New Delhi: Railways on Tuesday hiked the basic freight charges of grains, pulses and groundnut oil by nearly six per cent, a move that will lead to increase in prices of food items.
Freight rates of urea have been increased by 5.8 per cent, which could have an impact on the government's fertilizer subsidy bill.
Freight rates of grain and pulses have been increased to Rs 1,403.6 per tonne from the current Rs 1,326.8 per tonne at an average lead of 1,307 km.
Similarly, Railways increased freight rates of groundnut oil to Rs 1,848 per tonne from the present Rs 1,746.60 per tonne at an average lead of 1650 km.
In case of urea, the freight charges increased to Rs 920 per tonne from the current Rs 869.60 per tonnes at an average lead of 886 km.
The rates exclude development charge and busy season charges which essentially means that actual hike would be higher, according to the Railway Budget for 2013-14 presented in Parliament by Railway Minister P K Bansal.
Freight rates have been increased due to deregulation of diesel prices for bulk consumers.
Mr Bansal also announced adoption of Fuel Adjustment Component (FAC) which will be dynamic in nature and freight charges will be revised twice a year based on changes in input fuel cost.
"In the light of deregulation of the HSD oil, Railways' finances need to be rationally insulated and to this end a mechanism to neutralise the impact of fuel prices on operating expenses is required to be put in place," Mr Bansal said.
"In the Budget 2012-13, my predecessor had proposed to segregate fuel component in tariffs as FAC. As suggested, I propose that this component be dynamic in nature and change in either direction with the change in fuel cost, say twice a year. It is proposed to implement the FAC-linked revision in only freight tariff from April 1, 2013," he added.
Freight rates of urea have been increased by 5.8 per cent, which could have an impact on the government's fertilizer subsidy bill.
Freight rates of grain and pulses have been increased to Rs 1,403.6 per tonne from the current Rs 1,326.8 per tonne at an average lead of 1,307 km.
In case of urea, the freight charges increased to Rs 920 per tonne from the current Rs 869.60 per tonnes at an average lead of 886 km.
Advertisement
Freight rates have been increased due to deregulation of diesel prices for bulk consumers.
Advertisement
"In the light of deregulation of the HSD oil, Railways' finances need to be rationally insulated and to this end a mechanism to neutralise the impact of fuel prices on operating expenses is required to be put in place," Mr Bansal said.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Railway Minister Travels By Local Train In Mumbai, Chats With Commuters Sabarmati Express Derailed Due To Object On Track, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw Focus On Vande Bharat, Not On Trains For Poor? What Railway Minister Said In Big Step Towards One Nation, One Election, Cabinet Clears Plan Explained: How Pagers Turned Bombs And Why Israel Is Being Blamed New XEC Covid Variant Spreads To 27 Countries, Here's What We Know So Far Ukrainian Strike Triggers Earthquake-Sized Blast At Russian Arsenal: Report Not Practical: 15 Opposition Parties Rubbish "One Nation, One Election" Plan Veterinarian Warns Against Owning These 5 Dog Breeds Due To Health Concerns Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.