What Does the Union Budget 2018 Have for Travel Enthusiasts?

If you love to travel, Arun Jaitley’s 2018 Budget should make you happy.

The Finance minister claimed that more than 9,000 km of National Highways are to be completed in this financial year.

(Photo: The Quint)

Presenting the ruling BJP government’s last full Budget before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Arun Jaitley said that India is the world’s “fastest growing” economy.

The Finance minister began his speech with a list of achievements made by the Narendra Modi-led government, and emphasised that he was optimistic about the path taken by the country.

With a bunch of sops announced for the travel sector, Arun Jaitley’s 2018 Budget should make you happy if you love to travel by road, rail or air, like everyone of Imtiaz Ali’s protagonists.

The government plans to progressively install Wifi and CCTVs on all trains, but have not specified when this project will be completed.

The Finance minister also claimed that more than 9,000 km of National Highways are to be completed in this financial year. This year’s Budget allocated over Rs. 1.48 lakh crore to railways, the highest-ever for the national transporter with a 13 per cent increase from last year, in an effort to put its flagging revenues back on track.

Jaitley announced a 'Safety First' policy, with allocation of adequate funds under Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh and a bonanza for suburban commuters in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

He said 600 major railway stations will be redeveloped by the Indian Railway Station Development Company Limited and that all stations with a footfall of more than 25,000 will have escalators.

The capacity of airports is also to be expanded by five times to cater to a billion trips a year. Regional air connectivity will also be increased by connecting 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads. Ten prominent tourist sites will also be developed as iconic tourist spots.

In the last three years, the domestic air passenger traffic grew at 18 percent per annum and our airline companies placed orders for more than 900 aircraft, Jaitley said.

But wait a minute, imported cars and motorcycles will be getting more expensive. So, if you fancy imported automobiles and bikes, get ready to pay more.