railways’ annual share from the Central Road Fund is only Rs 1,100
crore against a requirement of almost Rs 5,000 crore. Meeting estimated
requirement of nearly Rs 37,000 crore at present day cost for eliminating 5
31,846 LCs, out of which 13,530 are unmanned, would only be possible
with enhanced support from the Central Road Fund.
15. Some of the measures taken/proposed to be taken to strengthen
safe operation of trains are:-
i. elimination of 10,797 level crossings during the 12th Plan and
not adding any new LC to the IR system henceforth;
ii. continued thrust on improved Signalling for not only ensuring
much better safety for train operations but also enhancing the
track capacity;
iii. introduction of Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) on
automatic signalling systems;
iv. following successful completion of initial testing, the
indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System
(TCAS) is proposed to be put to rigorous trials to validate the
technology under complex operational conditions;
v. upgradation of track structure using 60 kg rails, 260 meter long
welded rail-panels and improved flash butt welding
technology;
vi. induction of Self Propelled Accident Relief Trains (SPART) with
speed potential of 160/200 kmph on trial basis with a view to
putting in place a fast and reliable disaster management system;
vii. progressive induction of crash-worthy LHB coaches having
anti-climb feature;
viii. 17 bridges on IR which have been identified as distressed have
been sanctioned for rehabilitation to be completed over next
one year.
16. Madam, accidents caused due to fire, even though very infrequent,
have been a major cause for concern. Some of the measures taken
include:-
i. provision of Comprehensive Fire and Smoke Detection System
on pilot basis; 6
ii. provision of portable fire extinguishers in Guard-cum-Brake
Vans, AC Coaches and Pantry Cars in all trains;
iii. enhanced use of fire retardant furnishing materials in coaches;
iv. social awareness campaigns for observance of safe practices.
17. With a view to provide long term perspective and focussed
attention for enhancing safety, I propose to initiate an exercise of making
Corporate Safety Plan for a ten year period (2014-24).
18. The Railway family is deeply grieved by some incidents of death
of elephants on railway tracks passing through forest areas. Several
measures have been initiated in consultation with Ministry of
Environment & Forests, which I am confident will substantially reduce
such accidents and safeguard the lives of these gentle giants.
19. To strengthen the security of rail passengers, especially women
passengers, Railways have already created four companies of women
RPF personnel and another eight would be set up. Recruitment to RPF
is being conducted with 10% vacancies reserved for women. The
presence of women RPF personnel will be further strengthened with the
field units.
20. Many trains are being escorted by Government Railway Police and
Railway Protection Force in sensitive sections. Further, the Ladies
Special local trains in Metropolitan Cities are being escorted by lady RPF
Staff. Security helpline numbers have been made available on several
zonal railways to facilitate passengers in reporting any untoward
incidence for immediate intervention.
Passenger Amenities
21. The widespread disappointment of the travelling public with the
state of cleanliness and hygiene at stations and trains, bedrolls and
catering has often been highlighted in this august House. As a frequent
rail-traveller, I have experienced this personally. Resource constraint
cannot be a reason for sub-standard services and efforts need to be
directed for providing reasonable quality of facilities to rail-users. I am 7
committed to bring about a marked change in the level of passenger
amenities. It is my firm belief that Railways’ efforts towards introducing
new trains, or extending the run or frequency of existing trains should
not be at the cost of amenities for passengers and safety. Some of the
measures taken/proposed to be taken for improving passengers’ travel
experience are as follows :-
i. Identification of 104 stations, serving a population of more than
one million or those serving places of religious/tourist
importance for immediate attention to all aspects related to
cleanliness;
ii. progressive extension of bio-toilets on trains;
iii. provision of concrete aprons on platforms with mechanised
cleaning facilities. 200 stations have already been covered;
iv. extension of On Board Housekeeping Scheme (OBHS) and
Clean Trains Stations (CTSs) to more stations and trains;
v. extension of Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS), Automatic
Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs), Coin-operated Ticket
Vending Machines (CO-TVMs) and scheme of Jan-Sadharan
Ticket Booking Sevaks (JTBSs);
vi. setting up of six more Rail Neer bottling plants at Vijayawada,
Nagpur, Lalitpur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad;
vii. launching of a pilot project on select trains to facilitate
passengers to contact on-board staff through SMS/phone
call/e-mail for prompt response for coach cleanliness and also
to provide real time feedback;
viii. setting up of 8-10 more mechanized laundries for quality
washing of linen;
ix. provision of announcement facility and electronic display
boards in trains for disseminating information to on-board
passengers about approaching stations, train running, arrival
platform, etc.;
x. providing free Wi-Fi facility on several trains to cater to the
increasing aspirations and requirement of our youth and other
valued customers;
xi. upgrading another 60 stations as Adarsh Stations in addition to
980 already selected; 8
xii. associate voluntary organisations for providing first aid
services etc. at railway stations.
NCR Stations
22. I recognize need for special attention to stations in National
Capital Region. Development of directional terminals began some years
back with opening of Anand Vihar station. Studies for terminal at
Bijwasan will be taken up during the year. Further, to augment
infrastructure and revamp the facilities at Delhi, New Delhi and Hazrat
Nizamuddin, works costing Rs 100 crore have been taken up.
‘Anubhuti’
23. With increasing popularity of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains, there
is also a demand for higher travel comfort. Responding to this need, to
begin with, IR will introduce one such coach in select trains which will
provide an excellent ambience and latest modern facilities and services.
Such coaches will be named ‘Anubhuti’ with commensurate fare
structure.
Amenities for Differently-abled Passengers
24. Madam Speaker, India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the
rights of the disabled. We are conscious of our responsibility under the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To facilitate the boarding of
trains and exit from the stations for the differently-abled and the elderly,
the steps proposed include provision of 179 escalators and 400 lifts at A-
1 and other major stations, affixing Braille stickers indicating the layout
of coaches including toilets, provision of wheel chairs and battery
operated vehicles at more stations and making coaches wheel-chair
friendly.
25. In order to provide an employment avenue to the disabled people,
I propose to reserve a specified number of JTBS for them, keeping in
view the fact that the PCOs at stations have become largely redundant
after the mobile revolution in India. 9
IT Initiatives for passenger benefits
26. To harness technology in myriad forms for bringing about
improvement in the lives of our people was the visionary plan of Sh.
Rajiv Gandhi. He was the trailblazer of the IT revolution in the country.
It has helped IR and crores of passengers in many ways. Today, I look
forward expectantly to the use of Aadhar scheme by IR. The database
generated, can be extensively and efficiently used by railways not only
to render more user friendly services such as booking of tickets,
validation of genuine passengers with GPS enabled handheld gadgets in
trains, but also to provide a better interface with its employees in regard
to their salaries, pension, allowances etc. I have had some discussion on
potential applications of Aadhar with Shri Nandan Nilekani. I plan to
roll out a more efficient and people sensitive Railway Services system.
Some of the measures initiated or afoot are:-
i. extending availability of the facility of internet ticketing from
0030 hours to 2330 hours;
ii. making e-ticketing possible through mobile phones;
iii. as a follow up to overwhelming response to IR website and
Integrated Train Enquiry Service under “139”, a project of SMS
Alerts to passengers providing updates on reservation status is
being rolled out shortly;
iv. covering larger number of trains under Real Time Information
System (RTIS), whereby rail-users will be able to access
information through nominated websites and mobile phones.
Ticket Reservation
27. I often get to hear that congestion at the IRCTC website causes
inordinate delay in accessing the system for e-ticketing. By the end of
this calendar year, we will put in place a Next Generation e-ticketing
system which will bring about a paradigm shift in internet rail ticketing
by significantly improving the end user experience in respect of ease of
use, response time as well as capacity. The system shall be able to
support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute today.
It will support 1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time against
the present capacity of 40,000 users with capability to easily scale up as 10
demand increases in future. The system will make use of advanced
fraud control and security management tools thereby further improving
fairness and transparency in disbursal of tickets.
28. Some measures taken to curb malpractices in reserved tickets
including Tatkal are:-
i. mandatory carrying of ID cards by passengers with reserved
tickets;
ii. rigorous drive leading to prosecution of more than 1800 touts in
the current year;
iii. in case of tatkal, reduction of advance reservation period to one
day, issue of tickets only on production of ID proof at PRS
counters, issue of only one tatkal ticket per train per day to web
service agents;
iv. denial of access to agents to internet booking between 0800 to 1000
hrs.
Catering
29. Madam Speaker, I believe rail travel must be inextricably linked
with good quality, hygienic and affordable food, catering to all classes of
passengers. For effective quality control, arrangements are being tied up
with food testing laboratories in addition to third party audit. State-ofthe-art base kitchens are proposed to be set up in railway premises for
better monitoring of quality of meals. ISO certification will now be
insisted upon for all base-kitchens.
30. A Centralised Catering Services Monitoring Cell with a Toll free
number – 1800 111 321 has started functioning w.e.f. 18th January, 2013
to facilitate redressal of complaints/suggestions on realtime basis.
Rail Tourism
31. Railways form a popular mode of travel, both for domestic and
foreign tourists. To make the experience of tourists more pleasant, the
following steps are envisaged:- 11
i. following popularity of Executive Lounge at New Delhi, setting
up of such facility at seven more stations namely, Bilaspur,
Visakhapatnam, Patna, Nagpur, Agra, Jaipur and Bengaluru;
ii. launching a multi-modal travel package with cooperation of
State Government of Jammu & Kashmir enabling passengers to
travel from Jammu through Udhampur, Qazigund to Srinagar and
Baramulla on a common rail-bus ticket;
iii. with the commissioning of railway line up to Katra very soon,
feasibility of issuing ‘yatra parchis’ to pilgrims travelling by rail at
the time of booking of the railway ticket is being explored in
coordination with Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
32. The role of Indian Railways in unification of the country during
the freedom struggle is historical. I propose to run an educational
tourist train called ‘Azadi Express’ to enable our youth to travel to
important places connected with the freedom movement. The train will
be made attractive and affordable through concessional fares.
Freight
33. Freight traffic has been the mainstay of internal resource
generation on the Indian Railways. I am happy to inform this august
House that this year the Indian Railways is set to achieve the milestone
of entering the one Billion Tonne Select Club, joining Chinese, Russian
and US Railways. This year the originating freight loading is estimated
to be 1007 MT, about 38 MT over 2011-12.
34. The initiatives taken to become a major heavy-haul carrier include
running of long-haul trains which has enabled us to join another select
club of Railways, which run freight trains of more than 10,000 tonnes
load. As a part of this initiative, 49 long loops, that could hold 1.5 km
long trains, have been sanctioned this year, besides large scale induction
of Distributed Power Systems to mitigate capacity constraints and
improve wagon utilisation. 12
Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC)
35. Land acquisition for nearly 2,800 km of the eastern and western
freight corridors is almost complete. The first major civil construction
contract on the 343 km Kanpur-Khurja section of the eastern corridor has
already been awarded and by the end of 2013-14, construction contract
to cover up to 1,500 km on the two corridors would be awarded and the
work started. Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Studies (PETS) have
been taken up on four future Dedicated Freight Corridors.
Projects of national importance
36. Madam Speaker, security of the nation is paramount, and our
brave soldiers make immense sacrifices to safeguard our frontiers.
Providing need based rail connectivity to border areas is uppermost on
Railways’ agenda. The national project of Udhampur-SrinagarBaramulla and other projects of strategic importance will be taken up on
top priority. For the first time the State of Arunachal has been brought
into the rail network and we shall commission the Harmuti-Naharlagun
line this year. Also I am happy to inform that works on the new line
railway project to connect state of Manipur are in full swing. We are also
fast tracking the gauge conversion works on Lumding-Silchar and
Rangia-Murkongselek. I am fully conscious of the difficult task of the
Finance Minister but hope that he will find ways to provide necessary
funds for important rail connectivity projects.
37. In view of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committees
and demands from various Border States, I will pursue for approval of
certain projects identified as being of national importance viz. BilaspurManali-Leh, Jammu-Poonch via Aknoor, Tanakpur-Bageshwar and
Parsuramkund-Rupai. I also propose to take up a new line between
Firozpur and Patti for providing direct rail link between border areas of
Firozpur and Amritsar/Atari.
Public Private Partnerships
38. An ambitious target of Rs one lakh crore has been set to attract
investments through PPP route during the 12th Plan. This is a
challenging area for IR considering the capital intensive, long gestation 13
nature of rail infrastructure projects and limited success achieved so far.
Elevated Rail Corridor in Mumbai, parts of the DFC, redevelopment of
stations, power generation/energy saving projects, freight terminals are
areas proposed for private investment during the 12th Plan period.
Cooperation of state governments is also being sought to provide
momentum to these initiatives.
39. A target of Rs 1,000 crore each is proposed to be fixed for Rail
Land Development Authority and IR Station Development Corporation
in 2013-14.
40. The recently revamped participative policy enabling partnership
with ports, large mines, industry and investors addresses the specific
concerns of private investors. The models seek to create a win-win
situation by ensuring payback of investment mainly through freight
apportionment. An investment of up to Rs 9,000 crore is expected under
these projects including Rs 3,800 crore for port connectivity projects, Rs
4,000 crore for coal mine connectivity and Rs 800 crore for iron ore mines
connectivity improvements.
FOBs Across Stations
41. Some of the Hon’ble Members have requested for construction of
foot-over bridges across stations. While this does not form part of the
existing scheme of things, I assure the august House that Railways
would be happy to become partners in such projects with the state
governments. Accordingly, a scheme for funding construction of FOBs
across stations is being firmed up.
Rail-Based Industries
42. To meet the increasing demand, reduce dependence on imports
and to generate employment opportunities, following new
manufacturing/maintenance facilities are proposed to be set up:-
i. a new Forged Wheel Factory at Rae Bareli for which an MoU has
been signed with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL);
ii. a Greenfield Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU)
manufacturing facility at Bhilwara, Rajasthan in collaboration 14
with state government and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
(BHEL);
iii. a coach manufacturing unit in Sonepat district, Haryana in
collaboration with the state government;
iv. midlife rehabilitation (MLR) Workshop at Kurnool, Andhra
Pradesh in collaboration with the state government;
v. conversion of Bikaner and Pratapgarh workshops to undertake
POH of BG wagons;
vi. a workshop for repair and rehabilitation of motorised bogies at
Misrod, Madhya Pradesh;
vii. a new wagon maintenance workshop in Kalahandi district,
Odisha;
viii. a modern signalling equipment facility at Chandigarh through
PPP route.
43. As regards setting up of new coach factories at Palakkad and
Kolar, and a wagon factory in Ganjam district of Odisha, we are in
consultation with respective state governments. I am hopeful of early
commencement of work.
Railways’ PSUs & Production Units
44. Madam, I take pride in informing the House that all the 11 Public
Sector Undertakings of the Railways performed very well and paid
highest ever dividend. They were successful in securing several
important contracts in other countries for constructions/rehabilitation of
railway lines and supply of rolling stock, a testimony of their
professional strength. The dividend paid in 2011-12 was 14.3% higher
than in the previous fiscal.
45. Madam, Railways’ Production Units have contributed immensely
to the growth of the organization by ensuring regular supply of rolling
stock using improved technology. All of them achieved the production
targets in 2011-12.
Scrap Disposal
46. Railways have been annually disposing of scrap which not only
generates revenue but also helps in de-cluttering the work space. I 15
intend to institute a special drive during the year to take up disposal of
scrap lying in stores depots, workshops, along the tracks and at
construction sites. A target of Rs 4,500 crore has been set for 2013-14.
Green Energy Initiatives
47. Railways remain firmly committed to protecting the environment
and promoting sustainable development and use of energy efficient
technologies. Some of the new steps that have been taken or are
proposed to be taken include:-
i. setting up of Railway Energy Management Company (REMC) to
harness potential of solar and wind energy;
ii. setting up of 75 MW windmill plants and energizing 1000 level
crossings with solar power;
iii. deployment of new generation energy efficient electric
locomotives and electrical multiple units (EMUs) saving about 60
crore units in 2011-12. Railways has also won the National
Energy Conservation Award;
iv. encourage more usage of agro-based and recycled paper and ban
use of plastic in catering.
Staff
48. The tradition of healthy and harmonious industrial relation across
length and breadth of Indian Railways was ensured during the year by
active participation of labour unions and officers’ associations in
decision making process at all levels of the management. This strong
tradition continues to nurture the vast organization and help in
discharging its national duty.
49. Madam, our 14 lakh employees constitute our most valuable asset.
I feel extremely humbled as head of this mammoth organization which
has given so much to the nation and touches the life of each one of us.
Some of the measures I propose to take for their welfare are:--
i. concerted efforts to fill up approximately 1.52 lakh vacancies this
year. It is a measure of popularity of railways as an employer that 16
a staggering 2.2 crore applications were received. For the first time,
Railway recruitment examinations were held at more than 60 cities
across the country. In the process, a backlog of about 47,000
vacancies earmarked for weaker sections and physically
challenged is likely to get cleared.
ii. construction of staff quarters has been hampered by funding
constraints. Encouraged by the success of Ministry of Urban
Development in constructing quarters through PPP mode, I
propose to adopt the same in the railways. Yet, I have enhanced
the fund allocation under staff quarters by 50% over previous year
to provide Rs 300 crore;
iii.provision of hostel facilities for single women railway employees
at all Divisional headquarters;
iv. extending the treatment facility in case of medical emergency to
RELHS beneficiaries to all cities where hospitals are empanelled
either with CGHS or with Railways;
v. condition of barracks would be improved to provide better living
conditions to personnel of RPF;
vi.Considering the stress faced by loco-pilots particularly in harsh
climatic conditions, it is proposed to provide water closets and air
condition the locomotive cabs.
Skill Development
50. With a view to contributing to the national skill development
programme of the Government, Ministry of Railways would impart
skills to the youth in railway related trades in 25 locations spread across
the length and breadth of the country. These locations are: Agartala,
Alwar, Ankleshwar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Dimapur, Imphal,
Jagdalpur, Jais, Katihar, Kazipet, Kollam, Koraput, Lumding,
Mangalore, Murshidabad, Nagpur, Naharlagun, Pathankot, Ranchi,
Ratlam, Shimla, Sirsa, Srinagar and Tiruchchirappalli. 17
51. I propose to set up a multi-disciplinary training institute at
Nagpur for imparting training in rail related electronics technologies.
52. Madam Speaker, Kautilya counselled, “All undertakings depend
upon finance. Hence foremost attention shall be paid to the treasury”.
The officers of Indian Railways responsible for professional
management of finances and accounts have to be endowed with
structured and professional training in contemporary areas and
equipped with necessary skills on a regular basis. This will enable them
to face emerging challenges and tap opportunities for strengthening the
finances of the organization. With this in view, I am happy to announce
the setting up of an exclusive Centralized Training Institute at
Secunderabad – Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management
(IRIFM).
53. Railways is a fascinating organization. In order to motivate
students to study and undertake research on IR related issues at M.Phil
& Ph.D levels, I propose to institute 5 fellowships in national
universities. The fellowship will carry an appropriate stipend. I also
propose to set up a Chair at TERI to promote railway related research to
reduce our carbon footprint
Sports
54. Madam, Railways continued to excel in sports. In the London
Summer Olympics in 2012, Sushil Kumar won second consecutive medal
in Olympics. In the current year, Railways teams have already won 9
National Championships and the Railway Sports Promotion Board has
rightfully been awarded the ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar – 2012’.
55. It has been decided that recipients of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award and Dhyan Chand Award shall be provided facility of
Complimentary Card passes valid for travel by 1st Class/2nd AC. Also,
Complimentary Card passes being issued to Olympic Medalists &
Dronacharya Awardees shall be valid for travel in Rajdhani/Shatabdi
trains, as in the case of Arjuna Awardees. Travel by Duronto trains shall 18
also be permitted on all Card passes issued to sportspersons who have
the facility of travel by Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains.
Saluting the Brave
56. Our brave and valiant soldiers make immense sacrifices to defend
our borders. As a humble token of IR’s gratitude, I have decided to
extend the facility of Complimentary Card Pass valid in 1st Class/2AC to
the parents of posthumous unmarried awardees of Maha Vir Chakra,
Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, President’s Police Medal for
Gallantry and Police Medal for Gallantry.
57. I also wish to announce that police gallantry awardees shall now
be granted one Complimentary Pass every year for travel along with one
companion in 2 AC in Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains.
58. Presently freedom fighters are required to renew their passes
every year. This causes inconvenience to many of them in an advanced
age. I have, therefore, decided to raise this requirement of renewal to
three years.
Rail Heritage
59. Mountain Railways of India are the World Heritage Sites placing
India in an exclusive club of nations that include only Switzerland and
Austria. We are truly proud of this and are committed to take measures
to preserve them in good shape and health.
60. National Rail Museum, New Delhi is a premier institution holding
a large number of priceless rail exhibits. It showcases Indian Railways’
history and its evolution. The Museum has come to acquire a prominent
place on the Delhi tourist map. To provide a memorable experience to
the visitors especially the children, a revamp plan will be rolled out in
2013