Relevance: GS III (Infrastructure: Railways, Ports, Roads) | Source: Union Budget 2026-27
1. Railways: Speed and Safety
The Budget unveils a massive roadmap for a 4,000-km High-Speed Rail Network.
- Growth Connectors: 7 new high-speed corridors are proposed, including Hyderabad-Chennai (cutting travel time to 2 hours) and Delhi-Varanasi.
- Safety First: A significant outlay is dedicated to installing Kavach (India’s indigenous Automatic Train Protection system) to prevent collisions and accidents.
2. Shipping: Breaking the Container Crunch
To reduce logistics costs and import dependency, the focus is on the Blue Economy.
- Container Mission: A ₹10,000 Crore scheme to manufacture shipping containers domestically, reducing reliance on China.
- East-West Link: A new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is proposed from Dankuni (West Bengal) to Surat (Gujarat). This diagonal spine will connect the mineral-rich East to the industrial West.
- River Ways: Special focus on National Waterway-5 (NW-5) to link coal belts (Talcher) with ports (Paradip).
3. Aviation & EVs: The Last Mile
- Seaplanes: The budget revives the seaplane project with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to connect remote areas.
- Training: Customs duty on parts for training aircraft is removed to make pilot training cheaper in India.
- EV Shift: Subsidies for Electric Vehicles (PM E-DRIVE) saw a reduction, signaling that the sector is now mature enough to grow without heavy government hand-holding.
UPSC Value Box
| Concept / Term | Relevance for Prelims |
| Kavach | An indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. It automatically applies brakes if the pilot fails to do so and prevents collision between two trains on the same track. |
| Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) | High-speed, high-capacity railway corridors built exclusively for freight (goods) trains. They decongest the normal tracks for passenger trains. |
| Viability Gap Funding (VGF) | A grant to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified but not financially viable (profitable) for private investors initially. |
Q. With reference to the “Kavach” system frequently seen in the news, consider the following statements:
- It is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.
- It relies on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags installed on tracks and locomotives.
- It is designed to prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) and collisions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: (d)
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