Economic survey for 2014-15 with summary

Economic survey is presented every year by the Finance minister of India on the day before presenting the budget i. e. 27 February. This year also, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey of previous year 2014-15 on 27 February. This economic survey was prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.

Here are some highlights of Economic survey of 2014-15:

• Economic growth at market prices seen between 8.1 - 8.5 percent in 2015-16 on new GDP calculation formula
• Current Account Deficit (CAD) estimated at about 1.3 percent of GDP in 2014-15 and less than 1.0 percent of GDP in 2015-16
• Reduce fiscal deficit over the medium term to the established target of 3% of GDP
• Move towards the golden rule of eliminating the revenue deficit
• Improve quality of public expenditure; shift away from public consumption (by reducing subsidies) towards investment
• Economic Survey highlights the need for balance between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skilling India’
• Inflation shows a declining trend during the year 2014-15 
• Consumer Price Index(CPI) to remain around 5-5.5% in 2015-16 

• India’s National Solar Mission Being Scaled up Five-Fold to 100,000 Megawatts 
• Clean Energy Cess Doubled to Rs.100 per Tonne to Mop up Rs. 17,000 Crores in NCEF
• India’s Action-Oriented Policies to Bring Rapid Development to People While Purposefully Addressing Climate Change 
• The Index of Industrial production (IIP) suggests that industrial sector is recovering slowly with a 2.1 per cent in April - December 2014-15
• Hyper-Growth in Tech start ups in India, Rural Penetration of IT Services to Drive ‘Make in India’ Mission,Electronic Visa gives Fillip to Tourism Sector 
• Create National Common Market in Agricultural Commodities
• Foodgrains production for 2014-15 estimated at 257.07 million tonnes; will exceed average food grain production of last five years by 8.5 million tones

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Railway budget of India 2015-16 with summary PDF download

Railway budget is presented by Railway minister every year on 26 February. This year also, Railway Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu presented the Railway budget for 2015-16 of our country.

Unlike previous budgets, it was not a populist one. More emphasis is on enhancing the services, sanitation & security along with using the present resources carefully. Railways will also leverage additional resources; envisages investment of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in next five years.

Here are some highlights of Railway budget of India 2015-16:

• No hike in Railway Passenger Fares 
• Plan Outlay proposed Rs. 1,00,011 crore, increased by 52% 
• Allocation for passenger amenities up by 67% 
• Railways to become prime mover of Indian Economy, Five years action plan proposed 
• Rail Budget seeks resource mobilization for higher investment 
• Thrust on measurable and sustainable improvement in passenger experience and to make Rail a safer means of travel 
• Hot buttons, coin vending machines for railway tickets within 5 minutes, e-catering to select meals from an array of choices 
• 200 more stations to come under Adarsh Station scheme; Wi - Fi to be provided at B category stations 
• 24X7 helplines for attending passenger problems and security related complaints 
• For the safety of women passengers surveillance cameras in suburban coaches 
• More General class coaches will be added in identified trains. 
• The speed of nine railway corridors will be increased to 160 and 200 kmph
• Train Protection Warning System and Train Collision Avoidance System to be installed on select routes 
• 77 new projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works proposed 
• A new department for keeping stations and trains clean under Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Bio-toilets to be increased.
• Mumbai - Ahmedabad Bullet Train project is in last stage.
• SMS alert on mobile, advanced portal on the line of Digital India campaign.
• Proposed operating ratio at 88.5% for year 2015-16

You can also download the summary and highlights of Railway Budget 2015-16 provided by Ministry of railway in PDF format.

Download Summary of Railway budget 2015-16 PDF

Download highlights of Railway budget 2015-16 PDF

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