Union Budget 2023: Ahead of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, citizens across a wide segment of society have voiced their expectations. The Union Budget, also comprising the Railway Budget, will be presented by the Finance Minister on Wednesday, February 1. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget in a paperless format this year too.
Expressing their ideas and expectations around the budget this year, people have urged the Railways to ensure cleanliness and safety. "The Railways should see that train fares don't go up. Also, the fare increases over the last few years should be controlled. While the rate of platform tickets has been reduced from Rs 50 to Rs 10, we want it to be reduced further," MD Sanjay, a passenger at Patna junction, told ANI.
Passengers upbeat about Vande Bharat trains and Bullet Trains project
The Vande Bharat trains and the Bullet Trains project also attracted a lot of excitement from the passengers. Many believed that Vande Bharat trains ought to run from each capital city in the nation. Another traveller at the Patna Junction Station expressed optimism that the government would announce the Bullet Train project soon and come out with further such initiatives in the years to come.
"The Railways still need to pay a lot of attention to the cleanliness of the trains. Also, the trains that were stopped at the time of Covid should be made operational again," said Rajan Kumar, another passenger.
Passengers demand more trains
Meanwhile, regular railway travellers also sought more trains running across the nation. To make it simpler for them to take outstation exams, students urged that the Railways run separate trains. They claimed that they often have to travel to other cities for competitive or other exams and find it tough to book seats in regular passenger trains.
Women passengers said the Railway authorities should strive more to ensure their safety. Passengers further said the Railway Budget should also focus on ensuring the provision of better food in trains.
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What homemakers demand?
Meanwhile, homemakers claimed that rising inflation is limiting their household budgets and making it challenging for them to control their spending. They claimed that their problems had been made worse by the growing costs of necessities like food and LPG cylinders.
It should be mentioned here that the budget document will be accessible via the "Union Budget Mobile App" on the Android and Apple OS platforms following the Finance Minister's budget speech in Parliament on February 1.
(With inputs from ANI)
