Economic Survey 2023: Corona epidemic still affecting Indian Railways passenger segment, growth in freight
[ad_1]
Economic Survey 2023: It has been said in the Economic Survey that despite the difficult situation of the Corona epidemic, Indian Railways has maintained an edge in the freight segment. Whereas, the passenger segment is still struggling to recover from the havoc of the pandemic.
Railways earned 976.8 million tonnes of freight revenue
During the financial year 2022-23 (up to November 2022), Indian Railways earned 976.8 million tonnes of freight as compared to FY 901.7 million tonnes. However, KRCL has not been included in this.
2.5 Lakh Crore to be spent on railway infrastructure development in FY 2023
At the same time, 2.5 lakh crore was spent in the financial year 2023 on the development of railway infrastructure. Which is 29 percent more than last year. Along with the basic development of Indian Railways, Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project, Dedicated Freight Corridor Project, Gati Shakti Multi Modal Cargo Terminal, Vande Bharat trains have been included. Apart from this, development of electrical / electronic interlocking system, hyperloop technology and introduction of Kisan Rail trains are also included.
Indian Railways is struggling to reach the target
Explain that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2023 in Parliament on January 31, which reviews how the economy performed in this financial year and what will be the way forward for the next year. It was reported that Indian Railways carried more than 4.184 billion passengers during April-November 2022-23, which is much higher than 3.519 billion passengers in 2021-22. But, according to the Economic Survey, it is less than the 8.086 billion passengers in 2019-20. Whereas, the increase compared to the previous financial year (2021-22) is surprising, which was mainly due to a statistical base effect, as India was plagued by multiple wave of Covid-19. However, Indian Railways is struggling to reach the target.
Railways operated 2,359 Kisan Rail services till October 31
The Kisan Rail service, launched on August 7, 2020, transports perishable products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fisheries and dairy products from production or surplus to places of consumption or shortage. The survey said that since its launch till October 31, 2022, Indian Railways operated 2,359 Kisan Rail services, carrying around 7.91 lakh tonnes of perishable goods including fruits and vegetables. This includes transport subsidy of Rs 115 crore till December 15, 2021, against the transportation of about 5.68 lakh tonnes of fruits and vegetables. By mid-January 2022, Indian Railways had operated 1,900 Kisan Rail services, carrying around 6.23 lakh tonnes of perishable goods, including fruits and vegetables.
Increasing investment in railways
Economic Survey states that the central government has spent Rs 1.15 lakh crore as capital expenditure for Indian Railways in April-November 2022, which shows an increase of 76.65 percent in capital expenditure compared to the same period last year . During the current financial year (till 12 December 2022), the national carrier has already completed 2022 track kilometer (TKM), which includes 109 TKM of new line, 102 TKM of gauge conversion and 1811 TKM of multi-tracking projects. The survey states that in 2021-22, 2022 TKM was completed in the first week of March itself.
[ad_2]
Source link
