Budget Express 2013: ETA is 12 noon - Daily News & Analysis

Railway minister Pawan Bansal was on Monday busy giving final touches to the rail budget. While you wait for the budget to be tabled today, DNA's Ashutosh Kumar answers a few questions that might cross your mind... Will it be a please-all budget? This is a fully Congress budget for the first time after 17 years. With elections due in 2014, you can expect Bansal to see to it that it does not pinch your pocket too much. Will there be a fare hike? Unlikely. Neither the PM nor the Congress high command would like to miss this opportunity to keep you happy before the polls. But railways is in dire financial straits. What then? Well, Bansal will avoid a direct fare hike but might introduce cess on passenger fares. There are talks of setting up a body to look into such hikes... He might announce a Rail Tariff Authority — an independent body to decide on fares in future. Will a fare hike meet the railways' requirements? The transport behemoth requires an annual investment of Rs1,40,000 crore for the next 10 years to sustain itself. A fare hike cannot match this figure. A hike in January fetched the railways only Rs6,600 crore. Any good news for Mumbai? Yes, a new Rajdhani Express is on the cards. Are sops in the offing? Yes. Politically sensitive Uttar Pradesh is set to gain several infrastructure projects. The Rahul charm worked for the Congress in UP in 2009, fetching the party 22 seats. They would like to have it this time too. There were talks of bringing railways under MNREGA... Keeping the 2014 polls in mind, it might be included as it will help generate jobs. What about passenger amenities? Cleanliness, catering, and security are likely to get a big push. Ministry officials say task forces might be formed to address these matters. Will EMUs be introduced in long-distance routes? There could possibly be a slew oflong-distance EMU trains. Structural overhaul: Will railways go for it? Bansal has consulted former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan and Sam Pitroda, the man who revolutionised India's telecom sector. Some surprises may be in the offing. via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF2njIEtBGtW2Na_ZXzfNsY2aX4Mw&url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_budget-express-2013-eta-is-12-noon_1804534

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2910127