Railway officials to meet Finance Secretary on Budget

NEW DELHI: Ahead of General Budget, Railway Ministry officials will meet Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa tomorrow at North Block to kick off the budget-related exercise pertaining to the public transporter.

There will be discussion thread bare on the contour of the forthcoming budget containing rail-related proposals, since the Rail Budget will be part of the General Budget and there will be no separate one for railways, said a senior official of Railway Ministry.

Rolling out a major reform agenda, the Modi government has done away with the practice of presenting separate Rail Budget in Parliament and merged it with the General Budget.

However, Railways has been given functional autonomy to carry out daily activities.

Railways is likely to present the financial requirement for the next fiscal keeping the ongoing massive infrastructure development projects including rapid electrification and improvement in passenger amenities.

The quantum of gross budgetary support (GBS) required to meet the expenditures of certain key projects like laying new lines is also to be discussed, the official said.

Since the earnings from freight is falling and passengers' revenue is not increasing as projected, the GBS from the government is crucial for the Railways to implement ongoing projects.

Besides, the modalities of sharing the burden of Seventh Pay Commission on Railways are also expected to be discussed with Finance Ministry.