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Budget 2016: After 7th Pay Commission Rs 40,000 crore request of Indian Railways was denied, Rail Ministry Rail Ministry wants cost of its Public Service Obligations in 2016-17 to be shared by the finance ministry – Indian Railways has demanded that Budget 2016 bear the PSO cost. The PSO, sources said, includes a part of passenger subsidies but not all of it, as the Indian Railways is still to figure out what PSO is. Even as experts call for an overhaul of the operations of the Indian Railways and its corporatisation, the transporter’s losses from the passenger segment and public service obligations are rising relentlessly and it is now looking for some relief from Budget 2016 (Union Budget 2016 presentation date is February 29). (PTI)
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Indian Railways gives as many as 53 types of concessions in passenger fares. Because of the various subsidises and concessions the transporter provides, Indian Railways had to bear an overall loss of Rs 32,000 core in FY14 for running passenger operations. All of passenger categories except AC three-tier are making losses for the Indian Railways. Sources in the ministry of railways told FE that Indian Railways social obligation cost would be around Rs 34,000 crore this financial year, steeply higher than about Rs 25,000 crore in FY14. The figure is believed to have stood at over Rs 30,000 crore last financial year, although no official estimate is still out. The Indian Railways carries out numerous transport activities which are uneconomical in nature but are considered to be in the larger interest of the society. The items which fall under PSOs and are making losses, include transport of essential commodities carried below cost, subsidies and concessions on passenger fares and other coaching services, operation of uneconomic branch lines and new lines opened for traffic during the last 15 years. (PTI)
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Railway-related stocks companies were in the limelight on Wednesday ahead of the rail budget to be presented on Thursday. (PTI)
A pilot project for provision of comprehensive fire and smoke detection system has been taken up in the New Delhi – Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express a senior official reported. (PTI) -
The train will have a high-power emergency braking system, automatic fire alarm, GPS-based passenger information system and sliding doors in the coaches.(PTI)
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