Budget 2023 like a growth engine for country, Rs 2.41 lakh cr allocated for Railways will fulfil passengers' aspirations: Ashwini Vaishnaw

New Delhi [India], February 1: The Union budget is a "growth engine" for the country, said Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw here on Wednesday.
Speaking to ANI, Vaishnaw said that this budget will be like a growth engine for the country. "The FM has allocated Rs 2.41 lakh crore for Railways which will be a big change for the sector as it will fulfil the aspirations of every passenger," he said.
Highlighting the developments in the sector, the minister said that the Railway is growing every year. Under the 'Amrit Bharat Station' scheme, 1275 stations are being re-developed, whereas, the production of Vande Bharat trains will be revamped.
"Before 2014 only 3 km of track were laid every day, it increased to 12 km of track every day in the current year, and the target for next year is 16 km of track every day," he added.
Speaking about expanding the facility of Vande Bharat in the country he said, "Now apart from ICF Chennai, Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in Haryana's Sonipat and Maharashtra's Latur and it will fulfil PM Modi's dream of connecting every corner with Vande Bharat trains."
He further marked that the Vande Bharat trains will also be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareilly as the sector is doing good progress on the 'Bullet Train'.
In Maharashtra, earlier CM Uddhav Thackeray didn't give permission but now all the permissions are there and soon the development in Vande Bharat trains will start in Maharastra also, he added.
Speaking over the introduction of hydrogen trains in the country, the minister said, "As the budget focuses on green growth, Railway will also contribute with the hydrogen train which will come by December 2023 and will be designed and manufactured in India. First, it will run on heritage circuits like Kalka-Shimla and later it will be expanded to other places," he marked.
Vaishnaw said that PM Modi's vision to show cultural heritage through trains would also be updated by adding new circuits like the Gurukripa circuit to the list.
Speaking about the employment generations in the sector during the last 8 years, he said that new stations have been developed, toilets have been constructed, waiting areas have been revamped, new trains have been introduced including Vanade Bharat, and there are significant changes in passenger facilities.
The minister also marked the employment generation in the sector and said that 3,64,000 employments under the railway have been generated in the last 8 years. And the government is already working on 1,45,000 more employments to people of the country, he added.
Slamming the Rajasthan government over the paper leaks cases, the minister said, "there were around 1 crore applicants for the vacancy, but the entire exam was conducted without any failure, under proper system and with complete discipline."
"For making the travelling easier for the passengers of nearby areas of a state, Vande metro trains, completely manufactured in India under the vision of PM Modi, will soon be introduced in the country," the minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the "first budget of Amrit Kaal" and said it would lay a strong foundation for building a developed India.
The Prime Minister said that the budget gives priority to the deprived and will fulfil the dreams of the aspirational society, the farmers and the middle class.
"The first budget of Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. It gives priority to the deprived. This budget will fulfil the dreams of an aspirational society including poor people, middle-class people, and farmers. I congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman and his team for this historic budget," PM Modi said in a televised address.
Prime Minister Modi underlined the government's efforts to enhance the lives of women.
"The government has taken several steps to make the lives of women, in rural and urban areas, easy. Women's self-help groups will further enhance them. Special savings scheme will be started empowering women in households," the PM said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 today in Lok Sabha. This was the third time in a row that the government presented the budget in a paperless form.
Highlights of the budget presented by the Union Finance Minister included significant incentives under the new income tax regime. The IT rebate limit in the new regime has been increased from
Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and the new tax regime will be the default tax regime, the Finance Minister said.
Capital expenditure outlay has been increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the GDP.