New Delhi: The Railway Ministry has been allocated 2.40 lakh crore in the Union Budget on Wednesday. This is the highest ever amount allocated to the Railway Ministry. The amount allocated in this year's budget is 9 times of what was allocated in 2013. Shares of railway-related companies, including Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and IRCON International, witnessed an up-trend on Wednesday, ahead of the Union Budget presentation in Parliament.
Market experts believe that shares of railway-related companies are in the focus as Dalal Street expects a boost to railways' capital expenditure. Expectations of higher allocations are driving the stocks.
Last year, the Railway Ministry was allocated Rs 140367.13 crore in the Union Budget. In 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech for 2022-23 had said that India will manufacture 400 new, energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains in the next three years, as reported by the news agency PTI. This Budget marks the last Budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government in the Parliament of this term. Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in Lok Sabha today.
Sitharaman has set a record of being the sixth minister to present five consecutive Budget. She has joined a select league of leaders likes of Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley and P Chidambaram.
Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Parliament for the Union Budget presentation wearing a traditional temple border saree on Wednesday. Temple sarees are usually made of cotton, silk or a mix and worn for special occasions. Sitharaman opted for the red temple saree with black border and intricate golden work on Budget day. The beautiful saree also featured a star-like design.
The first paperless budget was presented by the Government in 2021. Earlier on Tuesday, Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2022-23 in Lok Sabha. According to the survey India's economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 per cent to 6.8 per cent in the following financial year.
(With agencies' Inputs)