#Budget2019 Infrastructure: India Fastest Highway Developer In The World; Safest Year For Indian Railways

Speaking to Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha as part of his budget address, Finance Minister (FM) Piyush Goyal mentioned how under the current administration India had become the world’s fastest highway developer.

He said that while on one hand, several project in limbo were revived and completed, the government built highway at the rate of 27 km per day, making it fastest in the world.

He added that safety in Indian Railways has been overhauled making it more secure.

Goyal, who also serves as the Railways Minister, revealed that last year was the safest in the history of the national carrier. He also revealed that the budget allocation for the Indian Railways for the 2019-20 financial year would be Rs 64,587 crore.

The minister attributed the increased safety of the railways to the total elimination of unmanned crossings on the broad gauge network. Goyal also expressed confidence that domestic production of semi-high speed rail would bring a world class travel experience to Indian passengers.

The Finance Minister pointed out that construction of rural roads has been tripled under the current NDA government, adding that 15.8 lakh out of a total 17.84 lakh habitations have been connected with pucca roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Scheme. He announced that the scheme would be allocated 19,000 crore rupees in 2019-20(BE).

Vande Bharat Express will provide speed, service and safety to citizens and will give a boost to Make In India, said Goyal.

The Finance Minister also said that NDA-led government had gone beyond incremental growth in infrastructure, to attain transformative achievements. FM also hailed the Sagar Mala Yojana saying that it will help faster handling of import and export cars, as well as the coastal community.