First in India

1. British Governor General of Bengal - Warren Hastings 2. Governor General of Independent India Lord Mountbatten 3. Commander-in-chief of Free India General Roy Bucher 4. Cosmonaut Sqn. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma 5. Emperor of Moghul Dynasty in India Babar 6. Field Marshal S. H. F. J. Manekshaw 7. Indian Governor General of Indian Union C. Rajagopalachari 8. Indian I.C.S. Officer Satyendra Nath Tagore 9. Indian Member of Viceroys Executive Council Sri S.P. Sinha 10. Indian to swim across English Channel Mihir Sen 11. Indian woman to swim across-English Channel Miss Arati Saha 12. Man to climb Mount Everest Tenzing Norgay 13. Man to climb Mount Everest without Oxygen Phu Dorjee 14. Man to climb Mount Everest twice Nwang Gombu 15. Nobel Prize winner Rabindra Nath Tagore 16. President of Indian National Congress W. C. Banerjee 17. President of Indian Republic - Dr. Rajendra Prasad 18. Talkie Film Alam Ara (1931) 19. Test Tube Baby (Documented) Indira

20. Viceroy of India Lord Canning 21. Woman Minister of Indian Union Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 22. Woman Chief Minister of State Mrs. Sucheta Kriplani 23. Woman Governor Mrs. Sarojini Naidu 24. Woman President of Indian National Congress Dr. Annie Besant 25. Woman Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi 26. Woman Speaker of a State Assembly Mrs. Shanno Devi 27. Prime Minister of India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru 28. Muslim President of Indian Union Dr. Zakir Hussain 29. Speaker of Lok Sabha G. V. Mavlankar 30. Woman to climb mount Everest Bachhendri Pal 31. Woman Judge in Supreme Court Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Biwi 32. Woman Chief Justice of a High Court Smt. Leela Seth 33. Indian Woman to go in space (Now U.S. Citizen) Kalpana Chawla 34. The first Indian weightlifter to win bronze medal in Olympics Malleshwari (Sydney, in 2000) 35. The First Indian World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand 36. Indias first paperless Newspaper The News Today (Launched on Jan. 3, 2001) 37. Indias First woman Merchant Navy Officer Sonali Banerjee 38. The first Dalit Speaker of the Lok Sabha G. M. C. Balyogi 39. The first Vice-President of India to die in harness Krishna Kant Karnam

40. The first Indian woman cricketer to score double century Mithali Raj (August 2002 playing against England) 41. The first woman Air Vice-Marshal P. Bandopadhyaya 42. The first Indian to be appointed as United Nations Civilian Police Advisor Ms. Kiran Bedi 43. The first astronaut of Indian origin to perish aboard U.S. space shuttle in a tragic accident Dr. Kalpana Chawla (Columbia space shuttle, Feb. I, 2003) 44. The first woman to be appointed Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of IndiaK.J. Udeshi (appointed on June 10, 2003) 45. The first Indian girl to register a win in a Wimbledon tournament Sania Mirza (2003) 46. The first Indian lady to win a medal in World Athletic Championship Anju Bobby George (Aug. 2003) 47. The first woman Chairman and Managing Director of NABARD Mrs. Ranjana Kumar 48. The highest individual test scorer of India Virendra Sehwag ( 319 runs against Sauth africa) 49. The first Indian cricketer to make double centuries five times- Rahul Dravid 50. The first Orissa woman to top I.A.S. Smt. Roopa Misra (Indian Civil Services Exam., 2003) 51. The first Sikh Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh 52. The first woman Director General of Police of a State Bhattacharya (DGP Uttaranchal) Kanchan C.

53. The first woman to be appointed as the crime branch chief Borwankar (took over as crime branch chief of Mumbai police)

MeeriJ

54. The first woman to reach the rank of Lt. General in the Indian army Puneeta Arora (Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune) 55. The first Indian to cross seven important seas by swimming Bula Chaudhury 56. The first woman to become Indian Air Forces first woman Air Marshal Air Marshal Padma Bandhopadhyay 57. The first youngest MP, at the age of 25 years Dharmendra Yadav (Mainpuri : Samajwadi Party MP) 58. Indias first woman athlete to win WTA open Tennis title Sania Mirza (Feb. 2005, Hyderabad) 59. The first Indian to set a world record of ever having reached the highest of heights yet in a hot balloon Vijaypath Singhania (Nov. 26, 2005. 69852 ft.) 60. The first wonder child of Orissa only about 4 years and a half of age completes a race of 65 km. - Budhia (May 2006) 61. The first woman Commissioner of Police of an Indian metro (Chennai Metro Police) Letika Saran 62. The first Indian to Ski to the North Pole Ajeet Bajaj (April 26, 2006) 63. The first sportsman ever to win Gold Medal in Shooting in the World Shooting Championship Abhinav Bindra (July 24, 2006) 64. The first person of Indian origin to win the Miss Great Britain title Preeti Desai (2006) 65. The first woman President of the Republic of India Pratibha Patil

First in World
1. Chairman of Peoples Republic of China - Mao-Tse-Tung 2. President of the Chinese Republic Dr. Sun Yat Sen 3. President of U.S.A George Washington 4. Chinese Traveller to India Fahein 5. Foreign Invader to India Alexander the Great 6. Person to reach South Pole Amundsen 7. Person to reach North Pole Robert Pearey 8. Person in Space Yuri Gagarin 9. Person on Moon Neil Armstrong 10. Lady to climb Mount Everest Junko Taibei 11. European to visit China Marco Polo 12. Place where atom bomb was dropped Hiroshima 13. Man to walk in Space Alexei Leonov 14. Woman cosmonaut in Space Valentina Tereshkova 15. Woman Prime Minister of a country - Mrs. Srimavo Bhandarnaike 16. Woman President of a country - Maria Estela Peron 17. Woman to Command a Space Mission - Colonel Eileen Collins (U.S.A.)

18. The first residents of International Space station - Bill Shepherd (USA),Yuri Gidzanko and Sergei Krikalev (Russia)

19. The first blind man to scale Mt. Everest - Erik Weihenmayer(USA, May 25, 2001) 20. The first Muslim woman to become the Secretary General of Amnesty International lrine Zubeida Khan 21. The first space astronaut to go into space seven times till date Jerry Ross (U.S.A.) 22. The first South African to become the second space tourist - Mark Shuttleworth 23. The first woman Prime Minister of South Korea - Ms. Chang Sang 24. The first youngest grandmaster of the world in chess - Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine) 25. The first adventurer flying successfully across the English Channel without aircraft - Felix Baumgartner (July 2003) 26. Chinas first man in space - Yang Liwei 27. The first Muslim woman to receive Nobel Prize - Shirin Ebadi (Nobel Peace Prize 2003) 28. The woman with the highest individual Test score making a new world record - Kiran Baloch (Pakistani cricketer, scoring 242 runs

playing womens cricket test against West Indies in Karachi in March, 2004) 29. The first woman of the world to climb Mt. Everest four times Lakpa Sherpa (Nepali) 30. The first woman to cross seven important seas of the world by swimming - Bula Chaudhury (India) 31. The first aircraft pilot to round the entire world non-stop by his 2 engine aircraft in 67 hours - Steve Fossett (March 2005) 32. The first woman to be appointed as a Governor of a province in Afghanistan - Habiba Sorabhi 33. The first woman of the world to swim across five continents Bula Chaudhury (India) (April 2005) 34. The first woman athlete to touch 5.0 meter mark in pole vault - Ms. Yelena Isinbayeva (Russian, July 2005) 35. The first Hindu Chief Justice of Pakistani Supreme Court Justice Rana Bhagwan Das Took over on Sept. 2, 2005 as Acting Chief Justice

Important Days
January 9 NRI Day January 10 World Laughter Day January 12 National Youth Day January 15 Army day January 25 National Voters day January 26 Indias Republic Day, International Customs Day January 30 Martyrs Day; World Leprosy Eradication Day 2nd Sunday of February World Marriage Day February 14 Valentine Day February 24 Central Excise Day February 28 National Science Day Second Monday March Commonwealth Day March 8 International Womens Day; Intl. literacy Day March 15 World Disabled Day; World Consumer Rights Day March 18 Ordnance Factories Day (India) March 21 World Forestry Day; International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination March 22 World Day for Water March 23 World Meteorological Day

March 24 World TB Day April 5 International Day for Mine Awareness; National Maritime Day April 7 World Health Day April 17 World Haemophilia Day April 18 World Heritage Day April 21 Secretaries Day April 22 Earth Day April 23 World Book and Copyright Day May 1 Workers Day (International Labour Day) May 3 Press Freedom Day; World Asthma Day May 2nd Sunday Mothers Day May 4 Coal Miners Day May 8 World Red Cross Day May 9 World Thalassaemia Day May 11 National Technology Day May 12 World Hypertension Day; International Nurses Day May 15 International Day of the Family May 17 World Telecommunication Day May 24 Commonwealth Day May 31 Anti-tobacco Day

June 4 International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression June 5 World Environment Day June 3rd Sunday Fathers Day June 14 World Blood Donor Day June 26 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking July 1 Doctors Day July 6 World Zoonoses Day July 11 World Population Day August 1st Sunday International Friendship Day August 6 Hiroshima Day August 8 World Senior Citizens Day August 9 Quit India Day, Nagasaki Day August 15 Indian Independence Day August 18 IntI. Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples August 19 Photography Day August 29 National Sports Day September 2 Coconut Day September 5 Teachers Day ; Sanskrit Day September 8 World Literacy Day (UNESCO) September 15 Engineers Day

September 16 World Ozone Day September 21 Alzheimers Day; Day for Peace & Non-violence (UN) September 22 Rose Day (Welfare of cancer patients) September 26 Day of the Deaf September 27 World Tourism Day October 1 International Day for the Elderly October 2 Gandhi Jayanthi October 3 World Habitat Day October 4 World Animal Welfare Day October 8 Indian Air Force Day October 9 World Post Office Day October 10 National Post Day October 2nd Thursday World Sight Day October 13 UN International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction October 14 World Standards Day October 15 World White Cane Day (guiding the blind) October 16 World Food Day October 24 UN Day; World Development Information Day October 30 World Thrift Day November 9 Legal Services Day

November 14 Childrens Day; Diabetes Day November 17 National Epilepsy Day November 20 Africa Industrialization Day November 29 International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People December 1 World AIDS Day December 3 World Day of the Handicapped December 4 Indian Navy Day December 7 Indian Armed Forces Flag Day December 10 Human Rights Day; IntI. Childrens Day of Broadcasting December 18 Minorities Rights Day (India) December 23 Kisan Divas (Farmers Day) (India) December 25 Christmas Day

Capitals, Governors and Chief Ministers of States

States (1) Andhra Pradesh Capitals Hyderabad Governors Mr. E.S.L.Narasim han Gen. (Retd.) J. J. Singh Mr. J. B. Patnaik Mr. Devanand Konwar Mr. Shekhar Dutt Mr. K. Sankaranaraya n Dr. Kamla Chief Ministers Mr. N.Kiran Kumar Reddy Mr. Jarbom Gamlin Mr. Tarun Gogoi Mr. Nitish Kumar Dr. Raman Singh Mr. Digambar V. Kamat

(2) Arunachal Itanagar Pradesh (3) Assam (4) Bihar Dispur Patna

(5) Chhattisga Raipur rh (6) Goa (7) Gujarat (8) Haryana Panaji Gandhinagar Chandigarh

(9) Himachal Shimla Pradesh

Mr. Narendra Modi Mr. Mr. Jagannath Bhupinder S. Pahadia Hooda Mr. Prem Ms. Urmila Kumar Singh Dhumal Mr. Omar Abdullah Mr. Arjun

Srinagar (10) Jammu Mr. N. N. (Summer) and Kashmir Vohra Jammu (Winter) (11) Jharkhan Ranchi Dr. Syed

Munda Mr. DV (12) Karnatak Mr. Hans Raj Bengaluru Sadananda a Bhardwaj Gowda Mr. V. S. Thiruvananthapu Mr. M. O. H. (13) Kerala Achuthanand ram Farook an Mr. Shivraj (14) Madhya Mr. Ram Bhopal Singh Pradesh Naresh Yadav Chauhan Mr. K. (15) Maharash Mr. Prithviraj Mumbai Sankaranaraya tra Chavan n Mr. Gurbachan Mr.Okram (16) Manipur Imphal Jagat Ibobi Singh (17) Meghalay Mr. R. S. Mr. Mukul A. Shillong a Mooshahary Sangma Mr. Vakkom Mr.Lalthanha (18) Mizoram Aizawl Purushothama wla n Mr. Nikhil Mr. Neiphiu (19) Nagaland Kohima Kumar Rio Mr. M. C. Mr. Naveen (20) Odisha Bhubaneswar Bhandare Patnaik Mr. Shivraj V. Mr. Parkash (21) Punjab Chandigarh Patil Singh Badal Mr. Shivraj V. Mr. Ashok (22) Rajasthan Jaipur Patil (Acting) Gehlot Mr. Balmiki Mr. Pawan (23) Sikkim Gangtok Prasad Singh Chamling (24) Tamil Ms. Chennai Mr. K Rosaiah Nadu Jayalalithaa

Ahmed

(25) Tripura

Agartala

(26) Uttarakh Dehradun and (27) Uttar Lucknow Pradesh (28) West Kolkata Bengal

Mr. Manik Sarkar Ms. Margaret Mr. Vijay Alva Bahuguna Mr. Akhilesh Mr. B. L. Joshi Yadav Mr. M. K. Ms. Mamata Narayanan Banerjee Mr. D. Y. Patil

NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

59TH NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

The prestigious 59th National Film Awards have been decided and their names would be revealed by chairpersons of the jury on March 7, 2012. Vidya Balan won Best Actress Award for her performance in Dirty Picture. The Best Hindi Film award won by I Am. The Awards will be given on 3rd May 2012. Marathi actor Girish Kulkarni bagged the Best Actor award for the movie Deool while movie I Am was declared Best Hindi Film. On the other hand, Kannada film Byari and Marathi film Devur were named the Best Feature Films. It is noteworthy here that Byari is the first film in the Beary language, spoken in coastal Karnataka. The film is based on ill-treatment of girls in Muslim community in the coastal Kannada region. BestFilm
Byari and Deool

Best Hindi Movie I AM

Best Actor Girish Kulkarni (deool) Best Actress Vidya Balan (The dirty picture)

Best Childrens Film Chillar Party

Best Child artist Partho Gupte (Stanley Ka Dabba),Child artist in Chillar Party Best Director Gurvinder Singh (Anhey Ghore da daan) Best Make Up Vijram Gaekwad (The Dirty Picture and Bal Gandharva) Best Costume Designer Niharika Khan (The Dirty Picture) and Neeta Lulla (Bal Gandharva) Best Supporting role (Male) Appu Kutty Best Supporting role (Female) Best Playback singer (Male) Best Lyrics Amitabh Bhattacharya Best Playback singer (Female) Rupa Ganguly

Best Cinematography Satya Rai Nagpaul Best Choreography Bosco Caesar (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) (Senorita Song) Best special effects Ra One

Best Book R.D. Burman:The Man,The Music Best Malayalam Film Indian Rupee

The Complete list of awards is as follows: Best feature film: Shared by Deool (Marathi) and Byari(Kannada) Best Actor: Girish Kulkarni for Deool Best Actress: Vidya Balan for 'The Dirty Picture' Best film critic: Manoj P Pujari Best Children's Film: Chillar Party Best Hindi Film: 'I AM' directed by Onir Special Jury Award: Anjan Dutta Best Book Award: Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal for the title 'R.D. Burman The Man, The Music.'

Best Music Direction: Neel Dutt for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona Best Background Score: Mayookh Bhaumik for Bengali film Laptop Best Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya for 'I AM' Best Female Playback Singer: Rupa Ganguly Best Male Playback Singer: Anand Bhate for 'Bal Gandharva' Best Costume: Neeta Lulla for Bal Gandharva (Marathi) and Niharika Khan for 'The Dirty Picture' (Hindi) Best Choreography: Bosco and Ceaser for 'Zindagi Naa Milegi Doobara' Best Special Effects: 'RA.One' Best Editing: Praveen KL for 'Aaranya Kaandam' Best Marathi Film: 'Shala' Best Bengali Film: 'Ranjana Ami Aar Ashbo Na' directed by Anjan Dutta Best Dogri Film: Dille Ch Vasya Koi Best Kannada Film: Kurmavatara Best Manipuri film: Phijigee Mani Best Punjabi Film: Anhe Ghorey Da Daan Best Tamil Film: Vaagai Sooda Va Best Non Feature Film: And We Play On Best Debut Film of a Director: The Silent Poet (Manipuri) Best film on Social Issues: Mindscapes...of Love and Longing shared with Inshallah, Football (Kashmiri, Urdu and English) Best Film On Family Values: Red Building Where the Sun Sets (English) Best Screenplay: Vikas Behl and Nitish Tiwari for 'Chillar Party' Best Adapted screenplay writer: Avinash Deshpande Best Dialogue: Girish Kulkarni Best Child Artist: Partho Gupte for 'Stanley ka Dabba' and the Chillar Party Group Indira Gandhi award for debut film director: Thiagarajan Kumararaja for 'Aaranya Kaandam' Special Mention: Director Shari for 'Adi Madhyantam' (Malayalam Film) and Mallika for 'Byari' (Kannada Film)

58th National Film Awards announced

Here's the list of winners Best Film: 'Adaminte Makan Abu' Best Hindi Feature Film: Do Dooni Chaar Best 'Wholesome Entertainer of the Year' : Dabangg

Best Sports Film National Award: 'Boxing Ladies' Best sci & tech film: Heart to Heart Best film on social issues: Champions Best English film - Memories in March Best Art & Culture Film: Leaving Home (Indian Ocean Film) Best Marathi Film: Mana Ayi Vacha Best Kannada Film: Putukarna Highway Best Childrens Film: Hejjegalu Best Investigative Film: K R Manoj's 'A Pestering Journey' on Endosulfan victims Best special effects: - Enthiran, Robot Best Actor: Salim Kumar for Adaminte Makan Abu and Dhanush for Aadukalam Best actress: Marathi actress Mitalee Jagtap Paradhar and Tamil actress Saranya Best director: Vetrimaaran for 'Aadukalam' Best supporting actress: Malayalam actress Sukumari Best Male Playback Singer: Suresh Wadkar

Best Female Playback Singer: Rekha Bhardwaj for Ishqiya Best Music: Vishal Bharadwaj for Ishqiya Best audiography location sound recordist: Kamod Karade (Ishqiya) Best re-recordist of the final mixed track: Debajit Changmai Best cinematographer: Madhu Ambattu has won award for Adaminte Makan Abu. Best production design: Sabu Cyril for Enthiran Special jury award: Mee Sindhutai Sakpal

57th National Film Awards 2009

Summer Film, Acting and Photography Courses at NYFA. Get Brochures Now. The 57th National Film Awards 2009 was announced on Wednesday afternoon (15th September, 2010). Amitabh Bachchan was honoured as the Best Actor for his outstanding performance in the film Paa. Malayalam Movie Kutty Shrank won the Best Movie Award for the year. Film 3 Idiots bagged the Best Film Award for wholesome entertainment. Minisha Lamba and Boman Irani starrer film Well Done Abba directed by Shyam Benegal got the Best Movie on Social Issues. Abhishek Bachchan starer film Dehli 6 won The Nargis Dutt Award For Best Feature Film on National Integration.

The film Abohoman got Rituparno Ghosh the Best Director Award and actress Ananya Chatterjee the Best Actress of the year. The music of the film Dev D by Amit Trivedi won the Best Music Director Award. Resul Pokkutty won the Best Sound Engineer Award. Best Background Music was won by Iilayarajafor the Malayalam movie Pazzhashi Raja. K. Siva Shankar won the Best Choreographer of the year for the Telugu film Magadheera. Farooq Shaikh won the award for the Best Actor in Supporting Role for the film Lahore. Arundati Nag bagged the Best Actress in Supporting Role for the film Paa. Best Children Film of the year is the Kannada film Puttani Party and Ottani Patti and Keshu won the best Child Artist Award. The Best Tamil Film of the year is Pasanga. We at Oneindia congratulate all the winners for bagging the National Film Award of the year. The list of the National Film Award winners are as follows: Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for Paa Best Actress: Ananya Chatterjee for her role in Abohomaan. Best Director : Rituparno Ghosh for his Bengali film Abahoman. Best Movie on National Integration: Delhi 6 Best Movie with Wholesome Entertainment: 3 Idiots Best Film : Kutty Srank Best film on social issues: Well Done Abba Best Camerawork: Anjali Shukla. Best Sound Engineer: Oscar winner Resul Pookutty Best Supporting role (Male): Farooq Sheikh for the film Lahore Best Supporting role (Female): Arundhati Naag for the film Paa Best Playback singer (Male): Rupam Islam for Mahanagar Best Playback singer (Female): Niranjana Sarkar (Housefull)

Best Music: Amit Trivedi for Dev D Best lyrics: Swananad Kirkire for the film 3 Idiots Best Music Director: Amit Trivedi for the film Dev D Best Child Film : Ottani Pati and Kesu Best Child actor: Jiva and Anba Karasu Best Background Music score: Illyaraza for Pazhassi Raja Best Choreography: K Shivashankar for film Magadheera

56th National Film Awards

There are so many different awards by different groups in the world of movies, that it really dilutes the whole purpose of giving away awards. It is more of a branding and advertising exercise rather than recognition of Movies, Actors and Actresses. All award functions are marred with controversies, and many awards are given not based on talent and quality, but other reasons not related at all. Thats why I have some faith only in our national awards (not that they are completely correct, but are close.) So here are the winners for 56th National Film Awards for 2008 (Yes thats right, they are for 2008). Our Government runs late by at least an Year :) no surprises there. Here is the list of Winners ! Antaheen (Bengali) was announced the Best Feature Film and also selected for the Award in Best Cinematography, Best Lyrics and Best Female Playback Singer category. The Best Actor Award went to Upendra Limaye for his performance in Marathi feature film Jogva

Hariharan adjudged the Best Male Playback Singer Shreya Ghoshal, the Best Female Playback Singer Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actress Award for her role in Hindi film Fashion Kangana Ranaut is selected for Best Supporting Actress Award also for Fashion. Arjun Rampal was adjudged Best Supporting Actor for his role in Rock On. Sh. Bala gets the award for Best Direction for the Tamil film Naan Kadauul. Hindi film Firaaq is selected for Best Editing and Best Art Direction categories. Little Zizou (English, Gujarati) was adjudged the Best Film on Family values. Kannada film Gubbachigalu gets the Best Chilrens Film Award. Master Shams Patel bagged the Best Child Artist for his role in Hindi film Thanks Maa. The Special Jury Award went to Malayalam film Bioscope produced by National Film Development Corporation. Neeta Lulla is selected for Best Costume Designer for Hindi film Jodha Akbar. Jodha Akbar was also selected in the Best Choreography category. Eight Films were selected for the Best Feature Film in each of the language specified in the Schedule VIII of the constitution category Best Assamese Film Mon Jai; Best Bengali Film Shob Charitro Kalponik; Best Hindi Film Rock On; Best Kannada Film- Vimukthi; Best Malayalam Film Thirakkada; Best Marathi Film Harishcnadrachi Factory; Best Tamil Film Veranam Airam; Best Telugu Film 1940 Lookagramam.

55th National Film Awards for Year 2007

Best Feature Film Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a director Best Popular Film for providing wholesome entertainment Nargis Dutt Award For Best Film On National Integration Best Film on Social Issues Best Childrens Film Best Animation Film Best Director Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Child Artist KANCHIVARAM (Tamil) FROZEN (English, director: Shivajee Chandrabhushan) Chak De India

Dharm (Hindi)

Best Film on Family Welfare Taare Zameen Par (Hindi) Antardwandwa (Hindi) Foto (Hindi) Inimey Naangathan (Tamil) Adoor Gopala Krishnan (Naalu Penugal; Malayalam) Prakash Raj (Kanchivaram; Tamil) Uma Shree (Gulabhi Talkies; Kannada) Darshan Jariwala (Gandhi My Father; Hindi) Shefali Shah (The Last Lear; English) Sharad Goekar (Tingya;

Marathi) Best Male Playback Singer Best Female Playback Singer Best Cinematography Best Screenplay Best Audiography Best Editing Best Art Direction Best Costume Designer Best Make-up Artist Best Music Best Lyrics Best Special Effects Best Choroegraphy Special Jury Award Best Book on Cinema Best Film Critic Shankar Mahadevan (Taare Zameen Par, Hindi) Shreya Ghoshal (Jab We Met; Hindi) Shankar Raman (Frozen, English) Feroz Abbas Khan (Gandhi My Father, Hindi) Kunal Sharma (1971; Hindi) B Ajith Kumar (Naalu Penugal; Malayalam) Sabu Cyril (Om Shanti Om; Hindi) Ruma Sengupta (Krishnakanter Will, Bengali) Pattanam Rasheed (Paradesi, Malayalam) Ouseppachan (Ore Kadal, Malayalam) Prasoon Joshi (Taare Jameen Par, Hindi) M/S Indian Artists (Shivaji, Tamil) Yeh Ishq Hai, Baithayi Bithaye (Jab We Met) Gandhi My Father (Producer: Anil Kapoor) From Raj To Swaraj: The Non-fiction film in India V K Joseph (Malayalam)

Regional Best Films Bengali Hindi Kannada Malayalam Tamil Marathi English Bollygunj Court 1971 Gulabhi Talkies Ore Kadal Periyar Nirop The Last Lear

54th National Film Awards for the year 2006

Best Film Pulijanmam Best Hindi Film Khosla Ka Ghosla Most Popular Film Lage Raho Munnabhai Best Director Madhur Bhandarkar (Traffic Signal) Best Actor Soumitra Chatterjee(Podokkhep) Best Actress Priyamani (Poruthiveeran)

Best Supporting Actor Dilip Prabhawalkar (Gandhi in Lage Raho Munnabhai) Best Supporting Actress Konkona Sen (Omkara) Best Song Lage Raho Munnabhai Best Screenplay Lage Raho Munnabhai Best Lyrics Lage Raho Munnabhai Jury Award Vishal Bharadwaj (Omkara) Cameraman Gautam Ghosh(Yatra)

53rd National Film Awards

Nargis Dutt Award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration went to 'Daivanamathil' (Malayalam), directed by Jayaraj. Indira Gandhi Award for the Best First Film of a Director went to a film 'Parineeta' (Hindi), directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. And the Award for the best film on social issues went to 'Iqbal' (Hindi), directed by Nagesh Mukunoor.

The award for the Best Direction went to Rahul Dholakia for the film 'Parzania'. Best Actor Award went to Amitabh Bachchan for his performance in Hindi Film 'Black'. Sarika has been adjudged the best actress award in recognition of her performance in the film 'Parzania' directed by Rahul Dholakia. The Award for the Best Child Artist went to Sai Kumar for his performance in Telugu film 'Bommalata A Bellyful of Dreams'. The Award for the Best Male Playback Singer went to Naresh Iyer in 'Rang De Basanti' and the Shreya Ghoshal was adjudged Best Female Playback singer for her song in 'Paheli'. The Best Non-Feature Film was 'Riding Solo To The Top Of The World' (English), directed by Gaurav A Jani. Best Film Critic Award went to Baradwaj Rangan. 'Black', directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is the best feature film in Hindi. The best adjudged films in different Indian languages mentioned in VIII Schedule are: Assamese: Kadam Tole Krishna Nache, Directed by Suman Haripriya Bengali: Harbart, Directed by Suman Mukherjee Kannada: Thaayi, Directed by Baraguru Ramchandrappa Malayalam: Thanmatra, Directed by Blessy Marathi: Dombivali Fast, Directed by Nishikant Kamat Oriya: Kathantara, Directed by Himanshu Khatua

Punjabi: Baghi, Directed by Sukhminder Dhanjal Tamil: Aadum Kothu, Directed by T V Chandran Telugu: Bommalata A Bellyful Of Dreams, Directed by Prakash Kovelamudi

51st National Film Awards

Announced recently, The National Film Awards pulled no real surprises. Rituparno Ghoshs Choker Bali a strong contender for Best Film was awarded the best Bengali film and The Marathi film Shwas bagged the Best Film title. Child actor Arun Chitale, who gave a touching performace as a child about to lose his vision in 'Shwaas' walked away with the honours in the category sharing it with Kalidasan in the Malayalam film 'Ente Veedu Appoontem'. Best Film: Shwas Shwas, directed by Pradeep Sawant, won the coveted Best Film prize. Shwas is the first Marathi film in over 50 years to bag the National Award for Best Film. The film is based on a real life story. The film has actor-producer Arun Nalavade playing an ingenuous grandfather caring for child who has gone blind after a life saving operation. Best Wholesome Entertainment: Munnabhai MBBS Rajkumar Hirani's Munnabhai MBBS has won the Best Wholesome Entertainment at the 51st National Film Awards. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and the director Raj Kumar Hirani could

never have guessed how popular this comedy would prove to be. Sunjay Dutt shone as the Tapori with a heart of gold, a hugging thug who plays doctor mending many hearts along the way. Best Director: Gautam Ghosh Critically acclaimed director Gautam Ghosh won the award for Best Director for his Bengali film "Aabar Aranye" Ghosh has made several films on social issues and believes that cinema makes a powerful and lasting statement. His earlier films include with Hungry Autumn, Mabhoomi, Dakhal Antarjali Yatra and Padma Nadir Majhi. Paar and Dekha. Best Actor: Vikram Vikram was adjudged the Best Actor for his role in the Tamil film Pithamaga. Vikram who is one of the most popular stars in Tamil films walks away with Best Actor Award at National Film Festival. Known to his fans as Cheeya (his nickname from his super hit film Sethu), Vikram is known to go great lengths to change his appearance according to the roles he portrays. His next film is Samurai that will be directed by Balajee. Best Actress: Meera Jasmine Meera Jasmine, one of the most promising new faces of Malayalam cinema, has won this years Best Actress Award. Meera Jasmine won the Award for her role in the Malyalam Film Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam. She bagged the Kerala State award for her performance in Padam onnu oru Vilapam, and Kastooriman' from the State Government. Best Bangla Film: Chokher Bali Rituparno Ghoshs, Chokher Bali is based on Rabindranath Tagore's novel by the same name. The film, which created waves on its release last year, has been screened at nearly major international film festivals, including Cannes,

Locarno and Toronto. The film made news as it has Aishwarya Rai in the role of a young widow. Best Supporting Actress award: Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore bagged the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Abar Aranye. Best male playback singer: Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam won the award for his rendering of f the title song in Karan Johars hanky wringer Kal Ho Na Ho. Best female playback singer: Tarali Sarma Tarali Sarma was crwoned best female playback singer for her rendition in 'Akashitorar Kothare' in Assamese. The award for the best art direction is shared between Indranil Ghosh for the Bengali film Chokher Bali and Sharmistha Roy for M.F. Husain's Hindi film Meenaxi: A Tale Of Three Cities. Special Jury Award: Manoj Bajpai Popular Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpai has received Special Jury Award for Pinjar. After garnering rave reviews for his role as Bhikhu Mhatre in Satya, Bajpai acted in many Bollywood films. His performance as Rasheed in Pinjar opposite a very impressive Urmila Matondkar fetched him this award. Best choreography - Farah Khan (for the song 'Idhar Chala, Main Udhar Chala' of Koi Mil Gaya) Indira Gandhi award for the best first film of a director Maargam (Malayalam); Producer Rajiv Vijay Raghavan; Director Rajiv Vijay Raghavan

Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration - Pinjar (Hindi); Producer Lucky Star Entertainment Limited; Director Dr Chandra Prakash Dwivedi Best feature film in Hindi - Raghu Romeo; Producer National Film Development Corporation Ltd; Director Rajat Kapoor Best feature film in Tamil - Eyarkai ; Producer V R Kumar; Director S P Jhananathan Best feature film in Telugu - Aithe ; Producer Gunnam Ganga Raju; Director Chandra Shekhar Yeleti Best lyrics - Suddala Ashok Teja (for Telugu film Tagore) Best cinematography - Abhik Mukhopadhyay (for the Bengali film Bhalo Theko) Best screenplay - Goutam Ghose (for Abar Aranye)

Rail Budget
Highlights of Railway Budget 2012-13
Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi presented the Railway Budget in Parliament on 14 March, 2012.

The highlights of Railway Budget

- Passenger fares increased marginally. The increase will be by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class; 3 paise per km for mail/express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC 3 tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2 tier and 30 paise per km for AC I. - Minimum fare and platform tickets to cost Rs 5. - 50 per cent concession in fare in AC-2, AC-3, Chair Car & Sleeper classes to patients suffering from 'Aplastic Anaemia' and 'Sickle Cell Anaemia'. - Extending the facility of travel by Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains to Arjuna Awardees. - Travel distance under 'Izzat Scheme' to increase from 100 kms to 150 kms. - SMS on passenger mobile phone in case of e-ticket to be accepted as proof of valid reservation. - Introduction of satellite based real time train information system (SIMRAN) to provide train running information to passengers through SMS, internet, etc. - On board passenger displays indicating next halt station and expected arrival time to be introduced. - Installation of 321 escalators at important stations of which 50 will be commissioned in 2012-13. - Introduction of regional cuisine at affordable rates; launching of Book-a-meal scheme to provide multiple choice of meals through SMS or email. - Introduction of coin/currency operated ticket vending machines. - Upgradation of 929 stations as Adarsh Stations including 84 stations proposed in 2012-13; 490 stations have been completed so far. - Specially designed coaches for differently-abled persons to be provided in each Mail/Express trains. - Introduction of Rail Bandhu on-board magazines on Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Duronto trains. - Setting up of AC Executive lounges at important stations - 75 new Express trains to be introduced. - 21 new passenger services, 9 DEMU services and 8 MEMU services to be introduced. - Run of 39 trains to be extended. - Frequency of 23 trains to be increased. - 75 additional services to run in Mumbai suburban; 44 new suburban services to be introduced in Kolkata area, 50 new services to be introduced in Kolkata Metro; 18 additional services in Chennai area. - 725 km new lines, 700 km doubling, 800 km gauge conversion and 1,100 km electrification targeted in 2012-13. - Rs 6,872 cr provided for new lines, Rs 3,393 cr for doubling, Rs 1,950 cr for gauge conversation, Rs 828 cr for electrification - Highest ever plan outlay of Rs 60,100 cr - Rae Bareli coach factory manufactured 10 coaches in 2011-12; phase-II of the factory would be commissioned in 2012-13.

- A wagon factory to be set up at Sitapali (Ganjam District of Odisha) - A rail coach factory with the support of Government of Kerala to be set up at Palakkad; two additional new manufacturing units for coaches to be established in the Kutch area in Gujarat and at Kolar in Karnataka with active participation of the State Governments. - Setting up of a factory at Shyamnagar in West Bengal to manufacture next generation technology propulsion system for use in high power electric locomotives. - Creating Missions as recommended by Pitroda Committee to implement the modernization programme. - Setting up of Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority to be considered. - New Board Members for Safety/Research and PPP/Marketing to be inducted. - Rail-Road Grade Separation Corporation to be set up to eliminate level crossings. - Indian Railway Station Development Corporation to be set up to redevelop stations through PPP mode. - Logistics Corporation to be set up for development & management of existing railway goods sheds and multi-modal logistics parks. - National High Speed Rail Authority to be set-up. - Pre-feasibility studies on six high speed corridors already completed; study on Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur to be taken up in 2012-13. - Introduction of a Green Train to run through the pristine forests of North Bengal. - Setting up of 200 remote railway stations as green energy stations powered entirely by solar energy. - Providing solar lighting system at 1,000 manned level crossing gates. - 2,500 coaches to be equipped with bio toilets. - Setting up of 72 MW capacity windmill plants in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. - Installation of Integrated Security System at all 202 identified stations to be completed in 2012-13. - Escorting of trains by RPF/GRP extended to 3,500 trains. - Integration of RPF helpline with the All India Passenger Helpline. - Setting up of a Railway Safety Authority as a statutory regulatory body as recommended by Kakodkar Committee - Three 'Safety Villages' to be set up at Bengaluru, Kharagpur and Lucknow for skill development for disaster management. - Over one lakh persons to be recruited in 2012-13 backlog of SC/ST/OBC and other categories to be wiped off. - Introduction of a wellness programme for railway staff at their work places. - Ensuring proper rest for skilled and technical staff including the running crew. - Institution of 'Rail Khel Ratna' Award for 10 rail sports-persons every year.

- New coaching terminal at Naihati, the birth place of Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay commemorating him on 175th Birth Anniversary. - Project to connect Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh to be taken up in 201213. - Freight loading of 1,025 MT targeted; 55 MT more than 2011-12 - Passenger growth targeted at 5.4 per cent.
As part of the Rail Budget 2012-13, Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi announced 75 new express trains, 21 new Passenger Services, 9 DEMU and 8 MEMU services. Moreover run of 39 trains will be extended, besides an increase in frequency of 23 trains. List of New Express Trains 1. Kamakhya-Lokmanya Tilak (T) AC Express (Weekly) via Katihar, Mughalsarai, Itarsi 2. Secunderabad-Shalimar AC Express (Weekly) via Vijayawada 3. Bandra (T)-Bhuj AC Express (Tri-Weekly) 4. Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Udhampur AC Express (Tri-Weekly) via Ambala, Jalandhar 5. Coimbatore-Bikaner AC Express (Weekly) via,Roha,Vasai Road,Ahmedabad,Jodhpur 6. Kakinada-Secunderabad AC Express (Tri-weekly) 7. Yesvantpur-Kochuveli AC Express ( Weekly) 8. Chennai-Bangalore AC Double-decker Express (Daily) 9. Habibganj-Indore AC Double-decker Express (Daily) 10. Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express (6 days a week) via Malda Town 11. Kamakhya-Tezpur Intercity Express (Daily) 12. Tiruchchirappalli-Tirunelveli Intercity Express (Daily) via Madurai,Virudunagar 13. Jabalpur-Singrauli Intercity Express (Daily) via New Katni Jn. 14. Bidar-Secunderabad Intercity Express (6 days a week) 15. Kanpur-Allahabad Intercity Express (Daily) 16. Chhapra-Manduadih Intercity Express (Daily) via Phephna, Rasra, Mau, Aunrihar 17. Ranchi-Dumka Intercity Express (Daily) via Deoghar 18. Barbil-Chakradharpur Intercity Express (Daily) via Dongoaposi, Jhinkpani 19. Secunderabad-Belampalli Intercity Express(Daily) via Kazipet 20. New Jalpaiguri New Cooch Behar Intercity Express (5 days a week) 21. Ahmedabad-Ajmer Intercity Express (Daily) 22. Dadar (T)- Tirunelveli Express (Weekly) via Roha, Coimbatore,Erode 23. Visakhapatnam-Chennai Express (Weekly) 24. Visakhapatnam-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly) via Vijayawada,Manmad 25. Indore-Yesvantpur Express (Weekly) via Itarsi,Narkher,Amravati,Akola,Kacheguda 26. Ajmer-Haridwar Express (Tri-weekly) via Delhi 27. Amravati-Pune Express (Bi-weekly) via Akola, Purna and Latur 28. Kacheguda-Madurai Express (Weekly) via Dharmavaram,Pakala,Jolarpettai 29. Bikaner-Puri Express (Weekly) via Jaipur,Kota,Katni Murwara, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur 30. Secunderabad-Darbhanga Express (Bi-weekly) via Ballarshah, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Ranchi, Jhajha 31. Bilaspur-Patna Express (Weekly) via Asansol, Jhajha 32. Howrah-Raxual Express (Bi-weekly) via Asansol, Jhajha, Barauni 33. Bhubaneswar-Bhawanipatna Link Express (Daily) via Vizianagaram 34. Puri-Yesvantpur Garib Rath Express (Weekly) via Visakhapatnam, Guntur

35. Sai Nagar Shirdi-Pandharpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Kurduwadi 36. Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express (Weekly) via Visakhapatnam,Gudur 37. Visakhapatnam-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express (Weekly) via Titlagarh,Raipur 38. Howrah-Lalkuan Express (Weekly) via Mughalsarai,Varanasi,Lucknow 39. Kolkata-Jaynagar Express (Weekly) via Asansol,Jhajha,Barauni 40. Dibrugarh-Kolkata Express (Weekly) 41. Firozpur-Sriganganagar Express (Daily) via Fazilka,Abohar 42. Jaipur-Secunderabad Express (Weekly) via Nagda, Bhopal, Narkher, Amravati, Akola 43. Okha-Jaipur Express (Weekly) via Palanpur,Ajmer 44. Adilabad-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express (Daily) via Mudkhed 45. Shalimar-Chennai Express (Weekly) 46. Mysore-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly) via Bangalore,Dharmavaram,Bellary 47. Valsad-Jodhpur Express (Weekly) via Palanpur,Marwar 48. Porbander-Secunderabad Express (Weekly) via Viramgam,Vasai Road 49. Bandra (T)-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express (Weekly) via Palanpur, Phulera 50. Hapa-Madgaon Express (Weekly) via Vasai Road,Roha 51. Bikaner-Bandra (T) Express (Weekly) via Jodhpur,Marwar,Ahmedabad 52. Ahmedabad-Gorakhpur Express (Weekly) via Palanpur,Jaipur,Mathura,Farrukhabad, Kanpur 53. Durg-Jagdalpur Express (Tri-Weekly) via Titlagarh 54. Mannargudi Tirupati Express (Tri-Weekly) viaThiruvarur,Villupuram,Katpadi 55. Gandhidham-Bandra (T) Express (Weekly) via Morbi 56. Kota-Hanumangarh Express (Daily) via Jaipur,Degana,Bikaner 57. Jhansi-Mumbai Express (Weekly) via Gwalior, Maksi, Nagda 58. Secunderabad-Nagpur Express (Triweekly) via Kazipet 59. Kanpur-Amritsar Express (Weekly) via Farrukhabad, Bareilly 60. Chappra-Lucknow Express (Tri-Weekly) via Masrakh,Thawe,Padrauna 61. Karimnagar-Tirupati Express (Weekly) via Pedapalli 62. Anandvihar-Haldia Express(Weekly) via Mughalsarai, Gomoh, Purulia 63. Barrackpore-Azamgarh Express (Weekly) via Jhajha, Ballia, Mau 64. Indore-Rewa Express ( Tri-weekly) via Bina 65. Running of independent train between Jabalpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin by delinking from 12405/12406 Bhusawal- Hazrat Nizamuddin and 12409/12410 Raigarh-Nizamuddin Gondwana Express 66. Darbhanga-Ajmer Express (Weekly) via Raxaul, Sitapur, Bareilly, Kasganj, Mathura 67. Solapur-Yesvantpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Gulbarga 68. Chennai-Puri Express (Weekly) 69. Hyderabad-Ajmer Express (Weekly)via Manmad, Itarsi, Ratlam 70. Asansol-Chennai Express (Weekly) via Purulia, Sambalpur,Vizianagaram 71. Shalimar-Bhuj Express (Weekly) via Bilaspur, Katni, Bhopal 72. Amritsar- Hazur Sahib Nanded Express (Weekly) 73. Santragachi-Ajmer Express (Weekly) via Kharagpur, Chandil, Barkakana, Katni, Kota 74. Malda Town-Surat Express ( Weekly) via Rampur Hat, Asansol, Nagpur 75. Dwarka-Somnath Express (Daily) Passenger Trains 1. Koderma-Nawadih Passenger (6 Days) 2. Sriganganagar-Suratgarh Passenger (Daily) 3. Yerraguntla-Nosam/Nanganapalli Passenger (Daily)

4. Villupuram-Katpadi Passenger (Daily) 5. Gunupur-Palasa (Via Parlakhemundi) Passenger (Daily) 6. Ajmer-Pushkar Passenger (5 Days) 7. Kota-Jhalawar City Passenger (Daily) 8. Bareilly-Kasganj Passenger (Daily) 9. Anandnagar-Barahani Passenger (Daily) 10. Rangiya-Tezpur Passenger (Daily) 11. Mysore-Shravan Belgola (Daily) 12. Jodhpur-Bilara Passenger (Daily) 13. Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai Passenger (Daily) 14. Rohtak-Panipat Passenger (Daily) 15. Miraj-Kurudwadi Passenger (Daily) 16. Phulera-Rewari Passenger (Daily) 17. Mysore-Chamarajanagar Passenger (Daily) 18. Gorakhpur-Siwan Passenger (Daily) via Kaptanganj,Thawe 19. Running of independent Passenger trains between Rewa-Bilaspur & Rewa-Chirmiri by delinking from 51751/51752 Rewa-Bilaspur Passenger &51753/51754 Rewa-Chirmiri Passenger 20. Mysore-Birur Passenger via Arsikere (Daily) 21. Jhansi-Tikamgarh Passenger via Lalitpur MEMU 1. Dahod-Anand 2. Anand-Gandhinagar 3. Bina-Bhopal MEMU service in lieu of conventional services. 4. Palakkad -Coimbatore-Erode 5. Ernakulam Thrissur 6. Adra-Asansol 7. Adra-Bishnupur via Bankura 8. Sealdah-Lalgola DEMU 1. Baripada-Bangriposi (Daily) 2. Masagram-Matnashibpur (Daily) 3. Mannargudi-Trichy-Manamadurai (Daily) 4. Hoshiarpur-Firozpur (Daily) 5. Siliguri-Changrabandha (Daily) 6. Pratapnagar- Chota Udepur (Daily) 7. New JalpaiguriBamanhat DEMU service in lieu of conventional services. 8. Delhi Sarai Rohilla Farukhnagar (6 days a week) 9. Katwa Azimganj (Daily) Extension of Trains 1. 12037/12038 New Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi Express on 2 days to Moga 2. 12537/12538 Manduadih-Bapudham Motihari Express to Muzaffarpur 3. 19051/19052 Valsad-Sonpur Express to Muzaffarpur 4. 18417/18418 Bhubaneswar-Jharsuguda Rajya Rani Express to Rourkela 5. 12945/12946 Surat-Varanasi Express to Chhapra 6. 13237/13238/13239/13240 Patna-Mathura Express to Kota

7. 15013/15014 Kathgodam-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express to Jodhpur 8. 12991/12992 Udaipur-Ajmer Express to Jaipur 9. 16779/16780 Madurai-Tirupati Express to Rameswaram 10. 22609/22610 Palakkad-Mangalore Express to Coimbatore 11. 16227/16228 Bangalore-Shimoga Express to Talguppa 12. 19781/19782/19771/19772 Jaipur-Amritsar Express to Ajmer 13. 18005/18006 Howrah-Koraput Express to Jagdalpur 14. 18207/18208 Durg-Jaipur Express to Ajmer 15. 13155/13156 Kolkata-Darbhanga Express to Sitamarhi 16. 19605/19606 Kolkata-Ajmer Express to Ahmedabad (via Abu Road) 17. 12687/12688 Dehradun-Chennai Express to Madurai (via Erode) 18. 11017/11018 Dadar-Yesvantpur Express to Puducherry (3 days) via Jolarpettai-KatpadiVillupuram & to Tirunelveli (3 days) via Dharmapuri-Erode 19. 14553/14554 Delhi-Una Himachal Express to Amb Andaura 20. 12941/12942 Ahmedabad - Asansol Express to Bhavnagar 21. 16649/16650 Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram Express to Nagercoil 22. 53139/53140 Kolkata-Chittaranjan Passenger to Deoghar 23. 58207/58208 Raipur-Kesinga Passenger to Bhawanipatna 24. 54033/54032 Delhi-Jind Passenger to Narwana 25. 51973/51974 Mathura-Bandikui Passenger to Jaipur 26. 55713/55714 New Jalpaiguri-Bongaigaon Passenger to Tezpur 27. 54043/54044 Jind-Sirsa Passenger to Hisar 28. 54809/54810 Rewari-Degana Passenger to Jodhpur 29. 57502/57503 Bodhan-Nizamabad Passenger to Kamareddi 30. 56011/56012 Arakkonam-Nandalur Passenger to Cuddapah 31. 59117/59122 Pratapnagar-Bodeli Passenger to Chota Udepur 32. 56714/56711 Tiruchchirapalli-Nagore Passenger to Karaikal 33. 54581/54582 Nangal Dam-Una Himachal Passenger to Amb Andaura 34. 66532 Bangalore Bangarapet Passenger to Marikuppam 35. 66533 Bangarpet Krishnarajapuram Passenger to Marikuppam. 36. 66602/66603 Coimbatore-Erode MEMU to Salem 37. 78816/78815 Dallirajhara-Durg DEMU to Raipur 38. 74001/74002 Delhi-Muzaffarnagar DEMU to Saharanpur 39. 76818/76813 Velankanni-Nagore DEMU to Karaikal 40. 13243/13244 Patna-Dehri On Son Express to Bhabua Road Increase in Frequency 1. 15903/15904 Dibrugarh-Chandigarh Express 1 to 2 days 2. 12731/12732 Secunderabad-Tirupati Express 2 to 4 days 3. 12069/12070 Raigarh-Gondia Janshatabdi Express 4 to 6 days 4. 17003/17004 Hyderabad-Kolhapur Express 2 to 7 days 5. 22451/22452 Chandigarh-Bandra(T) Express 1 to 2 days 6. 16779/16780 Madurai-Tirupati Express 2 to 3 days 7. 12685/12686 Chennai-Mangalore Express 6 to 7 days 8. 16535/16536 Yesvantpur-Solapur Express 3 to 7 days 9. 12187/12188 Jabalpur-Mumbai (CST) Express 2 to 3 days 10. 14009/14010/14019/14020 Chhindwara-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express 4 to 7 days 11. 16315/16316 Bangalore-Kochuveli Express 3 days to daily 12. 12641/12642 Nizamuddin Kanniyakumari Express 1 to 2 days

13. 22603/22604 Kharagpur-Villupuram Express from 1 to 2 days 14. 12453/12454 New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express from 1 to 2 days. 15. 12457/12458 Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Bikaner Superfast Express from 3 to 7 days. 16. 56231/56232 Mysore-Bangalore Passenger 6 to 7 days 17. 56237/56238 Mysore-Bangalore Passenger 6 to 7 days 18. 56223/56224 Bangalore-Arsikere Passenger 6 to 7 days 19. 56523/56524 Bangalore-Hindupur Passenger 6 to 7 days 20. 75705/75706 New Jalpaiguri-Aluabari-Siliguri DEMU from 6 to 7 days. 21. 75707/75708 Radhikapur-New Jalpaiguri DEMU from 6 to 7 days. 22. 75709/75710 Balurghat-New Jalpaiguri DEMU from 6 to 7 days. 23. 12485/12486 Shri Ganganagar-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express from 1 to 3 days.

Highlights of Railway Budget 2011-2012

Speech of Mamata Banerjee introducing the Railway Budget 2011-12 25th February 2011 1. Madam Speaker, I rise to present before this august House the Revised Estimates for 2010-11 and the estimated receipts and expenditure for 2011-12. I deem it an honour to present the third Railway Budget under the kind guidance of the hon'ble Prime Minister. I profusely thank the Finance Minster for his continued support and encouragement to the railways. 2. As the honble members are aware, the wheels of the railways continue to move 24 hours, all 365 days. Railways services are comparable to emergency services, required all the time. I am proud of the 14 lakh members of my railway family, who toil day and night with unparalleled dedication. I am also grateful to all passengers without whose cooperation and consideration, we could not have run this vast system. I have also received unstinted support from our two recognised federations and staff and officers associations. 3. Madam, rail transportation is vitally interlinked with the economic development of the country. With the economy slated to grow at a rate of 8-9%, it is imperative that the railways grow at an even faster pace. I see the railways as an artery of this pulsating nation. Our lines touch the lives of humble people in tiny villages, as they touch the lives of those in the bustling metropolises. 4. We are taking a two-pronged approach, scripted on the one hand, by a sustainable, efficient and rapidly growing Indian Railways, and on the other, by an acute sense of social responsibility towards the common people of this nation. In this budget, we have attempted to combine a strong economic focus with an equal emphasis on social inclusion with a human face. 5. Madam, while railways deliver on their promises, they are not good at publicity. This House and the nation do not come to know of our achievements or what we are doing. Hum Aah Bhee Karte Hain Toh Ho Jaate Hain Badnaam Woh Katl Bhee Karte Hain Toh Charcha Nahi Hota 6. We need a large heart and a large mind to undertake big works. With every big work, our stature grows and our mind opens out to a larger vision. During this year, we have met industry leaders, Chambers of Commerce and Industry to encourage investment in the specified areas of infrastructure, rolling-stock or service provision. Railways will provide economic share to our partners for such endeavours. With this objective, railways have developed several business-oriented policies for the first time. Some of these policy

initiatives are:i. Railways Infrastructure for Industry Initiative (R3i) ii. Private Freight Terminal (PFT) iii. Special Freight Train Operators (SFTO) iv. Automobile Freight Train Operators (AFTO) v. Automobile and Ancillary Hubs vi. Kisan Vision (Cold Chains) vii. New Catering Policy viii. Rail Connectivity to Coal and Iron ore mines (R2CI) 7. The response to the policies has been encouraging and 85 proposals have already been received. We have set up a Single Window System under Secretary, Railway Board to take these forward. 8. As the honble members would agree, expansion of rail infrastructure requires meticulous planning. Rising demand for coaches, locos and wagons cannot be met immediately because their manufacture requires components whose production has to be planned well in advance. Even some key material and components for rolling stock are not readily available in the country and we often have to depend on imports. As a result, supply of rolling stock has been falling short of our requirements. Even now it is not available according to our requirement. To meet the demand of passengers for more coaches, MEMUs, DEMUs etc., we have decided to set up rail-based industries. 9. I appreciate that the demands of every honble member and citizens are genuine. It is their right and I fully understand. I would like to help them as much as I could but for constraints of coaches, locomotives and line capacity. Thus it is difficult to meet every individual demand. We have tried to meet some of the demands collectively within the limited resources. I would like to assure the House if we are positive, if we go according to Vision 2020, we can meet the demand within a short period. I believe in positive approach and action. As Swami Vivekananda said : Strength is life and weakness is death. 10. Madam, in the last two budgets, to meet the growing demand and to create employment opportunities for the unemployed youth, I had announced setting up of a large number of rail-based factories/manufacturing projects. Work on all these projects are at different stages of progress and implementation. The works at New Jalpaiguri, Adra, Jellingham and Kulti have been taken up in collaboration with different PSUs. I thank SAIL, NTPC and RINL for their cooperation and support. Other PSUs are also welcome to come forward for such joint ventures. 11. Madam, I am happy to report that work on the new coach factory at Rae Bareli is progressing rapidly now. The first coach is expected to be turned out from the new plant within the next three months. 12. Railways have also been working on a number of projects involving longterm supply contracts for locomotives, coaches and critical loco components at Madhepura, Marhowra, Kanchrapara and Dankuni. Since these project models are being attempted for the first time in the railways, it is necessary to carry out due diligence. All these projects are progressing and a Core Group of officers is working on these PPP/JV industries to take them forward. 13. Railways are already executing works either departmentally or through PPP/JV at Budge Budge, Dankuni, Naopara, Anara, Tindharia, New Cooch Behar, Kharagpur, Haldia, Guwahati and Kazipet. Work on the wagon factory in Orissa will also be taken up once the site is finalized. 14. Work on ICF, Peramburs second unit will start soon. We have decided that whatever problems are there will be sorted out and we will set up the Palakkad coach factory. Railways are interested to partner with Autocast and SILK at Cherthala, for which business plan is being revised to bring it in line with the current needs of the railways.

15. Madam, I am happy to inform that Burn Standard Company Limited and Braithwaite Company Limited have been brought under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways this year. 16. Madam, to further expand rail-based industries, I would now like to mention some new initiatives. 17. The prestigious Jammu-Kashmir Rail Link project involves a large number of bridges. I propose to dedicate an industry for our brothers and sisters 4 of J&K, who are close to our heart. Therefore, railways will set up a Bridge Factory in J&K, which is our heaven on earth. This industry will help in developing ancillary industries leading to employment generation in the area. I also propose to set up a state-of-the-art Institute for Tunnel and Bridge Engineering at Jammu. 18. As per my announcement to set up a coach factory at Singur, land has not been made available by the state government. However, several landowners have volunteered to sell their land directly to the railways. In order to fulfill this commitment, I propose to set up a metro coach factory on the land purchased from willing sellers at Singur/adjacent Polba. 19. Northeast is our priority area and receives governments full support. Imphal, the capital of Manipur will soon be connected to the railway network. I have planned in advance. Therefore, I propose to set up a diesel locomotive centre in Manipur. 20. Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is the professional IT arm of Indian Railways. It is a nursery for development of software specialists in the country. I propose to open a Centre of Excellence in software at Darjeeling under the aegis of CRIS. 21. I propose to set up two more wagon units under JV/PPP mode, one each at Kolar and Alappuzha, Kerala, and one more at Buniadpur. 22. A large number of small and medium size track machines have been developed indigenously and are also being manufactured in India. I propose to pursue a joint venture between railways and a partner to set up a manufacturing industry for the indigenous production of large on-track machines at Uluberia. I also propose to set up a new track machine POH facility at the same place. 23. Madam, I am happy to announce setting up of a Rail Industrial Park at Jellingham. This Park will be a cluster of diverse industrial units whose output will be consumed by the railways. The Park will initially focus on high volume safety and vital components. With this, we shall make a beginning towards creating a global hub in India for the railway industry. A unit to manufacture car steel bogies and couplers through a joint venture between Burn Standard Co. Ltd. and SAIL has already been initiated in this Park. I also propose to set up a Rail Industrial Park at New Bongaigaon.5 24. The electrical energy requirement of railways is growing rapidly with the expansion of the rail infrastructure and traffic. A captive thermal power plant of 1,000 MW at Nabinagar is at an advance stage of construction. A second thermal power plant of 1,320 MW capacity at Adra is in the process of being set up. Depending upon the fuel being made available at economic cost, I propose to set up a 700 MW gas-based power plant at Thakurli in Maharashtra. 25. I propose to set up more mechanized laundries for improving the quality of linen in trains at Nagpur, Chandigarh and Bhopal, in addition to Wadibunder, Tikiyapara, Kamakhya, Secunderabad, Kacheguda, Indore, Lucknow, Banaras, Samastipur, Sealdah, Tatanagar, Danapur, Bikaner, Bilaspur, Durg, Hatia, Chennai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, where they are commissioned or are being set up. Proposals for laundries at Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Gwalior, Manduadih, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri, Jammu, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Tirupati, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Hubli, Bengaluru, Yashwantpur, Jabalpur, Allahabad, Mau, Amethi and Kota are also under

examination. 26. Madam, after having discussed the policy initiatives and rail-based industries, I would now come to expansion of rail infrastructure. 27. For the first time ever, railways have framed Vision 2020, providing a definite roadmap, both short-term and long-term, for the future. We intend to go forward to achieve our goals with careful planning. 28. Madam Speaker, we had added only 10,677 km of new lines since independence. I had announced an ambitious target of 1,000 km of new lines in 2010-11. This is in contrast to average addition of 180 km annually. In the current year, we may do over 700 km, falling short of the target. But this would be almost double of the highest ever performance in any single year. Unless we set our targets high, we cannot realize the goals of Vision 2020. The honble members will be happy to know that railways will be achieving its target of 800 km for gauge conversion, 700 km for doubling and 1,000 km of electrification. 29. Railways efforts to provide dignity to the poor through the Izzat scheme in 2009-10 have benefitted over four lakh disadvantaged citizens. They are now able to travel to their workplaces with their heads held high. Poverty drives many people to live dangerously near railway tracks and often risk their lives. 6 Many perish every year. Their lives are very important to us. These dwellers also affect smooth movement of trains. That is why we have decided to give them small shelter through Sukhi Griha Scheme. This scheme is being taken up on pilot basis to provide 10,000 dwelling units at Mumbai, Sealdah, Siliguri, Tiruchirapalli and other places. This is our humble effort to help these dwellers. Annual Plan 2011-12 30. Madam, the Annual Plan for the year 2011-12 has been proposed at `57,630 cr which is the highest ever plan investment by the railways in a single year. The Plan is proposed to be financed through GBS of `20,000 cr, diesel cess of `1041 cr, internal resources of `14,219 cr, market borrowings of `20,594 cr through Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), considering its past excellent performance in the financial market. Normally IRFC raises between `9,000-10,000 cr annually for leasing of rolling stock. Next year, an additional amount of `10,000 cr will be raised through tax free bonds for financing select capacity enhancement works. Railways will ensure servicing this debt of tax-free bonds. Further, external source of financing through PPP, WIS etc is expected to yield `1,776 cr. 31. Improving upon 2010-11, a greater thrust is being given to the expansion of the rail network with a larger allocation of ` 9,583 cr for new lines. It is planned to complete 1,000 km of new lines in 2011-12. In addition, the left over new lines from last years target will also be completed. Apart from this, `5,406 cr and `2,470 cr has been given for doubling and gauge conversion projects to complete 867 km and 1,017 km respectively. To overcome shortages in wagons, coaches and locomotives, `13,820 cr has been earmarked for acquisition of rolling stock. 32. Indian Railways are a true symbol of inclusive growth and it is the lifeline of the nation and contributes to national integration. It is an irony that despite the presence of railways in India for 157 years, large parts of our population have never seen a railway line. In the coming decade, Indian Railways will continue to keep its service focus on the underprivileged and the poor, even as it expands its services for the more fortunate. I quote Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore: Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might. 7 33. In the last budget I had announced updation of surveys for 114 socially desirable new lines. Out of this 94 will be completed by March, 2011 and the remaining by December, 2011. I propose to take up construction of these lines in the 12

th five year plan since this budget year is the terminal year of the 11 th plan. Our dream is to bring about a social revolution through rail connectivity. We need political freedom along with economic freedom that will usher in prosperity for our millions of countrymen, more especially to the common man. 34. Madam, we have proposed to create a fund to implement the socially desirable projects during the 12 th Plan. Under the umbrella of this non-lapsable fund, not only will the pending socially desirable lines be completed, but many other similar new line projects would also be taken up. The scheme is being named, Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana. I am extremely thankful to the honble Prime Minister for his support and guidance. 35. Madam, it is our continuous endeavour to connect unserved and underserved regions to the rail network. We want underdeveloped areas to develop and the people of these regions to join the process of growth. I therefore, propose to take up construction of the following new lines in a few such areas:i. Wadsa-Gadchirholi in Maharashtra ii. Bhadutola-Jhargram via Lalgarh in West Bengal iii. Gudur-Durgrajpuram in Andhra Pradesh iv. Hansdiha-Godda in Jharkhand 36. Railways are already executing 19 projects in the similar difficult and underdeveloped areas in the States of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra and I propose to increase the allocation to these projects to `771 cr. 37. A non-lapsable Fund for railway projects in the northeast region has been created that will boost the progress of projects. All the state capitals of this region except Sikkim will get connected by rail network in the next seven years. The prestigious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla project is also progressing and work on Indias longest tunnel between Banihal and Qazigund would be completed this year. 8 Safety & Security 38. Safety is our first priority. Every incident is unfortunate. We do not want to see loss of even a single life. Unfortunately in two incidents of sabotage and suspected sabotage, 216 innocent lives were lost. We are trying sincerely to ensure such incidents do not occur. We extend our condolences to their families. 39. Indian Railways connect 7,083 stations, and carry 2.20 crore people and over 2.5 million tonnes of goods every day. As a result of our sustained efforts, the index for train accidents has decreased significantly from 0.29 per million train km in 2004-05 to 0.17 in 2009-10. This is despite the increase in traffic from 16,021 trains per day and 538 crore passengers annually in 2004-05 to 18,820 trains and 720 crore passengers in 2009-10. Madam, it is very sad that every year over 1.30 lakh people die in road accidents. Railway is passenger friendly, safe and a cheap mode of transport. Rail fares are close to one-fourth that of the road. 40. In my first tenure, I had approved the introduction of Anti Collision Device (ACD). After ten years I find that it has been implemented only on NF railway. Madam, our recent trials with an improved version of ACD have met with success and it will be commissioned on three zonal railways, Southern, South Central and South Western Railways. Considering the successful trials, I have decided to extend this device to Eastern, East Coast, East Central and South Eastern Railways. With this we will have covered 8 of the 17 zonal railways. 41. The number of incidents at unmanned level crossings, on which we are

working very seriously, has come down by 36% with the elimination of 1,500 unmanned crossings, construction of 172 ROBs and 240 RUBs/subways. I have lowered the eligibility criteria for manning from 6,000 TVUs to 3,000 TVUs. Efforts will be intensified in the coming year by eliminating the remaining eligible 2,500 unmanned level crossings as well as construction of 200 ROBs and 325 RUBs/subways. Any other crossing required to be eliminated will also be taken up for conversion. 42. A GPS based Fog Safe device has been deployed and I am happy to report that this year railways have handled the foggy weather without any untoward incident. 9 43. Madam, railways being a soft target, has been facing the wrath of extremists, agitations and other unsocial elements. Incidences of disruptions by way of bomb-blasts, sabotage, track-tampering etc. are on the rise. I appeal to my countrymen to exercise discretion and restraint. Railways are their own property and any damage will only result in inconvenience and loss of revenue and will not help their cause. 44. As law and order is the responsibility of the state governments, railways are mostly helpless in handling such situations. We cannot ensure efficient and punctual operations of trains without the help of state governments. Some states do help, some states are helpless. Frequent calls for rail rokos are not only crippling operations on Indian Railways but also causing immense hardship to passengers, not to talk of substantial loss of revenues. There have been 115 cases of rail roko agitations during the period from April to December 2010, a few of which have spread over a period of three weeks. In the current year, till now more than 1,500 passenger carrying trains have been cancelled, another 1,500 diverted over longer routes and more than 3,500 rescheduled on account of such disruptions. We want cooperation from all concerned. Those who help us, we will also help them. 45. I am now making an offer that whichever state ensures trouble-free train running for the whole year, shall be given two new trains and two projects as a special package. 46. An All India Security Help Line on a single number has been set up to facilitate passenger security and is likely to become operational this year. A comprehensive bill has been drafted to empower RPF to deal with passenger related offences and it is likely to be placed before Parliament soon. We are reviewing the passenger security care programme to bring about all round security improvement for passengers. 47. Madam, the thrust of the Budget this year is also on modernisation. A number of measures will be taken to usher in latest technology. I would like to spell out some of these steps for improving the efficiency of the system that will ultimately benefit our customers:i. Based on the success of the pilot project of SIMRAN, jointly developed by IIT, Kanpur and RDSO, a Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) will provide reliable information on train running. 10 ii. Collaboration with Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur for using jute geo-textiles in embankment design; iii. A project with IIT, Chennai on prototype manufacture of ultrasonic systems; iv. Partnership with Jadavpur University for development of new designs for rail steel bridges; v. A collaborative study with IIT, Mumbai on the problem of corrosion of rails; vi. The Centre for Railway Research (CRR), collaboration between IIT, Kharagpur and RDSO, has been sanctioned and is under implementation.

vii. Centres of Excellence for development and prototyping various types of Mechatronics systems at RCF/Kapurthala and DMW/Patiala; viii. E-procurement and e-auction to ensure transparency and economy. ix. Development of a comprehensive web-based databank for land and asset management database for optimum utilization of our resources. x. Issuing paperless railway receipts; xi. Extend web based system of allotment of iron ore rakes to coal traffic xii. Run double-stack container trains from Gujarat ports to the major ICD at Gurgaon. Green Initiatives 48. Madam, railways are always environment friendly and are considered evergreen. It is also the most fuel efficient mode of transport. Therefore, I have declared 2011-12 as the Year of Green Energy. I would like to share some of the green measures taken by the railways:- 11 i. Free supply of 14 lakh CFLs to railway households and phasing out of incandescent lamps. ii. Regenerative braking in Mumbai EMUs iii. Windmill at ICF, Chennai iv. Production of locos with hotel load converter v. Increase use of solar energy at LC gates, stations etc. vi. Use of bio-diesel, CNG and LNG in locos, workshops etc. Passenger/Rail Users Amenities 49. Madam, for passengers a fresh thrust has been given to improve the amenities and provide better experience at stations. In the last two years, we had announced the upgradation of 584 stations as Adarsh Stations, out of which 442 stations will be completed by March 2011. The remaining will be completed in 2011-12. 50. Upgradation of stations would provide safe drinking water, pay & use toilets, high-level platforms, better accessibility for the physically challenged among many other facilities at these stations. I would like to assure all the honble members that all the suggestion for Adarsh stations given by them have been included in the following list of 236 stations. I will be happy to receive suggestions from the honble members to add more stations. Abhaipur, Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar, Achhnera, Alipurduar court, Alipurduar Jn., Ambalgram, Ambernath, Ambikapur, Anara, Asoknagar Road, Azimganj Jn., Baghdogra, Bagula, Bahadurpur, Baharu, Bahirgachhi, Bahirpuya, Bahraich, Balagarh, Bala Mau, Balarambati, Balgona, Ballalpur, Bamangachhi, Bamangram Halt, Bamanhat, Banarhat, Baneswar, Banka pasi, Bankimnagar, Banstala, Barabhum, Baragaon, Barasat Jn., Barhni, Barmer, Barsoi Jn., Basudevpur, Basuldanga, Batasi, Bathnakrittiba, Belakoba, Beldanga, Beliaghata Rd, Beliatore, Betberia ghola, Bhadaiyan, Bhadrak, Bhagalpur, Bhagwangola, Bharwari, Bhimgarh, Bidyadharpur, Bishnupur, Boinchi, Brindabanpur, Buniyadpur, Burnpur, Chanchai, Chamagram, Champa, Chandanpur, Chatra, Chatterhat, Chengannur, Chintamani, Chirimiri, Chitrakut Dham Karvi, Chowrigacha, Churu, Dainhat, Darjeeling, Daryabad, Dasnagar, Deoria Sadar, Deulti, Dhatrigram, Dhubulia, Dhulabari, Dildarnagar, Diva, Dubrajpur, Dumurdaha, Durgachak, Eklakhi, Ettumanur, Falakata, Fatehpur, Fatehpur Sikri, Gadadharpur, Gandhigram, Ghanpur, Ghoksadanga, Ghoragata, Ghum, Gidhni, Gobra, Guntur, Gurap, Harishdadpur, Harishchandrapur, Hasimara, Hindmotor, Hotar, Hridaypur, Hubli, Jabalpur, Jaganath Temple 12 Gate, Jakhalabandha, Jalor, Jamikunta, Janai road, Jangaon, Jessore road, Jhantipahari, Jodhpur, Jorhat Town, Joychandipahar, Kahalgaon, Kaikala, Kalchini, Kalinagar, Kaliyaganj, Kamakhyaguri, Kamareddi, Kanjiramittam, Kanthi, Karimnagar, Kathgodam, Kathua, Khagraghat Rd., Khajuraho, Khalilabad, Khemasuli, Khurja Jn., Kiraoli, Kishanganj, Kolar, Korba, Kotshila,

Kulpi, Kumbakonam, Kunda Harnam Ganj, Kurukshetra, Kuruppantara, Labpur, Lohapur, Loknath, Lower Parel, Madarihat, Madhusudanpur, Majhdia, Malatipur, Malda Court, Malkajgiri, Manendragarh, Manigram, Maninagar, Mararikulam, Matigara, Mayiladuturai, Meerut City, Meghnagar, Mollarpur, Mulanturutti, Murarai, Nabadwip Ghat, Nabagram, Nagore, Nagrakata, Naimisharanya, Nandakumar, Narendrapur, Navsari, New Alipurduar, New Bhuj, New Cooch Behar, Old Malda, Palla road, Palsit, Panagarh, Pandaveswar, Panjipara, Patranga, Patuli, Phusro, Piravam Road, Pirtala, Prantik, Quilandi, Raghunathpalli, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajbandh, Rajgoda, Rajnandgaon, Ramrajatala, Rangiya, Ratangarh, Remount road, Rudauli, Rupnarayanpur, Sabarmati, Sadulpur, Sagardighi, Sakoti Tanda, Salanpur, Salboni, Salem, Sambre, Sankrail, Santaldih, Sardiha, Sasthankotta, Satna, Shahganj, Shalimar, Sidlaghatta, Simlagarh, Sirathu, Sitapur Cantt., Sivok, Sohawal, Sonada, Srinivaspura, Sukna, Sultanpur, Talit, Thanabihpur, Tildanga, Tiruppur, Tuticorin, Udhna, Vaikam Road, Vasco-da-gama, Vellarakkad. 51. Though railways have announced the setting up of number of world class stations, not much headway could be achieved because of their high costs. We are taking a relook at the parameters and guidelines to provide what will suit Indian passengers best. This work will definitely be taken up in the coming year. 52. Out of the 160 MFCs announced, a few are completed and few are in the process of completion. I have given a special target to complete all the MFCs next year. I propose to set up more MFCs with budget hotels at Bangarpet, Secunderabad, Amethi, Ramnagar, Ajmer, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram, Kamakhya, Gaya, Rae Bareli, Deoghar, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Vellore, Kanyakumari, Srinagar, Sasaram, Bhagalpur, Panipat, Bhuj, Anand, Arsikere, Birur, Neemach, Ratlam, Azamgarh, Ujjain, Adra, Midnapore, Tamluk, Purulia, Thakurnagar, Sagardighi, Jangipur, Bahrampur, Nabadwip, Kulti, Bolapur, Diamond Harbour, Naihati, Kanchrapara, Hajipur, Islampur and Rohtak. 13 53. Some of the measures taken/proposed to be taken to improve passenger amenities are:i. Introduction of a pan-India, multi-purpose Go-India smart card on a pilot basis. This will be one single window package for the passenger to seamlessly pay for tickets for long distance, suburban, metro etc. journeys. The card can be used in booking counters, vending machines, internet etc.; ii. Two new coaching terminals at Nemam and Kottayam in Kerala, one in Mau Nath Bhanjan in Uttar Pradesh and another in Dankuni, West Bengal; iii. Better accessibility at stations for physically challenged customers; iv. Extension of Rail Yatri Sevaks with modern trolleys to six more stations: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram; v. A new portal for e-ticketing by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is ready and will be launched shortly. Booking of tickets through this portal would be cheaper with a charge of only ` 10 for AC classes and ` 5 for others; vi. Provision of internet access on Howrah-Rajdhani Express as a pilot project; vii. Extension of Train Management System to New Delhi, Bangalore, Secunderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow stations to provide information on running of trains, viii. Introduction of advance booking of retiring rooms. 54. Madam, I propose to introduce a new Super AC class of travel. The new class will provide improved comfort and features and more exclusivity.

Golden Rail Corridor 55. Madam, I am happy to announce that pre-feasibility study for the western leg (Delhi-Mumbai) of the Golden Rail Corridor would start early next year. 14 The study is being undertaken with help from Japan, with the objective of raising speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph. Similar studies will be initiated for other corridors including Mumbai-Kolkata, Chennai-Bangalore, Delhi-Jaipur and Ahmedabad-Mumbai. Staff 56. Madam, our employees are our biggest asset and it is they who keep the wheel of progress moving. Some of the measures I propose to take for their welfare are:i. Expand the scope of Liberalized Active Retirement Scheme for Guaranteed Employment for safety category staff by enhancing the existing criteria of grade pay from `1,800/- to `1,900/-. ii. Considering the Indian family structure and values, extending medical facilities to both dependent father and mother of railway employees. iii. Increasing the scholarship for the girl child of gangmen and group D employees to `1,200 per month for higher education. iv. Setting up of a Railway Vidyalaya Prabandhan Board (RVPB) to improve quality of education to children studying in 269 railway schools. The Board will draw up a plan for improving the physical and educational infrastructure of these schools to be implemented in a time frame of three years. v. In order to provide easy access to medical facilities in remote and inaccessible areas for our employees, it is proposed to provide 20 Medical Road Medical Vans at different locations to begin with. vi. I am happy to report that all the proposed 20 hostels for children of railway employees have been commissioned and another 20 would be set up next year. 57. Madam, my Ministry is undertaking restructuring of all the cadres in the railways to afford adequate promotional opportunities to the officers and staff. 15 Recruitment 58. Madam, after the new recruitment policy announced last year, recruitment process has already been set in motion for filling the vacancies of about 1.75 lakh in Group C and Group D posts. Steps have also been taken to fill up about 13,000 posts in Railway Protection Force. These mega recruitment drives will cover the backlog of SC/ST/physically handicapped quota. 59. I am happy to inform that for the first time, railways are inducting 16,000 ex-servicemen by end of March 2011. As also announced last year, we are also recruiting more than 1,200 ex-servicemen in RPF. It is our humble tribute to our brave jawans who defend our borders. koi sikh koi jaat maratha koi gurkha koi madrasi sarhad par marnevaala har veer tha bhaaratvasi jo shaheed hue hain unki jara yad karo kurbani. Training 60. To enhance skills of our frontline staff in dealing with the customers, a training centre is proposed to be started at Kharagpur. Also multidisciplinary training centres would be set up at Dharwad, Kolkata and Pune including an exclusive international centre at Agra. A new basic Training Centre at Kurseong is proposed to cater to the needs of Northeast Frontier

Railway including Darjeeling - Himalayan Railway. Setting up of Polytechnics 61. I am happy to announce that five Polytechnics will be set up at Varanasi, Machlandpur, Vadodara, Bhilai and Hubli-Dharwad under MOU with Ministry of Human Resource Development. This will also contribute towards the national mission of skill development. Sports 62. As the honble members are aware, railways have always provided congenial and enabling environment for breeding of sports talent in the country. I take great pride in reporting that railway sportspersons brought 25 medals (including 13 Gold of the 38 won by India) in the recently held Commonwealth Games, 2010. The excellent performance of railway sportspersons continued in the Asian Games also with a contribution of 7 out of 14 Golds for India. 16 Railways also ran a special Commonwealth Express which was visited by 8 lakh people. 63. Madam, railways will continue to strengthen the sports infrastructure and open more sports academies, stadia and multi-purpose halls. It is also proposed to create a separate sports cadre so that their aspirations are fully met. Promotion of Cultural Activities 64. Madam, you will agree that the Railway family cannot isolate itself from the cultural field. Therefore, I have formed a Cultural Promotion Board to boost the cultural activities across the length and breadth of the country which will be railways efforts to preserve and promote the diverse and rich cultural heritage of the nation. 65. To commemorate the 150 th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, on 9 th May, 2010, a special exhibition train, Sanskriti Express, was launched. It is showcasing artistic works, philosophy and teachings of Gurudev. The train has been moving across the country and has been visited by more than 24 lakh people in 18 states so far. 66. At the invitation of our beloved Sheikh Hasina, Honble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, this train is set to go on a cultural exchange programme to Bangladesh according to their convenience. I am thankful to her for suggesting Sonar Tori as the name of the train. I wholeheartedly accept her suggestion. 67. Several other special exhibition trains such as Mother Express a tribute to Mother Teresa on her birth centenary and Aurobindo Express have also been run to disseminate the message of these great personalities. In addition, running of Vivekananda Express will be extended for two years up to his 150 th birth anniversary in 2013. We have also run a Technology Express to spread the awareness of science and technology among youth and students. Financial Performance 68. Madam Speaker, I have no hesitation in informing this august House that Indian Railways are passing through a very difficult phase. The year 2009-10 was challenging for the railways. Implementation of the 6 th Pay Commissions recommendations increased the expenditure on staff and pension by an unprecedented 97%. The latest assessment of Pay Commissions impact reveals an additional expenditure of `73,000 crore during the XI Plan period. This has 17

heavily impacted our internal generation for plan investment. However, by prudent financial management, we have not only paid the full dividend for 2009-10, but also achieved an operating ratio of 95.3%. In fact, if we do not take pay commission arrears into consideration, which rightfully are liabilities of previous financial years, the operating ratio would have been 84% even with payment of higher salaries and pension. If the salaries and pension are also kept at the earlier levels, the operating ratio comes down even further to 74.1%. 69. The testing times for the railways continue in 2010-11 due to the impact of allowances and several post-budgetary factors. On the earnings side, disruption of train movements has resulted in a loss of about `1,500 cr and another `2,000 cr due to the ban on export of iron ore. As a result, the loading target had to be reduced by 20 million tonnes to 924 million tonnes. However, in the revised estimates, goods earnings have been retained at the budget level based on trends of higher yield per NTKM. The total gross earnings have now been fixed at `94,742 cr which is `177 cr higher than the budget. With the reduced traffic suspense clearance of `98 cr, Gross Traffic Receipts is higher than the budget target by `75 cr at `94,840 cr. 70. On the expenditure side, two hikes in the rates of HSD oil and increased electricity tariff in some states, higher DA rates and excise duty rates, as well as impact of unanticipated higher salary and allowances, raised the requirement by `5,700 cr. I am proud to say that we will save `3,700 cr by our economy drive and other austerity measures. Next year we will save more. Ordinary Working Expenses has now been fixed at `67,000 cr, an increase of `2,000 cr over Budget Estimate. After providing for `5,700 cr and `14,500 cr towards Depreciation Reserve Fund and Pension Fund respectively in the Revised Estimates, the Total Working Expenses are likely to be `87,200 cr. Accounting for full dividend liability of `4,917 cr, the Excess comes to `4,105 cr. The revised operating ratio works out to 92.1% which would have been 72.8% with pre-pay commission salaries. The revised plan outlay has been kept at `40,315 cr. 71. Madam, I would like to thank all the Parliamentary Committees including the Railway Convention Committee for their full support. 18 Budget Estimates, 2011-12 72. Madam, I shall now deal with the Budget Estimates for 2011-12. 73. On the basis of freight traffic projection of 993 million tonnes and passenger growth of 6.4% over 2010-11, the Gross Traffic Receipts are estimated at `1,06,239 cr assuming a clearance of `200 crore from traffic suspense. Madam, for the first time, railways earnings are set to exceed the rupees one lakh crore mark. Ordinary Working Expenses have been assessed at `73,650 cr. This represents an increase of 9.9% over Revised Estimates of 2010-11 to cater for annual increments of salaries, DA, higher requirement for fuel and materials for increased level of activity and lease payments. The appropriation to Pension Fund is placed at `15,800 cr and to Depreciation Reserve Fund at `7,000 cr compared to `5,700 cr in the Revised Estimates, 2010-11. Total Working Expenses therefore are placed at `96,450 cr. A provision of `6,735 cr has been made for dividend payment leaving an Excess of `5,258 cr to be utilized for Development Fund and Capital Fund. The expected Operating Ratio is 91.1%. 74. With this, I hope the railways will soon emerge stronger, leaving behind the impact of the Pay Commission and engage fully in the revival of its financial health. Hamara Mushkil Daur Gujar Chuka Hai Aur Hum Din-o-din Majboot Hote Jayenge (Tough times are now over and Railways, will grow from strength to strength from here) Metropolitan Projects

75. Madam, Indian Railways have only one metro i.e. Kolkata Zonal Metro Railway. We are proud of it. As a full-fledged zone, Kolkata Metro is expanding its network. A core committee has been set up to closely monitor the progress of ongoing works for the speedier completion of the following sections:i. Naopara to Barasat via Bimanbandar ii. Baranagar to Barrackpore and Baranagar to Dakshineswar iii. Dum-Dum Airport to New Garia via Rajerhat iv. Joka to BBD Bagh via Majerhat 19 76. The entire section from Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) to Kavi Subhash (New Garia) has been commissioned. Every day over 5 lakh passengers utilize the metro services. 77. It is also proposed to take up the following new surveys for new connectivity of Kolkata metro:i. Joka-Diamond Harbour ii. Baruipur - Kavi Subhash iii. Howrah Maidan to Srirampur via Dankuni and Singur iv. Howrah Maidan Belur v. Howrah Maidan Santragachi Dhulagarh vi. Joka-Mahanayak Uttam Kumar vii. Barrackpore to Kalyani 78. It is also proposed to introduce 34 new services in Kolkata Metro in the coming year. 79. Railways are committed to continue the partnership with Maharashtra for strengthening Mumbais suburban system. 80. I am happy to inform the august House that for the first time, 20-car MEMU trains have been introduced on Northern Railway during 2010-11 to reduce overcrowding. Integrated Suburban Railway Networks 81. Madam, India is witnessing rapid urbanization putting great pressure on our cities and towns. Transport infrastructure will be a key to their growth and sustenance. I propose the development of integrated suburban railway networks in large cities like Mumbai, bringing together suburban railway, metro railway and other rail infrastructure under a single integrated system which will provide faster, efficient, affordable and comfortable transportation to the citizens. To begin with, I plan to introduce this concept in those cities where suburban system exists, such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Chennai. We propose to strengthen the suburban system of Hyderabad-Secundeabad by implementing six projects under MMTS Phase II. 20 82. Madam, Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has helped bring enormous improvements in Mumbais suburban system. I now wish to bring about a similar transformation to the suburban transport system of the other megalopolis of the country, Kolkata. For a 100 km and more around Kolkata, the lives of the people are inexorably linked with activities, trade and industry of the city. There is a great need to upgrade the entire suburban system of Kolkata with better, faster and more number of services including 15-car trains. 83. I am aware that such improvements need substantial finances. Railways have limited resources. Therefore, I propose to set up Kolkata Rail Vikas Corporation (KRVC) on the lines of MRVC, which will raise funds through banks and other financial institutions, Municipal Corporation and other stakeholders. I believe, this single measure will kick start Kolkatas return to its days of glory. Similar corporations can be considered for congested suburban systems in other states. Production Units 84. I must complement all the Production Units who have performed well in 2009-10. I am happy to report that CLW has turned out the first locomotive

with hotel load converter to meet power requirement of coaches and pantry car. The capacity of Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) is being augmented to 300 locos. It has also indigenized GM locomotives to bring the cost down. Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) 85. All the eleven Railway PSUs have performed well in 2009-10 with a turnover of more than `15,000 cr, earning a net profit of `1,782 cr. These PSUs paid a dividend `311.88 cr to the railways. Concessions 86. At present physically handicapped persons are not entitled for concessions on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. It is proposed to extend the concession facility to them in these trains also. 87. Press correspondents are now entitled to avail 50% concession with family once in a year. It is proposed to increase this facility to twice a year. 88. It is proposed to extend the facility to the Kirti and Shaurya Chakra awardees of travelling in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. 21 89. In case of unmarried posthumous Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra gallantry award winners of armed forces, it is proposed to extend the facility of card passes to the parents. 90. At present the concession for senior citizens is extended to both men and women at 60 years of age. I propose to reduce this in case of women to 58 years. I also do not want to annoy the men, and therefore, propose to increase their concession from 30% to 40%. Wagon Procurement 91. Madam, adequate supply of wagons is a pre-condition to fulfilling ever increasing demand for rail transport. The august House would be happy to know that a record procurement of 16,500 wagons is being done in the current year. We have also kept a higher target of 18,000 wagons for the next year. Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) 92. Madam, the main loan agreement for phase I of Western Corridor of DFC with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been signed and bidding process for civil and track work has commenced. For the Eastern Corridor, the appraisal by World Bank for Khurja-Bhaupur section would be carried out next month. I am extremely happy to announce that work from Dankuni end on the eastern corridor has already started. We want to complete the DFC project by December, 2016 as scheduled. 93. As honble members are aware, land is a sensitive issue. With the objective of reducing the number of land losers, we have made efforts to bring the alignment of the DFC parallel to the existing railway network and thereby using 12,000 acres from railways land bank. It has also reduced the requirement of land acquisition by 2,718 acres resulting in a saving of about `300 cr. New Lines 94. Madam, as I mentioned earlier, all the 114 socially desirable projects which have been surveyed recently, will be included in the 12 th Plan and financed through the proposed Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana. 95. In my last budget speech, 33 new line sections covering 1,021 km were identified for completion as compared to less than 200 km normally. I am happy to inform the House that we have taken a giant leap in completion of new lines projects. The progress of laying new lines will be further accelerated and 22 in the year 2011-12, we are confident of exceeding a milestone of laying of 1,000 km of new lines. The sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2010-11 are:1. Chandurbazar-Narkhed 2. Deogarh- Dumka

3. Mandarhil Hansdiha 4. Bhawanipatna-Junagarh 5. Barkakhana-Kuju 6. Nawadih Dhanwar 7. Tarn Taran-Goindwal 8. Lalitpur-Udaipura 9. Mahrajganj - Bishunpur Mahuari 10. Ajmer-Pushkar 11. Jagityal- Mortad 12. Khanapur- Homnabad 13. Salem Namakkal 14. Ramaganjmandi - Jhalawar 15. Lonand-Phaltan 16. Rampurhat- Pirargarhia 17. Deoghar Chandan 18. Khurda Road Begunia 19. Phulwarisharif-Patliputra 20. Jhajjar-Rohtak 21. Abohar-Fazilka 22. Agra-Fatahabad-Bah 23. New Coochbehar-Golakganj 24. Nossam- Banaganapalli 25. Vishnupuram- Jahanpad 26. Gadwal-Pandurangswami Nagore Karaikkal 27. Matnasibpur - Masagram 96. The target of 800 km for Gauge Conversion was fixed for 2010-11 and I am happy to inform the house that this target will be met. The sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2010-11 are:1. Krishnanagar - Shantipur 2. Sitamarhi-Bairgania 23 3. Kaptanganj - Thawe 4. Katihar-Tejnarayanpur 5. Mavli-Nathdwara 6. Mayiladuturai - Tiruvarur 7. Anandapuram-Talguppa 8. Bodeli-Chottaudepur 9. Bardhman Balgona 10. Aunrihar Jaunpur 11. Aluabari-Siliguri 12. Ratangarh-Bikaner 13. Dindigul - Palani 14. Tirunelveli - Tenkasi 15. Bharuch-Samni-Dahej 97. The target for Doubling was fixed as 700 km for the year 2010-11 and I am happy to inform the august House that this target will be met. Sections which have either been completed or will be completed during 2010-11 are as under:1. Pen-Kasu 2. Dhanauri Kiul 3. Kalinarayanpur Biranagar 4. Nalikul Tarkeswar 5. Pandabeswar Chinpai 6. Umeshnagar-Khagaria of Begusarai-Khagaria 7. Targena-Jehanabad 8. 4th line between Kottavalasa-Simhachalam 9. Chakki Block Hut-Chakki Bank

10. Tundla Yamuna Bridge 11. Khalilabad Munderwa 12. Mau Indara 13. Malda-Old Malda 14. Netravati - Kankanadi 15. Ennolre - Attipattu 16. Barbil-Barajamda doubling 17. Champa Bypass Line 18. Mysore-Naganahalli 19. Devanur-Ballakere 24 20. Part of Udhna-Jalgaon 21. Gandhidham-Kandla Port 22. Palwal - Bhuteshwar third line 23. Rajathgarh-Barang 24. Nancherla-Aspari 25. Kamalapuram-Muddanuru 26. Part of Panskura- Kharagpur 27. Panvel-Apta 28. Barasat Sondalia 29. Baruipur Magrahat 30. Khamargachi Jirat 31. Karhagola-Kursela of Semapur-Kursela 32. Begusarai-Lakho of Begusarai-Khagaria 33. Sasan-Rengali 34. Budhi-Kathua 35. Panki-Bhaupur- 3rd line 36. Bankata - Bhatni 37. Govindnagar - Basti 38. New Guwahati-Digaru 39. Harsauli-Rewari 40. Mavelikkara - Chengannur 41. Kayankulam - Haripad 42. Adra-Joychandipahar doubling 43. Ramangaram-Settihalli 44. Mugad-Kambarganvi 45. Kalapipal-Phanda 46. Gandhidham-Adipur 47. Part of Bilaspur-Urkura 48. Khurda-Barang 49. Guntakal Raichur 50. Gooty Pullampet 51. Kondapuram-Tadipatri 52. Salkaroad-Anuppur doubling 98. The new lines sections covering 1,075 km proposed to be completed in 2011-12 are:1. Admednagar-Narayandoh 25 2. Gokulnagar-Mayonapur 3. Dumka-Shikaripara 4. Biraul-Kusheshwarsthan 5. Koderma-Barhi-Hazaribagh-Mandu-Kuju 6. Runisaidpur-Jubbasani 7. Part of Talcher-Bimalgarh 8. Pandu Pindara-Bhaibwa 9. Bhind-Etawah 10. Bishnupur-Mahuari-Mashrakh 11. Bhatni-Chauria

12. New Mal Jn. to Changrabandha 13. Harmuti-Naharlagun 14. Namakkal-Karur 15. Angamalli-Kaladi 16. Raichur-Pandurangaswamy 17. Nossam-Banaganapalle 18. Devarakadra-Krishna 19. Kanivehalli-Chikmagalur 20. Hirisave-Shravanabelagola 21. Talpur-Arambagh 22. Banka-Karjhusa Halt 23. Ajimganj-Jiaganj 24. Part of Daniawan-Biharsharif 25. Part of Dhanawar-Giridih 26. Kosi Bridge 27. Morinda-Khamnano 28. Part of Udaipura-Mawai Fatehabad-Bah 29. Etawah-Mainpuri 30. Bathua Bazar-Panchdeori 31. Paniyahwa-Chhitauni 32. Part of New Coochbehar-Golakganj 33. Dausa-Deedwana 34. Walajah Road-Ranipet 35. Metpally-Armoor 36. Homnabad-Hallikhed 37. Banaganapalli-Nandyal 38. Deshpran-Nandigram 39. Sakrayapanta-Kanivehalli 26 40. Part of Lalitpur-Khajrao-Satna, Khajuraho-Mahoba & RewaSingraullli 99. Madam, a target of 1,017 km has been fixed for Gauge Conversion in 2011-12 including the following sections: 1. Krishnanagar-Nawadwipghat 2. Murliganj-Banmankh 3. Chauradano-Raxaul 4. Anandnagar-Naugarh 5. Rangiya-Rangapara North 6. Ratangarh-Sardarsahar 7. SriganganganagarHanumangarh 8. Palghat-Pollachi 9. Nidamangalam-Mannargudi 10. Ankeleshwar-Rajpipla 11. Madhepura-Murliganj 12. Bairgania-Chauradano 13. Bareilly-Lalkuan 14. Naugarh-Barhni 15. New Malda Junction-New Maynagori Road 16. Sikar-Churu 17. Palani-Pollach 18. Mahamadurai-Virudhnagar 19. Kolar-Chintamani 20. Ratlam-Fatehabad 100. The following sections covering 867 km are proposed to be doubled in 2011-12 are as under:1. Apta-Pen 2. Jirat-Guptipara 3. Chandpara-Bongaon

4. Dakshin Barasat-Lakshmikantapur 5. Chandrapur-Bhandaridih 6. Korukonda-Vizianagaram 7. Palwal-Ballabgarh 8. Jakhal-Mansa 27 9. Chauri Chaura-Baitalpur 10. Burhwal-Jhangirabad 11. Banas-Swarupganj 12. Manchiriyal-Mandamari 13. Gokulpur-Midnapur Doubling 14. Muri-Muri Outer with Bridge 15. Tikiapara-Santragachi 16. CPH-Bye pass 17. Ballakere-Birur 18. Vyara-Chinehpada 19. Kasu-Roha 20. Guptipara-Ambika Kalna 21. Ghutarisharif-Canning 22. Magrahat-Diamond Harbour 23. Jharsuguda-Rengali 24. Kottavalsa-Kantakapali 25. Tughlakabad-Faridabad 26. Domingarh-Sahjanwa 27. Baitalpur-Bhatni 28. Keshavganj-Sirohi 29. Part of Chengalpattu-Villupuram 30. Raghavapuram-Peddampet 31. Dumetra-Champajharan 32. Banspani-Jaroli 33. Kalumna-Nagpur 34. Maddur-Hanakere 35. Birur-Ajjampur 101. In the last two budgets, I had announced 251 updating surveys/new surveys for new lines/gauge conversion/doubling. Of these, the following 190 surveys have been completed or will be completed by the end of this financial year. These lines will also be taken up in the 12 th Plan:1. Bhadrachallam-Kovvur 2. Hyderabad-Gazwal-Siddipet-Sircilla-Jagityal 3. Nizamabad-Ramagundam 4. Barwadih-Chirimiri 5. Raipur-Jharsuguda 28 6. Pendra Rd-Korba/Gevra Rd 7. Bhavnagar-Mahuva 8. Patiala-Kurushetra 9. Panipat-Meerut 10. Bahadurgarh-Jhajjar 11. Hisar-Sirsa via Agroha, Fatehabad 12. Bilaspur to Leh via Kullu & Manali 13. Una-Jaijon Doaba 14. Jogindernagar to Mandi 15. Parwanoo-Darlaghat 16. Baramulla-Kupwara 17. Jammu-Poonch via Akhnoor, Rajouri, 18. Kathua-Basoli-Bhadarwah-Kishtwar

19. Barajamda-Tatina 20. Bhojudih-Mohuda 21. Hansdiha-Godda 22. Kandra-Namkom 23. Raigarh-Mand Colliery to Bhupdeopur 24. Ranchi-Kandra 25. Gadag-Harihar 26. Tumkur-Davangere 27. Madurai-Kottayam 28. Erumeli-Punalur-Trivendrum 29. Barpeta Road-Tihu. 30. Jogighopa to Silchar via Panchratna 31. Murkongselek-Pasighat 32. Naginimora-Amguri 33. Rangpo-Gangtok 34. Salna-Khumtai 35. Sarthebari Changsari 36. Tuli-Tuli Road 37. Gunupur-Theruvali 38. Puri-Konark 39. Yamunanagar-Patiala 40. Una-Hoshiarpur 41. Jagadhri-Paonta Sahib-Rajban 42. Beas-Kapurthala 43. Qadian-Beas 29 44. Devli-Tonk-Sakatpura 45. Dindigul-Kumli 46. Rameswaram-Dhanushkoti 47. Amethi-Shahganj via Sultanpur 48. Diamond Harbour-Budge Budge- Akra 49. Pandabeshwar- Ikra 50. Ikra-Churulia- Gourandi 51. Bongaon- Kalyani 52. Ranaghat- Duttapulia 53. 3rd line between Krishnanagar- Naihati 54. Lucknow-Lakhimpur-Pilibhit via Sitapur 55. Kapilvasthu- Basti via Bhansi 56. Tanakpur- Bageshwar 57. Kanti- belda 58. Digha- balichak 59. Marikuppam- Kuppam 60. Nangli- Chittoor 61. Ahmedabad-Botad & Dhasa-Jetalsar 62. Rajkharswan-Ranchi 63. Hasnabad-Samshernagar 64. Arambagh-Khana 65. Canning-Gosaba via Basanti 66. Kakdweep-Sagar-Kapilmuni 67. Dullabcherra-Cheraji 68. Mandir Bazar-Ramganga 69. Chalsha-Jhaldhaka 70. Ghatakpukur-Minakhan 71. Bilara-Bar 72. Baruipara-Furfura Sharif-Arambagh 73. Ratlam-Banswara-Dungarpur 74. Krishnanagar-Nabadwipghat extension to BB loop

75. Machhlandpur-Swarupnagar 76. Sainthia-Chowrigacha via Kandi 77. Yamuna Nagar-Chandigarh via Sadhaura, Naraingarh 78. Singur-Nandigram 79. Dabwali-Kalanwali via Sirsa 80. Mirik-Gangtok 30 81. Joynagar-Raidigi 82. Madurai-Ernakulam (Cochin) 83. Dantewara-Malkangiri 84. Alamatti-Kopal 85. Medak-Akkanapet 86. Madhuban-Giridih 87. Ajmer-Sawaimadhopur via Tonk 88. Sambalpur-Behrampur 89. Rajkot- Viramgam 90. Chhindwara-Nainpur-Mandla Fort 91. Ahmedpur-Katwa 92. Nagbhir-Nagpur 93. Tala-Princepghat-Majerhat 94. Secunderabad-Mahboobnagar 95. Sahibganj-Bhagalpur 96. Sambhal-Gajraula 97. Daurala-Bijnor via Hastinapur 98. Chandigarh-Dehradun via Jagadhari 99. Rishikesh-Doiwala 100. Roorkee-Haridwar 101. Hasnabad-Pratapadityanagar 102. Chaparmukh-Dibrugarh 103. Dangri-Dhola 104. Dehradum-Kalsi 105. Port Blair-Diglipur 106. Pandurangpuram-Bhadrachalam 107. Pattancheru - Adilabad 108. Jagdalpur-Dantewara 109. Bhavnagar-Tarapore 110. Kharhagola-Santhalpur 111. Kaithal-Karnal 112. Bilaspur-Rampur Bushahr 113. Udhampur/Katra - Bhairawah, Doda to Kishtwar 114. Gua-Manoharpur 115. Jhajha-Giridih via Sonuchakai 116. Lohardaga-Korba 117. Nawadah-Giridih via Satgawan 118. Tori-Chatra 31 119. Almatti - Yadgir 120. Dhule-Amalner 121. Jalna-Khamgaon 122. Wardha-Katol 123. Warora-Umrer 124. Ramtek-Gotegaon via Sioni 125. Baran-Shivpuri 126. Lalabazar-Vairengte 127. Lekhapani-Kharsang 128. Rupai-Parashuramkund via Mahadevpur, Namsai, Chingkham 129. Jeypore-Malkangiri 130. Navrangpur-Jeypore

131. Patiala-Jakhal/Narwana via Samana 132. Ajmer-Kota 133. Jaisalmer-Barmer 134. Nokha-Sikar 135. Pushkar-Merta 136. Sardarshahr-Hanumangarh 137. Jolarpettai-Hossur via Krishnagiri 138. Etah-Kasganj 139. Sitapur-Bahraich 140. Haridwar-Kotdwar-Ramnagar 141. Ramnagar-Chaukhutiya 142. Kharagpur-Dhankuni 143. Nasik Dahanu Road 144. Hamirpur- Hamirpur Road 145. Phaphund- Kounch 146. Bharatpur-Deeg-Kama- Kosi 147. Jogigopa to Guwahati via Barpetta- Sarthebari 148. North Lakhimpur- Along -Silapathar 149. Guwahati- Lumding-Tinsukhia- Dibrugarh doubling 150. Hastinapur - Meerut 151. Bacharwan-Lalganj 152. Piran Kaliyar Sharif- Haridwar 153. Sirhind - Nangal Dam 154. Bhiwani- Loharu- Pilani- Churu 155. Pushkar - Merta 156. Digha- Raichak-Kulpi 32 157. Shahganj-Unchahar via Sultanpur, Amethi, Salon 158. Bongaon-Bagdaha 159. Banspani-Bimalgarh-Barsuan 160. Dankuni-Jorgalpara-Furfura Sharif-Jangipara-Bargachia 161. Chikballapur-Sri Satya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam 162. Balurghat-Hilly 163. Salboni-Jhargram via Lalgarh, Belpahari 164. Digha-Jaleswar-Puri 165. Bishnupur-Mukutmonipur 166. Gadag-Haveri 167. Samsi-Dalkhola 168. Krishnanagar-Beharampore via Chapra, Karimpur 169. Gadag-Wadi 170. Tarakeshwar-Magra restoration 171. Shimoga-Harihar 172. Kaliyaganj-Buniadpur 173. Panskura-Ghatal-Chandrakona and Ghatal-Arambagh 174. Anekal Road-Bidadi 175. Namkhana-Bakkhali 176. Pune-Nasik 177. Yadagir-Shahapur-Shorapur-Muddebihal-Alamatti 178. Nanded-Bidar 179. Ramnagar-Chaukhutiya 180. Vishnupuram-Vinukonda 181. Erumeli-Pathanamthitta-Punalur-Thiruvananthapuram 182. Bolangir-Nawapada 183. Mokama-Ara 184. Rewari-Hissar 185. Dankuni-Bally 3rd line 186. Bibinagar-Nallapadu

187. Krishnanagar-Lalgola 188. Bandel-Saktigarh 3rd line 189. Jhansi-Kanpur 190. Rampurhat-Ghumani 3rd line Rail Tourism 102. We have planned for rail business with Ministry of Tourism. If successful this year, we will expand the partnership. To improve look of twenty railway stations and its approaches, the cost will be shared on 50:50 basis. The 33 stations are Hyderabad, Hospet, Agra, Rae Bareli, Belur, Varanasi, Kamakhya, Haridwar, Dooars, Gaya, Madurai, Tarapith, Thiruvananthapuram, Furfura Sharief, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Nanded, Puri, Tarakeshwar, Rameshwaram, Tirupati, Guwahati, Jaipur and Ajmer. NEW SERVICES Suburban Services 103. With a view to further enhancing the carrying capacity of suburban services in Mumbai area, 47 additional services on the Thane-Vashi, ThanePanvel, Borivali-Virar, Andheri-Virar, Bandra-Virar and Churchgate-Borivali sections will be run. It is also proposed to augment 107 suburban services in Mumbai area from the present 9 car EMUs to 12 Car EMUs. 104. In Chennai area, it is proposed to run 9 additional services on Chennai Beach-Gummidipundi, Gummidipundi-Chennai Central, Avadi -Chennai Beach, Chennai Central-Tiruvallur, Tiruvallur-Chennai Central, and Chennai Beach- Tambaram is proposed to be extended to Chengalpattu. 105. To strengthen the suburban services in Kolkata area, 50 new services will be introduced including from Howrah-Uluberia, Howrah-Midnapur, HowrahKharagpur, Howrah-Singur, Howrah-Memari, Howrah-Barddhaman, HowrahHaripal-Tarakeswar, Howrah-Kolaghat, HowrahSarupnagar, SealdahCanning/Jaynagar Majilpur, Sealdah-Kakdwip-Namkhana, Sealdah-Sonarpur, Sealdah-Baruipur-Diamond Harbour, Sealdah-Barasat-Hasnabad, SealdahThakurnagar, SealdahBarasat-Bongaon, Sealdah-Naihati-Ranaghat-Gede, Sealdah-Shantipur-Krishnanagar, Sealdah-Kalyani, Sealdah-Barrackpore, Sealdah-Budge-Budge, Sealdah-Dankuni, Bongaon-Ranaghat-Shantipur, Howrah-Seoraphuli-Bandel and Sealdah-Basirhat. It is proposed to introduce at least two suburban services in each of the above sections. 106. It is also proposed to introduce running of peak time local to BBD Bagh from Bongaon/Krishnanagar. Two non-stop trains between Bardhaman & Howrah are also proposed. 107. In Secunderabad area, it is proposed to run 10 additional services on Falaknuma Lingampalli, Lingampalli Hyderabad, and Hyderabad Falaknuma sections. 83 sub-urban services in Secunderabad area will be augmented from the present 6-car to 9-car services. 34 108. In Delhi area, it is proposed to run 2 additional services on Delhi Ghaziabad section. Duronto trains 109. The following new Duronto trains are proposed to be introduced: i. Allahabad-Mumbai AC Duronto (bi-weekly) ii. Pune- Ahmedabad AC Duronto (tri-weekly) iii. Sealdah Puri non AC Duronto (tri-weekly) iv. Secunderabad- Visakhapatnam AC Duronto (Tri-weekly) v. Madurai- Chennai AC Duronto (Bi-weekly) vi. Chennai - Thiruvananthapuram AC Duronto (Bi-weekly) vii. Mumbai Central- New Delhi AC Duronto (Bi-weekly) viii. Nizamuddin-Ajmer non-AC Duronto(Bi-weekly) ix. Shalimar Patna Duronto (Tri-weekly) Double Decker AC 110. AC double-decker services are proposed to be introduced on the following routes:

i. Jaipur- Delhi ii. Ahmedabad-Mumbai Shatabdi Express 111. The following new Shatabdi Express trains will be introduced: i. Pune -Secunderabad ii. Jaipur-Agra iii. Ludhiana - Delhi 112. Increase in frequency of Duronto services i. Mumbai CST-Howrah Duronto Express from 2 days to 4 days (12261/12262) ii. Mumbai- Ahmedabad Duronto Express from 3 days to daily (12267/12268) iii. SealdahNew Delhi Duronto Express from 2 days to 5 days (12259/12260) iv. Nagpur- Mumbai CST Duronto Express from 3 days to daily (12289/12290) v. Howrah -Yesvantpur Duronto Express from 4 days to 5 days (12245/12246) 35 Vivek Express 113. To mark the 150 th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda which will be celebrated in 2013, I propose to introduce new trains called Vivek Express. The first four such trains will be introduced on the following routes: i. Dibrugarh- Thiruvanthapuram-Kanniyakumari Express (weekly) via Kokrajhar ii. Dwarka-Tuticorin Express (weekly) via Wadi iii. Howrah-Mangalore Express (Weekly) via Palghat iv. Bandra (T)- Jammu Tawi Express (Weekly) via Marwar-Degana- RatangarhJakhal- Ludhiana Kavi Guru Express 114. We are celebrating the 150 th birth anniversary of Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore this year. As our homage to the great poet, I propose to run the following Kavi Guru Express trains: i. Howrah-Azimganj Express (daily) via Sagardighi ii. Guwahati- Jaipur Express (weekly) via Kasganj Faizabad Gorakhpur Kokrajhar iii. Howrah-Bolpur Express (daily) iv. Howrah-Porbander Express (weekly) Rajya Rani Express 115. I propose to introduce a new set of trains connecting state capitals with important cities/towns in those states: i. Sawantwadi Road - Mumbai Express (daily) ii. Saharsa - Patna Intercity Express (daily) iii. Meerut- Lucknow Intercity Express (daily) iv. Mysore - Bangalore Express (daily) v. Damoh - Bhopal Intercity Express (daily) vi. Silghat Dhubri Intercity Express (tri-weekly via Guwahati Kokrajhar Jogighopa) vii. Bankura Howrah Express (tri-weekly) viii. Nilambur Road Thiruvananthapuram Link Express (daily) ix. Jharsuguda Bhubaneswar Express (tri-weekly) x. Manmad Mumbai Express (daily) via Nasik 36 Janam Bhoomi Gaurav 116. Madam, to take forward our efforts of promoting rail tourism, I propose to launch special tourist trains called Janam Bhoomi Gaurav. These special trains connecting important historical and educational places, will run on the following routes: i. Howrah - Bolpur - Rajgir (Nalanda) Pataliputra (Patna) - Varanasi

(Sarnath) - Gaya- Howrah ii. Bangalore-Mysore-Hassan (Space Facility, Belur, Halebid, Shravanbengola)- Hubli-Gadag (Hampi) - Bijapur (Gole Gumbaz) Bangalore iii. Chennai-Puduchcheri-Tiruchichirappali-Madurai-KanniyakumariThiruvanthpuram-Ernakulam -Chennai iv. Mumbai-Ahmedabad-(Lothal)-Bhavnagar(Palitana)-(Alang)-GirDiu(Somnath-Veraval)-(Junagarh)Rajkot-Mumbai Express trains 117. I propose to introduce following new express trains: 1. Raebareli-Jaunpur Express (daily) 2. Tirupati-Amravati Express (bi-weekly) via Akola, Nizamabad, Gooty, Dharmavaram 3. Asansol-Gorakhpur Express (weekly) via Chhapra, Siwan 4. Nagpur -Kolhapur Express (bi-weekly) via Kurduwadi, Latur road, Purna, Akola 5. Malda Town-Digha Express(weekly) via Rampurhat 6. Pune-Nanded Express(weekly) via Latur 7. Visakhapatnam- Koraput Intercity Express (5 days a week) via Vizianagram 8. Howrah-Secunderabad Express(weekly) via Kharagpur 9. Mumbai- Chandigarh Express(weekly) via Phulera-Ringus- GurgaonKurukshetra 10. Bardhaman Rampurhat Express (tri-weekly) 11. Bikaner- Delhi Superfast Intercity (daily) via Ratangarh 12. Hyderabad- Darbhanga Express (weekly) via Muri-Jharsuguda-Nagpur 13. Howrah Tirupati Express (weekly) 14. Narsapur- Nagarsol Express(bi-weekly) via Secunderabad, Nizamabad 15. Puri-Shalimar Express(weekly) 16. Ranchi- Pune Express (bi-weekly) via Bilaspur 17. Shalimar-Udaipur Express(weekly) via Katni, Kota 37 18. Chennai- Shirdi Express (weekly) via Bangalore 19. Coimbatore- Tuticorin Link Express (daily) 20. Howrah-Mysore Express (weekly) via Gondia, Adilabad 21. Yesvantpur- Mysore Express (daily) 22. Digha-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly) 23. Mysore- Chennai Express (weekly) 24. Ahmedabad- Yesvantpur AC Express (weekly) via Hubli, Bijapur 25. Bhavnagar- Kochuvelli Express (weekly) via Panvel, Madgaon 26. Gorakhpur- Yesvantpur Express (weekly) via Faizabad, Kanpur, Bhopal, Kacheguda 27. Bhuj- Dadar Express(bi-weekly) 28. Kolkata-Ajmer Express(weekly) via Asansol 29. Jabalpur- Indore Intercity Express (tri-weekly) via Guna, Bina 30. Porbander- Kochuveli Express (weekly) via Panvel, Madgaon 31. Kolkata-Agra Express(weekly) via Kasganj, Mathura 32. Lucknow- Bhopal Express (weekly) 33. Varanasi-Singrauli Intercity Express (daily) 34. Nagpur Bhusawal Express (tri-weekly ) via Itarsi Khandwa 35. Puri-Gandhidham Express(weekly) via Durg 36. Howrah-Visakhapatnam Express(weekly) 37. Guwahati-Dimapur Express(Daily) 38. Howrah Darbhanga Express (weekly) 39. Vasco-Velankani Express(weekly) 40. Bilaspur-Ernakulam Superfast(weekly) 41. Digha-Puri Express (weekly) 42. Jodhpur-Delhi Express (bi-weekly) via Degana, Ratangarh 43. Kharagpur-Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Vellore 44. Udaipur-Bandra(T) Express(tri-weekly) via Ratlam

45. Purulia Viluppuram Express (weekly) via Midnapore, Kharagpur, Vellore 46. Asansol Gonda Express (weekly) via Chhapra, Mau, Shahganj, Ayodhya 47. Delhi Puducherry Express (weekly) 48. Asansol Tatanagar Exppress (tri-weekly) via Purulia 49. Indore- Kota Intercity Express (daily) via Ruthiyai 50. Bhagalpur Ajmer Express (weekly) 51. Howrah-Jaisalmer Express(weekly) via Rae Bareli, Ratangarh, Lalgarh 52. Ernakulam Bangalore Express (weekly) 53. Mangalore Palghat Intercity Express (daily) 54. Varanasi Ahmedabad Express (weekly) via Ajmer 55. Howrah-Nanded Express (weekly) 38 56. Hardwar Ramnagar Link Express (tri-weekly) Passenger services 118. The following new passenger services will be introduced: 1. Delhi- Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar Passenger (daily) 2. Kendujhargarh- Bhubaneswar Fast Passenger ( 5 days a week) 3. Koraput- Bolangir-Sambalpur Passenger (daily) 4. Barkakhana- Dehri-on-Sone Passenger(daily) 5. Jodhpur- Hissar Fast Passenger (daily) 6. Tirupati- Guntakal Passenger (daily) 7. Coimbatore- Mettupalayam Passenger (6 days a week) 8. Bhuj- Palanpur Passenger (daily) 9. Silghat- Chaparmukh Passenger (daily) 10. Siliguri-Dinhata Passenger (daily) 11. Abohar Fazilka passenger (daily) 12. Bilaspur-Katni Passenger (daily) 13. Raipur Korba Passenger (daily) DEMU 119. Following new DEMU services will be introduced: 1. Gondia -Ballarshah 2. Vasai road-Diva 3. Ratlam-Neemuch 4. Ratlam-Chittaurgarh 5. Sealdah Jangipur 6. Ahmedabad-Patan 7. Bangalore Cantt-Bangarpet 8. Dharmapuri-Bangalore 9. Marikuppam-Bangarpet 10. New Jalpaiguri-Balurghat 11. Falaknuma-Medchhal 12. Mriyalguda-Nadikudi 13. Kacheguda-Raichur 14. Raichur-Gadwal 15. Radhikapur- New Jalpaiguri 16. Jalna-Nagarsol 17. Nizamabad-Secunderabad 39 18. Kacheguda-Mriyalguda 19. Baripada-Bangariposi 20. Sealdah - Bhagwangola - Lalgola 21. Kolar-Bangalore 22. Krishnanagar Behrampore Court MEMU 120. The following MEMU services will also be introduced: 1. Ranchi-Asansol 2. Ernakulam Kollam (via Alappuzha) 3. Vasai Road-Panvel

4. Bangarpet -Koppam 5. Falaknuma-Bhongir 6. Midnapore - Jhargram 7. Kollam - Nagercoil 8. Jhargram-Purulia Extension of trains: 121. The run of the following trains will be extended: 1. Chhindwara-Gwalior Express to Delhi (11101/11102) 2. Jhansi-Chhindwara Express to Delhi (11103/11104) 3. Udaipur-Gwalior Express to Khajuraho (12965/12966) 4. Solapur- Gadag Express to Hubli (11423/11424) 5. Jabalpur-Nagpur Express to Amravati (12159/12160) 6. Nizamuddin- Bapudham Motihari Express to Muzaffarpur (12211/12212) 7. Jammu Tawi-Sonpur Express to Muzaffarpur (12491/12492) 8. Lucknow- Allahabad Express to Vindhyachal (14209/14210) 9. Chandigarh- Jaipur Garib Rath Express to Ajmer (12983/12984) 10. Indore-Ajmer Express to Jaipur (19655/19656) 11. Lucknow- Saharanpur Express to Chandigarh (15011/15012) 12. Chennai Egmore Nagore Express to Karaikal (16175/16176) 13. Visakhapatnam-Nizamabad Express to Nanded (18509/18510) 14. Sambalpur- Nizamabad Express to Nanded (18309/18310) 15. Mysore- Shimoga Town Express to Talguppa (16205/16206) 16. Valsad- Vadodara Express to Dahod (12929/12930) 17. Surat- Bhavnagar Express to Mahuva (19025/19026) 18. Sultanpur Ajmer Express to Ahmedabad (19603/19604) 40 19. Ajmer-Kishanganj Express to New Jalpaiguri (19601/19602) 20. Mumbai-Allahabad Express to Faizabad via Jaunpur, Shahganj (12563/12564) 21. Yesvantapur-Mangalore Express to Karwar (16515/16516) 22. Saharanpur- Delhi to Farukh Nagar (14546/14545) 23. Lucknow Bhopal Express to Pratapgarh (12183/12184) 24. Delhi- Shahjahanpur Passenger to Sitapur Cantt. (54075/54076) 25. Moradabad- Chandausi Passenger to Bareilly (54311/54312) 26. Hajipur- Phulwaria Passenger to Bathua Bazar (55221/55222) 27. Hajipur- Thawe Passenger to Kaptanganj (55007/55008) 28. Nagercoil- Thiruvanthapuram Passenger to Kochuvelli (56318/56317) 29. Hyderabad- Wadi Passenger to Gulbarga (57135/57136) 30. Hubli- Bijapur Passenger to Solapur (56909/56910) 31. Nagda- Kota Passenger to Ratlam (59803/59802) 32. Ambala Una DEMU to Amb Andaura (74991/74992) 33. Ambala Amritsar DEMU to Kurukshetra (74645/74646) Increase in frequency of trains 122. The frequency of the following trains will be increased: 1. New Delhi-Ajmer Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily (12015/12016) 2. Nagpur- Ahmedabad Express from weekly to bi-weekly (11453/11454) 3. Nizamuddin -Dehradun AC Express from 6 days to daily (12205/12206) 4. Secunderabad -Bikaner Express from weekly to bi-weekly (17037/17038) 5. New Delhi- Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express from 6 days to daily (12423/12424) 6. Jaipur- Pune Express from weekly to bi-weekly (12939/12940) 7. Rourkela- Bhubaneswar Express from 6 days to daily (18105/18106) 8. Bangalore- Hubli Jan Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily (12079/12080) 9. Habibganj- Jabalpur Jan Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily (12061/12062) 10. Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Udaipur Chetak Express from 4 days to daily (12981/12982) 11. Indore- Udaipur Express from 3 days to daily (19657/19658) 12. Rajkot- Porbander Express from 3 days to daily (19571/19572) 13. Mumbai CST- Mangalore Express from 3 days to daily (12133/12134)

14. Chennai-Tiruchendur Express from weekly to daily (16735/16736) 15. Surat- Amravati Fast Passenger from 2 days to 3 days (59025/59026) 16. Thiruchchirappalli- Karur Passenger from 6 days to daily (76835/76836) 17. Shoranur- Eranakulam Passenger from 6 days to daily (56607/56608) 41 Special Trains 123. Railways often have to meet large spikes in the demand for passenger traffic during vacations, festivals, Kumbh or other melas etc. In the current year, we already operated 130 pairs of additional special trains which made 36,000 trips. In the coming summer season, it is planned to operate 8,000 trips to handle the rush, and a total of 40,000 for the whole year. This not only helps railways to achieve a healthy growth in passenger earnings but also satisfies to a large extent the seasonal travel demands. Preparations to cater to the expected massive demand by pilgrims during Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 are being planned. New Lines 124. I propose to take up the following new line projects in 2011-12:1. Murkongselek-Pasighat 2. Rae Bareli Akbarganj 3. Somnath Kodinar 4. Joynagar Durgapur 5. Sultanpur Amethi 6. Mateswar Memari 7. Itahar to Raiganj 8. Bankura Purulia 9. Mellacheruvu Janpahad 10. Bhangankhali and Basanti 11. Bongaon and Poramaheshtala 12. Irphala to Ghatal 13. Nadikudi-Srikalahasti 14. Baruipara to Furfura 15. Madurai-Tuticorin 16. Kalikapur and Minakhan via Ghatakpur 17. Tumkur-Davangiri 18. Chandranagar to Bakkahali 19. Whitefield-Kolar 20. Kakdwip and Budhakhali 21. Bira to Chakla 22. Ratlam-Banswara-Dungarpur 23. Basanti Jharkhali 24. Barabani Churulia 25. Shimoga-Harihar 42 Gauge Conversion 125. The following new gauge conversion works are proposed to be taken up next year: i. Baraigram-Dulabchera ii. Shapur Saradiya iii. Karimganj Mahisasan iv. Mehsana Taranga Hill v. Lucknow-Pilibhit via Sitapur, Mailani vi. Miyagam-Dabhoi-Samlaya Doubling 126. The following new doubling works are proposed to be taken up this year: 1. Kalyan-Kasara - 3rd line 2. Rae Bareli Utratia 3. Bhusawal-Jalgaon - 3rd line

4. Bhagalpur-Pirpainti 5. Ambari Falakata to New Mainaguri 6. Doubling across bridge no. 16,18 & 19 between Kathua-Madhopur 7. Rewari- Manheru 8. Guriya-Marwar & Karjoda-Palanpur 9. Guntur-Tenali 10. Kumblam-Thuravur 11. Plassey-Jiaganj 12. 3rd line between Bandel & Boinchi 13. 3rd line between Sainthia-Tarapith 14. Simhachalam - Gopalapatnam bye-pass line 15. Patch doubling of Aunrihar-Manduadih section 16. Doubling across Beas Bridge between Mirthal-Bhangala 17. Rani Keshav Ganj 18. Ajmer Bangurgram 19. Omalur Metturdam - Patch doubling 20. Toranagallu-Ranjithpura 21. Shivani Hosdurga Road 22. 3rd line between Boinchi & Shaktigarh 23. Kharagpur-Gokulpur 24. Kirandul Jagdalpur 25. Parbhani-Mudkhed 43 26. Vijaywada Gudivada Bhimavaram - Narasapur and Gudivada Machlipatnam 27. Bina-Kota 28. Viramgram-Samalkhiali Project Implementation 127. Honble members have been expressing their anguish over delays in project execution and non-utilisation of funds allotted for works. I fully appreciate their grievances. Therefore, I propose to set up a Central Organization for Project Implementation (COPI) with offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore, each headed by an officer of GM rank. COPI will also ensure uniformity of systems and methodologies, follow the best practices and optimize on resources. Core groups in the four offices will monitor and ensure the funds allocated to different projects are fully utilized and not surrendered or diverted and projects completed in a time-frame. They will also ensure accountability and fix responsibility for non-performance. New Line Surveys 128. On the basis of requests received from the honble members, state governments and others, the following surveys are proposed to be taken up in 2011-12:1 Bitragunta - Donakonda 2 Adilabad - Armoor 3 Bronachalam - Bellary 4 Poddatur Yerraguntla 5 Karimnagar Hassanparthi 6 Patancheru Adilabad 7 Bhadrachalam Road Visakhapatnam 8 Dimapur-Tizit 9 Bapudham Motihari - Riga 10 Dhamtari - Kanker 11 Rail connectivity to Jowai(Jaintia Hills) with Lokro 12 Dahod - Nathdwara 13 Rail connectivity to Santalpur, Suigam, Vav, Sanchor, Radhanpur 14 Taranga - Abu Road via Ambaji 15 Rail connectivity to Gariawar Taluka in Bhavnagar

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

Surat -Hazira Viramgam -Sankheshwer 44 Daman -Nasik Nadiad -Tarapur -Kheda -Matar Tarapur Mahemadabad Ahmedabad -Khedbrahma - Ambaji Mahesana -Harij -Radhanpur Vejalpur Botad Jakhal - Hissar Alwar - Charkhi Dadri Ghatshila Ranchi Simri Bakhtiyarpur - Bihariganj Thakazhy-Tiruvalla Tumkur-Chamarajnagar Kolhapur Dharwar Ramganjmandi Neemuch Laji - Kirnapur Farrukhabad - Shahjahanpur upto Mailani Damoh - Hatanagar - Khajuraho Pandra Road-Gotegaon(Shreedham). Rail connectivity to Fatehabad-Chandravatiganj with Ratlam-Indore project Chhindwara Sagar Rail connectivity of Kolhapur to Konkan Railway Additional suburban line on Virar - Diva - Panvel section Fast corridor on Harbour Line Bye-pass line from Chudawa - Basmat Station Paradip Port - Dhamara Port Bhadrachalam - Kharagpur through Koraput-Talcher-Baripada Rajmahendri - Raipur Salem - Karaikal via Perambalur, Mayiladuthurai Rajpura Junction Chandigarh Dharamkot - Moga Barmer-Palanpur Jaisalmer-Kandla Nagore Falaudi Mannargudi - Pattukkottai Tirupati to Nagore via Kancheepuram. Balrampur - Khalilabad Gwalior - Shahjahanpur via Fetehabad, Katana, Rajpur, Jalalabad Manakpur - Madarsah Majar 45 Barabanki - Fatehpur via Deva Kasganj - Etawah via Mainpuri Hasnabad - Machalandapur Kushinagar- Kapilvastu (Nepal) Ghughli - Anandnagar via Maharajganj Dibrugarh-Dangri via New Tinsukia Town Cuddaph - Hindupur via Kadiri Kannur - Mattannur Nandyal - Atmakur via Mahanandi Parumamilla-Bakrapet Thellapur - Patancheru Rail connectivity to Dondi Lohara Sabarmati - Abu Road Palanpur - Bhuj Bhildi Jodhpur Dhrangadhara -Santalpur

72 Palanpur -Ambaji -Abu Road 73 Dhanera -Goradu 74 Tahrad -Vav -Suigam 75 Bharuch -Dahej -Jambusar 76 Rail linkage for Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor in Gujarat 77 Gandhinagar-Prantij 78 Nadiad-Dholka 79 Pirpainti - Jasidih 80 Koppal-Singanur 81 Tiruvalla - Ranny -Pampa 82 Kozhikode-Beypore 83 Nanjangode-Nilambur Road 84 Jabalpur-Udaipura-Sagar 85 Katangi-Tarodi 86 Kolhapur - Rajapur 87 Nagar -Kalyan 88 Karad - Belgaum via Nipani 89 Karaikal - Teralam 90 Karaikal - Sarkazi 91 Nandigram-Hijli Pirbaba via Jelingham 92 Sriperambudur-Guduvanchery with spur to Irun Kattukottai - AvadiSriperumbudur 46 93 Sausar - Pandhurana 94 Talasserry-Mysore 95 Shillong-Chandranathpur 96 Sivok-Mirik 97 Tirap-Lekhapani 98 Silghat-Tezpur 99 Bagnan - Shyampur 100 Hyderabad-Srisailam 101 Secunderabd-Karimnagar via Siddipet 102 Rohtak - Hansi via Meham 103 Ramagundam-Renigunta 104 Sivok-Kalimpong 105 Katwa-Karimganj 106 Nandakumar-Moyna(Bolai Panda) 107 Belda-Narayangarh Gauge Conversion Surveys 129. Following surveys are proposed to be taken up in 2011-12:1. Gwalior - Degond 2. Katosan Bahucharaji-Ranuj 3. Hapa-Dahisar 4. Veraval-Dhasa Jn via Talala-Visavadar-Khijadia Doubling Surveys 130. Following surveys are proposed to be taken up in 2011-12 1. Pune - Lonavala 3rd line 2. Gutti - Dharmavaram with electrification 3. Rajkot-Viramgam 4. Ahmedabad-Junagarh 5. Rajkot-Surendranagar 6. Birur-Shimoga 7. New Bongaigaon-Rangiya-Kamakhya 8. Irugur-Podanur 9. Macherla-Nadikude 10. Virar - Ahmedabad 3rd line 11. New Bongaigaon-Kamakhya via Goalpara Doubling 47 12. Ahmedabad-Palanpur

13. Rohtak-Bhiwani 14. Hubli-Bangalore 15. Podanur - Palghat 3rd line 16. Ernakulam-Shoranur 4th line Railway Electrification 131. The honble members will be happy to know that railways would exceed the original XI Plan target of 3,500 route-km of electrification. In 2011-12, the following sections covering around 1,000 km are proposed to be electrified:i. Vizianagaram-Rayagada-Titlagarh-Raipur ii. Rosa-Sitapur-Burhwal iii. Alwar-Rewari 132. In addition to the above, feasibility study for the electrification of the following sections will be undertaken: i. Ahmedabad Palanpur Phulera Ringus Rewari - Delhi including Kandla / Mundra Port Gandhidham - Bhildi-Palanpur and ii. Amla-Chindwara-Kalumna 133. Madam, I have already outlined the road map, the railways will take in future. My mind is always with the common people. Railways provide the only affordable mode of long distance travel. I do not want to further burden them this year. That is why on behalf of the government I have not increased the fares for the last two years despite all pressures on our finances. 134. With these words, Madam, I commend the Railway Budget for 2011-12 to the House.

Oscars Academy Awards

Academy Award is, in full Academy Award of Merit, by name Oscar, any of a number of awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., to recognize achievement in the film industry. The award, a gold-plated statuette, is bestowed upon winners in the following 24 categories: best picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, directing, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, cinematography, art direction, editing, original score, original song, costume design, makeup, sound mixing, sound editing, visual effects, foreign-language film, animated feature film, animated short, live-action short, documentary feature, and documentary short. The academy also presents scientific and technical awards, special achievement awards, honorary awards, the

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (for excellence in producing), and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award (for technological contributions), although these are not necessarily awarded annually. To be eligible for an award in a given year, a film must be publicly exhibited for paid admission for at least one week at a commercial theatre in the Los Angeles area between January 1 and midnight of December 31 of that year. Exceptions to this rule include foreign-language films, which are submitted by their country of origin and need not have been shown in the United States. Documentaries and short films have different eligibility requirements and are officially submitted by their producers, whereas music awards require the musical artist to file a submission form. Only members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may nominate and vote for candidates for the Oscars. The academy is divided into various branches of film production, and the nominees in each award category are chosen by the members of the corresponding branch; thus, writers nominate writers, directors nominate directors, and so forth. The entire academy membership nominates the candidates for best picture and votes to determine the winners in most of the categories. Aside from bestowing international recognition and prestige, an Academy Award can play a crucial role in the success of the major winners. The best picture award, for example, can significantly increase the box office earnings of the winning film. For actors and directors, the award often quickly results in higher salaries and increased media attention. A long-term advantage is that award winners tend to be offered better pictures and thus receive more acclaim for that work. When the academy was founded in 1927, the awards committee was only one of several that had been formed by the new organization. The idea of presenting awards was considered but not immediately pursued, because the academy was preoccupied with its role in labour problems, its efforts to improve the tarnished image of the film

industry, and its function as a clearinghouse for the exchange of ideas about production procedures and new technologies. It was not until May 1928 that the academy approved the committees suggestions to present Academy Awards of Merit in 12 categoriesmost outstanding production, most artistic or unique production, and achievement by an actor, by an actress, in dramatic directing, in comedy directing, in cinematography, in art directing, in engineering effects, in original story writing, in adaptation writing, and in title writing. The first awards covered films that had been released between August 1, 1927, and July 31, 1928. The awards were presented on May 16, 1929, in a ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The entire membership of the academy had nominated candidates in all categories. Five boards of judges (one from each of the academys original branchesactors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians) then determined the 10 candidates with the most votes in each category and narrowed those 10 down to 3 recommendations. A central board of judges, which consisted of one member from each branch, selected the final winners. By the time of the second annual awards ceremony, on April 3, 1930 (honouring films from the second half of 1928 and from 1929), the number of categories was reduced to seven, and the two major film awards were collapsed into one, called best picture. The academy has since continued to make frequent alterations in rules, procedures, and categories. Indeed, so many changes have been made through the years that the only constant seems to be the academys desire to remain flexible and to keep abreast of the industrys evolution. Among the most significant changes have been the decision in 1933 to alter the eligibility period for award consideration to the calendar year and the addition of the supporting actor and actress categories in 1936. Originally the names of the award winners had been given to the press in advance with the stipulation that the information not be revealed until after the awards presentation. However, the Los Angeles Times printed the names of the 1939 winners in an early evening edition

before the ceremony, draining the event of all its suspense during one of the industrys biggest years. Thus, since then, the winners names have been a closely guarded secret until the official announcement at the awards ceremony. The design for the award statuettea knight standing on a reel of film and holding a swordis credited to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) art director Cedric Gibbons. Sculptor George Stanley was commissioned to create the original statuette based on Gibbonss design. For many years the statuettes were cast in bronze, with 24-karat gold plating. During World War II the statuettes were made of plaster because of metal shortages. They are now made of gold-plated britannium. The design, however, has remained unchanged, with the exception of the pedestal base, the height of which was increased in 1945. The statuette stands 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) tall and weighs 8.5 pounds (3.8 kg). The origins of the statuettes nickname, Oscar, have been traced to three sources. Actress Bette Davis claimed that the name derived from her observation that the backside of the statuette looked like that of her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson. Columnist Sidney Skolsky maintained that he gave the award its nickname to negate pretension. The name has also been attributed to academy librarian Margaret Herrick, who declared that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. The true origin of the nickname has never been determined.

The Oscar Award from The Oscar Award from 2006

Best Picture: The Departed Best Director: Martin Scorsese for The Departed

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland Best Actress: Helen Mirren for The Queen Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson forDreamgirls Best Foreign-Language Film: The Lives of Others Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan for The Departed Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro for Pans Labyrinth Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero (art direction) and Pilar Revuelta (set decoration) for Pans Labyrinth Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel Original Song: I Need to Wake Up from An Inconvenient Truth; music and lyrics by Melissa Etheridge Animated Feature Film: Happy Feet, directed by George Miller Honorary Award: Ennio Morricone

The Oscar Award from 2007

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men Best Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for No Country for Old

Men Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton Best Foreign-Language Film: The Counterfeiters Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody for Juno Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men

Cinematography: Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood Art Direction: Dante Ferretti (art direction) and Francesca Lo Schiavo (set direction) for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Original Score: Dario Marianelli for Atonement Original Song: Falling Slowly from Once; music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova Animated Feature Film: Ratatouille, directed by Brad Bird Honorary Award: Robert Boyle

The Oscar Award from 2008

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire Best Director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk Best Actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader Best Supporting Actor: Health Leader for The Dark Knight Best Supporting Actress: Penlope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona Best Foreign-Language Film: Departures Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt (art direction) and Victor J. Zolfo (set decoration) for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Original Score: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire Original Song: Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire; music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Gulzar

Animated Feature Film: Wall-E, directed by Andrew Stanton

The Oscar Award from 2009

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker Best Actor: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart Best Actress: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz forInglourious Basterds Best Supporting Actress: MoNique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Best Foreign-Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes Original Screenplay: Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Cinematography: Mauro Fiore for Avatar Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (production design) and Kim Sinclair (set decoration) for Avatar Original Score: Michael Giacchino for Up Original Song: The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart; music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett Animated Feature Film: Up, directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson Honorary Award: Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, Gordon Willis

The Oscar Award from 2010

Best Picture: The Kings Speech Best Director: Tom Hooper for The Kings Speech Best Actor: Colin Firth for The Kings Speech Best Actress: Natalie Portman for Black Swan Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale for The Fighter Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo for The Fighter Best Foreign-Language Film: In a Better World Original Screenplay: David Seidler for The Kings Speech Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network Cinematography: Wally Pfister for Inception Art Direction: Robert Stromberg (production design) and Karen OHara (set decoration) for Alice in Wonderland Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network Original Song: We Belong Together from Toy Story 3; music and lyrics by Randy Newman Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3, directed by Lee Unkrich Honorary Award: Kevin Brownlow, Jean-Luc Godard, Eli Wallach

2012 Oscar Winners (Announced in 2012 but intended for 2011)

The Artist sweeps 5 Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. Hugo was not far behind and also managed to bag 5 Oscars. Best picture: The Artist. Best director: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. Best leading actor: Jean Dujardin in The Artist. Best leading actress: Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady Best supporting actor: Christopher Plummer in Beginners. Best supporting actress: Octavia Spencer in The Help. Best foreign language film: A Separation (Iran). Best animated feature: Rango. Best original screenplay: Midnight in Paris. Best adapted screenplay: The Descendants. Best original score: The Artist. Best original song: Man or Muppet from The Muppets. Best art direction: Hugo. Best cinematography: Hugo. Best costume design: The Artist. Best documentary feature: Undefeated. Best documentary short: Saving Face. Best film editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Best makeup: The Iron Lady. Best short animated film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. Best short live action film: The Shore. Best sound editing: Hugo.

Best sound mixing: Hugo. Best visual effects: Hugo. Most Oscars won

The Artist 5 Hugo 5 The Iron Lady 2 Beginners 1 The Help 1 Midnight in Paris 1 The Descendants 1 A Separation 1 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 1 Undefeated 1 The following nominated films failed to win any awards:

Albert Nobbs Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Tree of Life Bridesmaids Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close My Week with Marilyn

2012 Oscar Winners (Announced in 2012 but intended for 2011)

The Artist sweeps 5 Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. Hugo was not far behind and also managed to bag 5 Oscars. Best picture: The Artist. Best director: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. Best leading actor: Jean Dujardin in The Artist. Best leading actress: Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady Best supporting actor: Christopher Plummer in Beginners. Best supporting actress: Octavia Spencer in The Help. Best foreign language film: A Separation (Iran). Best animated feature: Rango. Best original screenplay: Midnight in Paris. Best adapted screenplay: The Descendants. Best original score: The Artist. Best original song: Man or Muppet from The Muppets. Best art direction: Hugo. Best cinematography: Hugo. Best costume design: The Artist. Best documentary feature: Undefeated. Best documentary short: Saving Face. Best film editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Best makeup: The Iron Lady. Best short animated film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. Best short live action film: The Shore. Best sound editing: Hugo.

Best sound mixing: Hugo. Best visual effects: Hugo. Most Oscars won

The Artist 5 Hugo 5 The Iron Lady 2 Beginners 1 The Help 1 Midnight in Paris 1 The Descendants 1 A Separation 1 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 1 Undefeated 1 The following nominated films failed to win any awards:

Albert Nobbs Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Tree of Life Bridesmaids Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close My Week with Marilyn