FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Rs 2.4 Lakh Crore for Railways

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced an outlay of ₹ 2.4 lakh crore for Indian Railways in the Union Budget 2023-24. It is the highest outlay in almost a decade and four times of last year’s budget.

“This is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14,” Nirmala Sitharaman underlined, comparing it with the year when the Congress-led UPA governed the country, just before the BJP led by Narendra Modi won power.

Finance Minister also announced Rs 75,000 crore for 100 “critical transport infrastructure projects.” This is likely to help the railways too, specifically with its freight business.

Ms Sitharaman began her budget speech by declaring it the “first budget of Amrit Kaal” — using a term coined by PM Modi’s government to define a brighter future as India completed 75 years of Independence.