Infra sector gets Rs 396,135 crore development budgetary allocation

5 Dariya News

New Delhi , 01 Feb 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday proposed to allocate Rs 396,135 crore for infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2017-18."The total allocation for infrastructure development in 2017-18 stands at Rs 396,135 crore," Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.On a sector-specific basis, the transportation sector has been proposed to allocate Rs 241,387 crore."For transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping, I have provided Rs 241,387 crore in 2017-18," Jaitley said.According to the minister, the high magnitude of investment for the development of transport infra sector will spur a "huge amount" of economic activity across the country and create more job opportunities."Railways, roads and rivers are the lifeline of our country. I feel privileged to present the first combined budget of independent India that includes the Railways also," Jaitley said in his budget presentation speech. "We are now in a position to synergise the investments in railways, roads, waterways and civil aviation." About the major sub-segment of the transport sector, the minister elaborated that Indian railways development expenditure has been pegged at Rs 131,000 crore. This includes Rs 55,000 crore provided by the central government. "For passenger safety, a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be created with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years," the minister said.
"Besides seed capital from the government, the railways will arrange the balance resources from their own revenues and other sources. Government will lay down clear-cut guidelines and timeline for implementing various safety works to be funded from this Kosh."The minister told the house that a new 'Metro Rail Policy' will be announced soon with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing. "A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalising the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation," Jaitley elaborated.Apart from railways, Finance Minister Jaitley proposed to increase budgetary allocation to the road sector by 11.94 per cent. "In the road sector, I have stepped up the budget allocation for highways from Rs 57,976 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crores in 2017-18," Jaitley pointed out. "2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development. This will facilitate better connectivity with ports and remote villages."The minister disclosed that the total length of roads, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), built from 2014-15 till the current fiscal year is about 140,000 km "which is" significantly higher than the previous three years.
For the civil aviation sub-segment, select airports in Tier II cities will be taken up for operation and maintenance in the PPP (public private partnership) mode. "Airport Authority of India Act will be amended to enable effective monetisation of land assets. The resources, so raised, will be utilised for airport upgradation," Jaitley explained.The minister added that a specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi-modal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented."An effective multi modal logistics and transport sector will make our economy more competitive," Jaitley added.Referring to the telecom sector as an important component of "our infrastructure eco system", the minister told Parliament that under the BharatNet Project, optic fibre cable (OFC) has been laid in 155,000 km. "I have stepped up the allocation for BharatNet Project to Rs 10,000 crore in 2017-18," the minister informed.
"By the end of 2017-18, high speed broadband connectivity on optical fibre will be available in more than 150,000 gram panchayats, with Wi-Fi hot spots and access to digital services at low tariffs." "A DigiGaon initiative will be launched to provide tele-medicine, education and skills through digital technology."On the energy sector, the Union Budget proposes to set up 'Strategic Crude Oil Reserves'. "In the first phase, three such reserves facilities have been set up. Now in the second phase, it is proposed to set up caverns at two more locations, namely, Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan," the minister said. "This will take our strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 MMT (million metric tonne)."Besides, for the sub-segment of solar energy, the minister proposed to take up the second phase of 'Solar Park' development for an additional 20,000 MW capacity.In addition, the minister added that a new and restructured central scheme -- 'Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme' (TIES) -- will be launched in 2017-18.