Analysts give mixed reaction to Rail Budget 2013, E&Y, Nomura tag it 'run of mill'
cent this fiscal, which itself is much higher than the budgeted target of 84.9 per cent.
That the gross budgetary support for the Railways has risen by 8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 26,000 crore against a 20 per cent rise in the last budget, suggests that the government is likely to keep a tight leash on spending, Varma said.
"On the whole, there are no fireworks in the rail budget. While linking freight to fuel costs is the right move, subsidised passenger fares account for bulk of rail losses and until that is addressed, the financial position of the Railways is unlikely to turn around quickly, and investment in the sector will languish," she said.
PwC's Agarwal said, "The absence of a long-term vision is not necessarily a bad thing, considering the country is heading towards general elections. The appeal to states to participate in rail projects is an important one as the Centre-state SPV route has the ability to get projects up the priority list where the state is willing to participate, and can be game-changer".
But he said there is no clear readiness to adopt the PPPs model in the budget document. "The biggest disappointment is the absence of even a mention of land monetisation, which probably indicates that concerns around a transparent model for land deals continue to remain," he said.
D R Dogra of rating agency Care gave a mixed view saying as expected, the rail budget was conservative given the resource constraints.
"Given this limitation, the Minister tried
