Pre Budget Seminar: Discussion on Railway Budget-2016

With the month of March approaching, the one thing that looms on the horizon and on everyone's mind is ‘Budget’. At this point of time when the union budget is to be presented on the 29th of February 2016, it is very crucial for every professional institute nurturing talent to understand and discuss with their students the impact of these budgets on the economy.

The seminar on Pre Budgets was held over a period of two days on the 9th and 10th of February 2016. All students of BBA, BCom, and MBA were present. The session started with the moderator Dr. S.K.Roy, Dean , SOCM presenting a prelude on the seminar on pre-budget to the participating students .

The two day session was to cover various issues like expectations from the budget, consensus of the major stake holders in any democracy the people, the consumption boost, the fiscal deficits, the investment boost, the state of the infrastructure, and most importantly the two day seminar was to concentrate on the expectations from the railway budget and thereafter discussions on the general budget.

On day one that is the 9th of February 2016 it was quite an interactive session since railway budgets have been very close to the common man’s heart. Some of the following points were discussed:

- Changes in ticketing policy such as 50% refund on total cancellations and no limit in ticket booking for travelers could be incorporated.

Bribes taken by TTEs and the misuse of emergency quotas need to be addressed which the citizens feel can be done through policies, processes and systematic changes.

- The Railways must address these issues otherwise the bribes taken by the TTE s will translate into revenue loss for the government.

- A transparent system for emergency and VIP seat allocation should be instituted and guidelines need to be issued defining emergency and VIP quota. The quota also needs to be cut down by at least 75% because this again leads to the pressure falling on the common man who does not fall in this quota and also loss of revenue for the government.

- This budget like every year must envision profound social and economic changes, with aim to deliver (well-being) across all socio-economic levels.

With this the session for the day was closed and all participants were instructed to assimilate the next day for the continuation of the seminar for the discussion of expected general budgets.