Net reduction in Gross Traffic Receipts by ₹ 15,744 crore in R.E. 2015-16

Excess of receipts over expenditure in R.E. 2015-16 stands at ₹ 11,402.40 crore

Financial Performance 2015-16

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu while presenting the Railway Budget 2016-17 in the Parliament today placed the Financial Performance data for 2015-16.

The Railway Minister said that there is a net reduction in Gross Traffic Receipts by ₹ 15,744 crore in R.E. 2015-16 compared to the B.E. target of ₹ 1,83,578 crore. Passenger earnings were budgeted to increase by 16.7% over R.E. 2014-15. However, the actual growth target for 2015-16 was 18.9% since passenger earnings in 2014-15 fell short of the R.E. target. This has been scaled down keeping in view the persistent negative growth trend since 2013-14 both in the sub-urban and non sub-urban non-PRS segments of travel. Similarly, in freight earnings, though B.E. 2015-16 was projected at ₹ 1,21,423 crore with a loading target of 1186.25 million tonne (MT) and an average lead of 626 km, the growth has been impacted mainly on account of low demand from the core sector resulting in resetting the target in R.E. 2015-16 to ₹ 1,11,853 crore.

Shri Suresh Prabhu said that the decline in traffic earnings vis-à-vis budgeted target from the trends witnessed from the first quarter of the fiscal had guarded us to adopt several measures to contain the Ordinary Working Expenses (O.W.E). The Minister said that Indian Railways initiated stringent economy and austerity measures particularly w.r.t. the controllable heads like inventory, variable costs and contingent expenditure, due to which the budgeted O.W.E. of ₹ 1,19,410 crore decreased in the R.E. 2015-16 to ₹ 1,10,690 crore i.e., by ₹ 8,720 crore. Savings in working expenses helped us to appropriate to Railway Debt Service Fund to provide for the 7th Pay Commission. Thus O.W.E. in R.E. 2015-16 provides for a growth of only 4.4%. On Indian Railways, the total number of pensioners is 13.79 lakhs. B.E. provided for an appropriation of ₹ 34,900 crore to the pension fund. However, based on trends, the pension outgo has been moderately decreased to ₹ 34,500 crore in R.E.

The Railway Minister added that internal resource generation diminished and accordingly the appropriation to DRF has been moderated to ₹ 5500 crore in R.E. from the B.E. 2015-16 provisioning of ₹ 7,900 crore. Excess of receipts over expenditure in R.E. 2015-16 stands at ₹ 11,402.40 crore. With the above estimates, the targeted operating ratio in R.E. is 90% against 91.3% in 2014-15 and 93.6% in 2013-14. Plan size for 2015-16 is currently estimated at ₹ 1,00,000 crore i.e., the B.E. level.

Ordinary Working Expenses reduced to contain fiscal shortfall, enabling appropriation to pension and debt service funds. Revenue shortfalls in passenger and freight earnings reduced gross traffic receipts in the revised estimates for 2015-16. In response, austerity measures on controllable heads curtailed Ordinary Working Expenses, and resultant savings were appropriated to pension obligations and debt servicing while moderating transfers to development funds, producing an improved targeted operating ratio and preserving the plan size.