Parliament Diary

In Rajya Sabha, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill), 2020 was passed. The Finance Minister noted that the Standing Committee recommendations have not been incorporated in the Bill.

The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was also passed in the House after a division of votes. In the second-half, the law and order situation in Delhi was discussed.

The Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020 was introduced in Lok Sabha. According to its Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Bill seeks to replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.

The Bill proposes to set up and empower a Board of Major Port Authority for each Major Port in the country.

The Demand for Grants by the Ministry of Railways was discussed in Lok Sabha today. 

Some highlights from our analysis: 

• The growth rate of Railways’ earnings from its core business of running freight and passenger trains has been decreasing. The share of Railways in total freight traffic has declined from 89% in 1950-51 to 30% in 2011-12.  For the same period, the share of roads in total freight traffic has increased from 11% to 61%.
   
• In the last ten years, the operating ratio has been consistently higher than 90%. For 2020-21, operating expenses are estimated to be 96.2%. This means that the Railways will fund only about 5% of its capital expenditure from its own resources. 
   
• Staff wages and pensions make up two-thirds of the Railways’ expenditure. In 2018-19, Indian Railways spent 42% of its working expenditure on staff, followed by 24% on pension fund and 18% on fuel.

You can read our full report in which we have a detailed analysis of the ministry’s budget as well as major issues facing the sector.