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Ministry Of Railways
Indian Railways is under the charge of the Ministry of Railways in India, which is a body that operates as the single monopolized organization for the rail services in India. The minister presently in charge of railways is Dinesh Trivedi.
Organizational Structure of Ministry of Railway
For the railway department, government of India has a Union minister and a minister of state. The Railway Board is the apex body in India that reports in turn to the Minister of Railways. The Board of Railways consists of a single Chairman, Five Railways Board members and the financial commissioner, who is representing the Ministry of Finance in the Board. There are also the Director General of the Railway Health Services and another Director-General of Railway Protection Force. Besides, there are a number of directorates who report to the Railway board directly.
Presently, the Railway Ministry is located inside the premises of Rail Bhavan in New Delhi.
The Railway Budget
In the year of 1921, a committee of East India Railway was formed under the chairmanship of Sir William Acworth, and this committee was known as the Acworth Committee. The need for a single unified system of management was stressed by the Acworth Committee so that there could be better management of the entire railway system. As per the recommendations of this committee and to approve the changes given therein, the government at that time brought the railways under its own management. The finances for the railways were also separated from the general finances of the government, which led to the establishment of an annual railway budget for every year, apart from the general budget. It was mooted that there would be a railway Board, with a Financial Commissioner, a member each for the charge of ways of the railway, works, projects and stores. Another member would look after the administration, traffic and staff. As per such resolutions and planning, the compilation of the staff and accounts for the Railway departments were put into action from 1 April, 1929. This charge was taken over by the Financial Commissioner of Railways from the Auditor General. In the first Annual Railway budget, in 1924, 70% of the budget allocation of the country was provided to the railways. It bettered the focus on each of the budget and its priorities. Presently, the railway budget of India is about 15% less than the national budget. The presentation of the annual Railway budget is keenly followed by people as they are interested to know about new trains that are introduced, the services and fare charges and new tariffs and timings which are announced at that time.
Ministry of Railways – Contact Details
- Helpdesk contact – [email protected]
- Customer Services 24x7 – SMS numbers – 57886, 54959, 139, 5676747