PM praises Bansal, calls railway budget 'reformist'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the railway budget as "reformist" and "forward looking" and said it will help in meeting competing demands."It is a reformist and forward looking budget which presents a realistic picture of railway finances," said Singh.He said Railway Minister PK Bansal had done "a commendable job" in meeting competing demands of improving services and controlling expenditure."I compliment the minister for his innovations in critical areas of railway infrastructure and paving the way for capacity expansion," the prime minister said.[caption id="attachment_640121" align="alignleft" width="380"] PM Manmohan Singh. Reuters[/caption]With no fare hikes, 106 new trains and a host of proposals for travel safety and comfort, such as escalators at key stations, a new e-ticketing system and a swanky coach in select trains, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal presented his maiden annual budget for his ministry today."The growth of Indian Railways is inextricably linked with the growth of the country," Bansal said in his 80-minute budget speech in Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, that clearly bordered on populism with a fair dose of measures on fiscal discipline."Railways must remain financially sustainable. Resources generated must be ploughed back," he said in what was the last such annual exercise for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government before the next general elections, scheduled in 2014.But Bansal said there will be no major fare hikes this time, having already revised them last month. He nevertheless proposed minor revisions in some charges, such as those for tatkal and reservations. He also called for a routine 5-6 percent fare hike every year.On freight, he said, there will be an upward revision of 5-6 percent from April 1 to balance the hike in fuel costs. He said freight and passenger fares must be de-linked from the fuel costs with periodic automatic adjustments.Bansal said while making all these proposals, he was happy to note that the operating ratio of Indian Railways -- the money spent on recurring costs such as salaries and interest to earn Rs.1 in revenue -- had come down to 88 paise from around 95 paise.He kept the plan target for 2013-14 at Rs.63,363 crore (Rs.633.63 billion or $11.5 billion)IANS