Earlier Rail budgets were focused on pleasing parliamentarians: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that previous Rail budgets were politicized as they were primarily focused to please the Members of Parliament(MP), adding that the decision of Railway Budget merger with General Budget has never been for the electoral gains.

"The focus of our Rail Budgets has never been politics. We have worked towards a paradigm shift in the Railways. Usually the core focus of Rail budgets was which Member of Parliament(MP) was pleased by being given more stops in his/her seat, additional coaches etc," he said.

Expressing his nostalgia with railways at the inaugural session of the Rail Vikas Shivir at Surajkund near New Delhi via teleconference, the Prime Minister said that he has spent his childhood on rail platforms and he is equally a railway enthusiast as the dignitaries participating in the event.

"My links with the Railways is strong. I always stay at the Railway guest house in Varanasi which is my constituency. My childhood was spent on rail platforms. That is all the more reason I want to transform railways," he added.

The Indian Railways is organizing the three-day Shivir from today.

The aim of the Shivir is to generate numerous innovative ideas across most critical areas of the railway operations for substantial progress of this sector.

Such brainstorming and large-scale planning involving all railway employees is taking place for the first time in the 163-year-long history of the Indian Railways.

The Railway Ministry said the outcome of this camp would lead to rapid rejuvenation, transformation, modernisation, efficiency and productivity.

Earlier, the government decided to do away with the practice of separate Rail Budget and merged it with the General Budget. The idea was mooted by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and the proposal was approved by the Union Cabinet in September this year.

The practice of presenting a separate Railways Budget was introduced way back in 1924.