New Delhi: A sum of ₹2.55 lakh crore has been earmarked as capex for the Indian Railways for the new financial year, said Financial Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she read out her Interim Budget speech in the lower house of parliament.
This number compares to the ₹2.4 lakh crore figure that was allocated to the Railways as capex for the financial year 2024.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced three new corridors for the railways — Energy, Mineral and Cement corridor, Port Connectivity Corridor and a High Traffic Density Corridor.
Additionally, the Finance Minister also announced that 40,000 bogies would be converted to Vande Bharat standard to improve safety and convenience for passengers.
Nirmala Sitharaman said in the last 10 years, the number of airports has doubled to 149, adding that Indian carriers have pro-actively placed orders for over 1,000 new aircraft.
India is one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets in the world and domestic air passenger traffic is on the rise.
“Roll out of air connectivity to tier-two and tier-three cities under UDAN scheme has been widespread. Five hundred and seventeen new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers,” she said.