MxMIndia

Category: BUDGET 2014

  • Two categories of railway stations will now be wifi-ed and food can now be ordered at food courts via SMS

    Boost for digital media in Rail Budget

     

    By Sandeep Puraname

     

    There are several highlights of the Railway Budget presented by D V Sadananda Gowda today. If you thought that there would be no more fare hikes, pause for a bit. While saying that there will be no more hikes, he mentioned that the fare will now be linked to fuel price changes.

     

    There have been various provisions for Public Private Participation (PPP) in the railways which will include the setting up of the first Bullet Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

     

    Various initiatives were announced, but the some of the moves that will mean a huge fillip to the media is the push to the e-enablement of railway services. Two categories of railway stations will now be wifi-ed and food can now be ordered at food courts via SMS. Closed circuit TVs would possibly throw up opportunities for advertising.

     

    Here then are the highlights of the Railway Budget:

    :: Increased passenger amenities, more safety measures, timely completion of projects and increased financial discipline are the main highlights of the Railway Budget 2014-15 presented by the Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda in Parliament today.

     

    :: The Budget seeks course correction in the light of mismanagement, apathy, populism in starting projects and severe fund crunch that have inflicted the railways over the years, the Minister averred. For this, structural reforms will be introduced and resources will be mobilized through PSU surplus, FDI and PPP.

     

    :: The Budget proposes multi-pronged approach to make Railway journey safe and secure and comfortable for passengers. More thrust has been placed on passenger amenities, cleanliness and efficient station management. Now all major stations will have foot-over bridges, escalators, lifts etc.

     

    :: On safety and security, the Budget has proposed introduction of advance technology for rail-flaw detection to check causes of accidents, a significant amount has been kept for road-over and road-under bridges and a pilot project will be launched on automatic door closing in mainline and sub-urban coaches. In order to make women safer while travelling, the Railway will recruit 4000 women constables. Coaches for ladies will be escorted.

     

    :: IT initiatives get a big boost in the Budget. Revamping Railway Reservation System into Next Generation e-Ticketing will be taken up with provision of platform tickets and unreserved tickets also over internet. The Railway has proposed real-time tracking of trains and rolling stocks, mobile based Wakeup Call System for passengers, mobile based destination arrival alert and Wi-fi Services in A-1 and A category stations and in select trains. Indian Railways has also planned paperless offices in 5 years.

     

    :: In order to make Railway management more efficient, Budget has proposed setting up of Railway University for training in both technical and non-technical subjects besides establishing Innovations and Incubation Centre to harness the ideas generated from staff.

     

    :: In a bid to modernise Indian Railway network, Bullet train has been proposed on Mumbai-Ahmadabad sector besides increasing speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select 9 sectors. The Railway has also planned setting up of Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail connecting major metros and growth centers of the country. Identified stations will be developed to international standards with modern facilities on lines of newly developed airports through PPP mode. Railway has also proposed harnessing solar energy by utilizing roof top spaces of stations, railway buildings and land.

     

    :: To augment resources of Railways, the Budget has proposed schemes to facilitate procurement of parcel vans and rakes by private parties, special milk tanker trains, increased movement of fruits and vegetables in partnership with Warehousing Corporation and setting up Private Freight Terminals on PPP model.

     

    :: The Railway has proposed to bring in more transparency in administration and execution of projects. The status of ongoing projects will be available online, E-procurement will be made compulsory for procurement of higher amount and online registration of demands for wagons will be introduced within next two months.

     

    :: The Budget has passenger centric focus on suburban and metropolitan rail services. 864 additional state-of-the-art EMUs will be introduced in Mumbai in two years. Study to explore possibility of enhancing existing railway network for better connectivity needs of Bangaluru will be taken up.

     

    :: The Railway Budget 2014-15 has proposed 58 new trains besides extending 11 existing trains. Provision has been made for 28 surveys for new lines and doubling or gauge conversion of lines. Higher funds have been proposed for ongoing projects in Northeast and remote areas. Special packaged trains on identified pilgrim circuits, two tourist trains and a special train featuring life and work of Swami Vivekananda has been proposed in the Budget.

     

    According to the Budget estimates, the Railways will earn Rs 1,64,374 crore through various resources and will spend Rs 1,49,176 crore during 2014-15. The operating ratio is expected to be 92.5% which is 1% better than that in 2013-14.

     

  • India has a great future and this Budget should attempt to clear bottlenecks and layout the roadmap to unlock potential, writes Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group, India & South Asia

    BudgetSpeak #11: Anita Nayyar: Budget 2014-15: A Roadmap to the Future

    By Anita Nayyar

     

    Expectations from this Budget are tremendous and people are looking at immediate action on growth and job creation which in reality will take longer.

     

    India is plagued with high inflation and fiscal deficit coupled with a weak monsoon outlook. Current Account Deficit (CAD) is being contained restricting gold import which will at some point affect export. Lowering interest rates will not have the effect of capital inflows and real growth. Globally too the possibility of another crisis looms if Iraq instability and oil prices spin out of control.

     

    Yet, India’s golden age with its youth, rising millionaires and entrepreneurs will lead right up to 2025.  India has a great future, the next 2-3 years are critical and this Budget should attempt to clear bottlenecks and layout the roadmap to unlock potential. Needless to say, this must be one of the toughest Budgets to present.

     

    Some of the big-ticket focus areas that will curb fiscal deficit and drive growth:

    Administrative reform is low-hanging fruit – tax, subsidiary handout, project clearance, etc; besides it will garner positive sentiment on Indian governance.

     

    The climate for investment needs to be created restoring investor confidence and curbing red tape. Tax clarity without retrospective tax will give an impetus to the private sector.

     

    Just as raising tax exemption on instruments will encourage savings of salaried people, so would raising their income tax slabs; as also a tax structure for start-ups. It will not only encourage entrepreneurship and jobs but also positively impact consumption.

     

    GST implementation should be given definitive timeline. Government divestment and diluting stake properties in sectors like banking, must be identified and with timelines.

     

    Pending projects revival need to be closely reviewed. For those burdened with over capacity, the long-term loss would be far greater, contained here with selling of assets. Also, many are at the state level so it would need the co-operation of the ruling and opposition parties.

     

    Others like radio expansion through Phase 3 need clearing with immediate effect.

     

    Subsidiary allocation should have serious laws. In addition to subsidiary caps, there must be reverse-escalation caps over a period of time to make a sector/people independent focusing on the cause.

     

    Education policy and investment in education, teaching and training will have reach beyond 2025. Services today are about 50% of GDP. India is the global outsourcing hub of low-end tasks where cost is the business changer; this poses a dangerous future fiscal deficit outlook.

     

    Action on issues related to land acquisition and environmental consideration should be charted.

     

    Bottlenecks related to growth and job producing sectors like manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture need to be identified.

     

    Industries with potential like Media & Entertainment and IT where GDP contribution can be higher need to be encouraged. For M&E, as per latest EY M&E report, India is one of the most attractive places to invest and diversify. So from an M&E perspective the outlook should be good.

     

    It may not be the best of times to present a Budget but neither is it the worst and the world is nowhere near 2008-09. India has a glorious future and the makers of this Budget could claim to have had a hand in it.

     

    Anita Nayyar is CEO, Havas Media Group, India & South Asia