PM says it's passenger-centric, development-oriented

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Railways has set for bigger reforms from within for accountability and better results and has sent a message that the NDA government is committed to serving the poor and women.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s budget announcement on launch of unreserved fast trains Antyodaya Express and Deen Dayalu coaches and 33 % quota for women
in reservation comes ahead of elections in five states this year including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam.

Another scheme that aims at making travelling comfortable for women is the announcement about a special menu for toddlers accompanied by their mothers. The trains will have children menu to overcome problems parents face while travelling with kids for long distance since it is difficult to find food for them.

Through these initiatives, Modi wants to hold on to the votes of the underprivileged class it had got in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections which now seems to be slipping away from the BJP as witnessed during the Bihar Assembly polls.

“Launch of unreserved, super fast trains, Antyodaya Express and Deen Dayalu coaches illustrate our unwavering commitment to serving the poor”, the prime minister said after the budget was presented in Lok Sabha.

All expectations fulfilled
Even BJP president Amit Shah in his post-budget reaction stated that it fulfills the expectations of all sections. “It is inclusive, for the common man with special attention to the poor,” he remarked.

For Modi, Prabhu’s second budget was “passenger-centric,” “development-oriented” and was farsighted having “Vision 2020”. Modi was of the view that “Rail Budget showcases a vision to reorganise, restructure and rejuvenate Railways with new processes, structures, norms and sources of revenue”.

Prime minister in his earlier speeches during the 2014 elections and after forming the government has been insisting on making the public transport system the growth engine which the railway minister Suresh Prabhu highlighted early in his one-hour-ten-minutes budget speech.

“My vision is to make railways the backbone of India’s progress and economic development,” Prabhu stated quoting Modi.

The drive to increase wi-fi connectivity at stations too is aimed at reaching out to youth — a section that is the bulk user of the smartphones and I-pads.