Lok Sabha Question No. 947 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-26
Subject: Debt Burden
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Faizal P.P. Mohammed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 947 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2023

## DEBT BURDEN

947.   SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)        the  details  of  the  debt  burden  (in  terms  of  rupees)  of  the Indian Railways since 2019, year-wise;
- (b)    the regions identified for the establishment of new railway lines  for  which  there  is  an  allocation  of  Rs.32,000  crore  in  the Union Budget 2023-24; and
- (c)        the  services  that  are    likely  to  be  included  under  the  new head of 'customer amenities' for which Rs.13,355 crore has been allocated in the Union Budget 2023-24?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI  ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a):        Indian  Railways  (IR)  raise  Extra-Budgetary  Resources through  Indian  Railway  Finance  Corporation  (IRFC),  a  Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, for financing acquisition    of    rolling    stock    assets    and    construction      of

railway projects. The year-wise debt burden on IR from 2019 is as under:-

| Financial Year (FY)   |   Debt Repayment (Rupees in crore) |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------|
| 2019-20               |                              20304 |
| 2020-21               |                              23386 |
| 2021-22               |                              28702 |
| 2022-23               |                              34189 |

Ministry of Finance, Government of India provided a special loan for  Covid  related  resource  gap  of ` 79,398  crore  in  FY  2020-21. Repayment of this loan will commence from FY 2024-25.

(b):      The  entire  allocation  of  new  line  is  utilized  across  the country. The Railway projects are surveyed / sanctioned / executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railways' projects may span across state boundaries.

Sanctioning of Railway projects is a continuous and dynamic process  of  Indian  Railways.  Railway  Infrastructure  Projects  are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested / saturated  lines,  socio-economic  considerations  etc.  depending upon  liabilities  of  ongoing  projects,  overall  availability  of  funds and competing demands.

As  on  01.04.2023,  across  Indian  Railways,  189  New  line projects  of  total  length  20,659  km,  costing  approximately ` 3.99 lakh crore are in planning / sanction / construction stage, out of which 2,903 km length has been commissioned and an

expenditure of approximately ` 1.37 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2023.

Zone-wise  details  of  all  Railway  Projects  including  cost, expenditure  and  outlay  are  made  available  in  public  domain  on Indian Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in> Ministry of  Railways>  Railway  Board>  about  Indian  Railways> Railway Board Directorates> Finance (Budget)> Rail Budget/Pink Book  (year)>  Railway-wise  Works,  Machinery  and  Rolling  Stock Programme (RSP).

(c):       In  FY 2023-24, a budget  outlay of ` 13,355 crore has been allocated to 'Customer Amenities'. This provision will be utilized for  improving  passenger  amenities  at  Railway  stations  and  for Goods shed development, Metro connectivity works, etc.

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