More High-Speed Trains Between Mumbai-Ahmedabad To Be Actively Pursued: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday during her Union Budget 2020 presented announced more high speed trains between Mumbai-Ahmedabad will be pursued. She also said that Tejas-type trains will be run which will connect iconic tourist destinations. "More TejasExpress -type trains will be set up for tourist destinations. A governance framework for ports will be set up. It will also look at one major port and its listing on the stock exchanges," Nirmala Sitharaman said.

"Government will provide 20 per cent equity for Bengaluru Suburban Transportation Project. This will be a Rs 18,600 crore project. An allocation of Rs 1.7 lakh crore for trasport infrastructure will be provided in FY21," she added.

The Centre has proposed an outlay of Rs 22,000 crore for power and renewable energy sector for 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. In her second Budget 2020 presentation, the finance minister said the Centre has proposed that discoms should replace conventional meters with smart pre-paid meters and give option to consumers to choose electricity suppliers.

State governments need to replace conventional electricity meters with pre-paid smart meters in three years, she said. The finance minster also said natural gas pipeline grid will be expanded to 27,000 km from over 16,000 km now and further reforms for transparent price discovery for natural gas will be undertaken.