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1. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Suresh Prabhu led Indian Railways will have to depend on more government support and borrowing to fix finances in Rail Budget 2016 on Thursday, with the PM Narendra Modi led government reluctant to unveil steep passenger fare hikes ahead of key state elections, officials said. The Indian Railways are unlikely to increase the annual outlay substantially for the second straight year after raising it by 52 percent in 2015/16 to $14.6 billion, according to an official said. (Source: PIB twitter) <br><strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/article/budget-2016/rail-budget-2016-live-railway-minister-suresh-prabhu-budget-news-today-feb-25-2016-indianrailways-gov-in/215805/"><strong>Rail Budget 2016 LIVE: 2 new loco factories to be set up at cost of Rs 40,000 cr under Make in India plan, says Suresh Prabhu</strong></a><br><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/budget-highlights/"><strong>RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17: KEY HIGHLIGHTS</strong></a>
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2. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Indian Railways, the world's fourth largest, is a lifeline for 23 million people, mostly poor, but years of underinvestment have strained the system to the limit, reducing average speeds to 50 km per hour and forcing companies to ship freight on clogged roads. (Source: PIB twitter) <br><strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/article/budget-2016/rail-budget-2016-live-railway-minister-suresh-prabhu-budget-news-today-feb-25-2016-indianrailways-gov-in/215805/"><strong>Rail Budget 2016 LIVE: 2 new loco factories to be set up at cost of Rs 40,000 cr under Make in India plan, says Suresh Prabhu</strong></a><br><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/budget-highlights/"><strong>RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17: KEY HIGHLIGHTS</strong></a>
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3. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government unveiled a $137 billion, 5-year modernisation plan last year to overhaul the largely colonial-era Indian Railways network and boost growth in Asia's third-largest economy, but a slump in passenger and freight revenues this year is straining its finances. (Source: PIB twitter)
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4. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Total revenue of Indian Railways is up 5.8 percent in the first 10 months of this financial year, below the double-digit pace in the past. A proposed 24 percent hike in the salaries of 2.6 million employees and pensioners, meanwhile, will land the railways with a wage bill of about $4.7 billion. (Source: PIB twitter)
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5. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: According to Indian Railways officials raising freight tariffs significantly was not on the cards, and that a steep rise in passenger fares in Thursday's railways budget also was unlikely as fewer-than-expected travellers catch the train and an industrial slowdown crimps the growth of freight. (Source: PIB twitter)
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6. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Narendra Modi government is also expected to focus on more populist spending in Monday's Union Budget to shore up support among poorer Indians ahead of four state elections this year, making big fare hikes by Indian Railways tough to justify. (Source: PIB twitter)
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Railway Budget 2016: From poems of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Harivansh Rai Bachchan to teachings of Gautam Buddha, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu referred to all of these personalities as he presented his second budget in the Lok Sabha today. Suresh Prabhu walked into the House at around 1150 hours and started his speech at 1205 hours with some of his personal experiences as Railway Minister. (Source: ANI Twitter)
8. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has made progress in adding capacity to crunch points, but analysts say Indian Railways are yet to turn into the economic driving force PM Narendra Modi was hoping for when the government announced last year's modernisation plan. (Source: PIB twitter) -
9. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Indian Railways, once bigger than China's, have been outstripped by its neighbour after successive governments used them to nurse their political constituencies rather than to generate money for modernisation and expansion. Axis Capital estimates the railways would have earned 1.3 trillion rupees ($19 billion) each year if they had raised fares 5 to 6 percent annually over the past decade, against today's 220 billion rupee loss from passenger services. (Source: ANI twitter)
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10. Rail Budget 2016 coverage: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cut the 400 billion rupees of cash promised to Indian Railways in his last budget by a fifth after they failed to spend money in time. The Indian Railways, however, are still expecting about 500 billion rupees in support for projects in 2016/17, the two government officials said, and the network will need to depend on market borrowing and more government support to fund capital expenditure next fiscal year. (Source: Indian Railways)
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