Announcements for Transport Projects in Budget 2021

Announcements for Transport Projects in Budget 2021

The general budget of 2021-22 in the Parliament. Special emphasis has been laid on health services in this year's budget. After that, the government has made several announcements on railways, roads, and employment. A record 1.10 lakh crore proposal has been brought for the Railways this year. 8,500 km of highway projects are also proposed to be brought this year. Apart from this, the government is also focused on employment.

To give opportunities to the youth, the central government has prepared to introduce new schemes for skill development. Sitharaman has proposed to amend the Apprentices Act to increase opportunities for the youth. The National Apprenticeship Training Scheme will be prepared afresh for training, graduates, and engineering diploma holders after education, for which more than Rs 3000 crores have been kept.

The Finance Minister said that this initiative is being done in partnership with the United Arab Emirates, under which skill qualification will be assessed, reviewed, and certified with the deployment of a certified workforce. She said that we have also started the collaborative training inter-training program between India and Japan, under which Japan's industrial and business skills, techniques, and knowledge will be taken advantage of. We will start such initiatives with many countries.

Announced Rs. 1.10 lakh crore for railways

Finance Minister announced a record amount of Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the Railways, out of which Rs 1.07 lakh crore is for capital expenditure. She said that after the commissioning of separate corridors of railway trains, they will monetize them. She said that I am announcing a record amount of Rs 1, 10,055 crores for Railways, out of which Rs 1, 07,100 crore is for capital expenditure only. Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Scheme for India -2030. The objective of this scheme is to prepare the railway system for the future by 2030.

She said that the aim is to reduce the logistic costs for the industry and promote Make in India. She hoped that the Eastern and Western Goods Corridors (EDFC and WDFC) would be operational by June 2022. She said that apart from this, some initiatives are also proposed. The 263-km Sonnagar-Gomo section on EDFC will be taken into Public-Private Partnership (PPP) this year. Besides, the 274.3 km Gomo-Dankuni section will also be included in it.

The Finance Minister said that the Railways will proceed with the future freight corridor projects - East Coast corridor from Kharagpur to Vijayawada, East-West corridor from Bhusaval to Kharagpur, and North-South corridor from Itarsi to Vijayawada. Sitharaman said that a detailed project report will be prepared under the first phase. Stressing on passenger comfort and safety, she said that the railway will install better designed VistaDome LHB coaches for a better travel experience for passengers.

Gift of 8,500 km of highway projects

Emphasizing improving the country's infrastructure, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said that by March 2022, 8,500 km of highway projects will be allocated in the country. While presenting the budget for the financial year 2021-22 in Parliament, the Finance Minister said that West Bengal will be given highway projects worth Rs 25,000 crore. Assembly elections are due in West Bengal this year. Sitharaman said in his budget speech that 8,500 km of road and highway projects will be given by March 2022 to further improve the structure of roads.

She said that projects worth Rs 65,000 crore will be given to Kerala and Rs 25,000 crore to West Bengal. She also announced to give road projects worth Rs 3,400 crore to Assam. She also announced a plan of Rs 18,000 crore for public transport in urban areas. Last month, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that in the next five years, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) aims to build 60,000 km of highways, which will have 2,500 km of express highways. These will have 9,000 km of economic corridors and 2,000 km of strategic borders and coastal roads. With this, 100 tourist places and 45 cities will be connected with highways.