Indian railway Budget 2011-12- Highlights

* No increase in fares.

* Ten-year backlog of 1.75 lakh jobs being addressed; 16,000 ex-servicemen to be given jobs in railways.
* Will add 180 km of rail lines in 2011-12.
* All-India security helpline set up.
* New Durantos to be run on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Madurai-Chennai routes, among others.
* Rail linkage to Gujarat from Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor.
* Integrated suburban network to be set up in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and other cities; suburban system of Hyderabad to be strengthened.
* Mumbai suburban system's EMU coaches to be increased from nine to 12.

* Industrial park to be set up in Nandigram, West Bengal.

* Railways to set up factory in Jammu and Kashmir.

* To set up Metro coach factory at Singur, West Bengal.

* First coach from Rae Bareli factory to roll out in next three months.

* Work on wagon factory in Orissa to begin after land is acquired.

*  Imphal to be soon connected to railway network.

* Centre for excellence in software to be set up at Darjeeling.

* Work started on two dedicated freight corridors.

* Work on upgrading 442 stations to be completed by March 31.

* Multi-purpose smart card to be introduced for all-India travel.

* Airport-like trolleys to be provided at more stations.


* Upgraded class of air conditioned travel to be introduced shortly.

* To adopt modern technology through centres of academic excellence.

* Train to run to Bangladesh to showcase Indian culture.

* Age for senior citizen's concession reduced to 58 from 60.

* Concession for physically handicapped and gallantry award winners for travel in Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses.

Name the SHAME

Mr. Ratan Tata  said  that he was advised to bribe a minister a sum of Rs 15 crore to get governmental approval to start a private airline company  some years back. It would have been appropriate  if Mr Tata had named the minister and made public his demands at that time  rather than  merely whining and seeking to occupy high moral ground. If business leaders of the stature of Mr Tata are willing to strike but afraid to wound, what can one expect of lesser mortals? Ordinary citizens facing people in power, one can understand their fear of authority. But an influential and powerful business leader like Mr. Tata can afford to speak up and speak out, without fear or favour.   Mr. Tata whom you are afraid of and for what??? Unless you speak up there is no value to the Jago re….. campaign  which is being sponsored by one of your group company.

Scams - our part of Life

Gaining inappropriately from any thing is Indian Politicians specialties.  Name any sector like   so called poor persons "cattle fodder" to high end civil aviation. Recent examples like Common wealth games,(CWG) Adarsh housing, 2G spectrum etc etc. 

These scams highlight the controls the government retains on physical resources and contracting processes. Systems of managing them are byzantine in nature, fatiguing citizens with opaqueness and red tape. This very nature of system offers ample opportunities for rent extraction, as bribery becomes a quick way to get permits. A 'crony' culture also exists, with contracts being awarded to the most fawning of supporters backing a  MLA, MP or minister.  Though India is not alone. The situation in India, is  the  unaccountable and corrupt authorities persecuting the ordinary  ones while permitting the impermissible, is truly worrying.  The way forward,  these politicians must be investigated through impartial fast track courts and if possible capital punishment should be awarded to them just like the Chinese  sentences those guilty of corruption.