Railways To Mobilise Rs 17,655cr From Borrowing In 2015-16

BANGALORE:Indian Railways will borrow Rs 17,655 crore from markets through its two companies IRFC and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for capital expenditure during 2015-16, a nearly 47 percent increase over the current fiscal year's revised estimate.

The market borrowing as per the revised estimate by these two companies during the current fiscal was pegged at Rs 12,045 crore from markets, according to the Railway Budget for 2015-16, which was tabled by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in Parliament. Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) will raise Rs 17,276 crore in 2015-16 for investment in rolling stock, the Railway Budget document said.

Besides, the other financial firm under Indian Railway Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) plans to raise Rs 379 crore through market borrowing. During 2014-15, IRFC raised Rs 11,772.60 crore while RVNL mopped up Rs 273 crore from the market as per the revised estimate.

"For financing remunerative projects through market borrowings, it is intended to tap low-cost long-term funds from insurance and pension funds, multi-lateral and bilateral agencies which can be serviced through incremental revenues," Prabhu said in his proposals while presenting the Rail Budget. Railways will create new vehicles to crowd in investment from long-term institutional investors and other partners, he said.

"These may include setting up an infrastructure fund, a holding company and a JV with an existing NBFC of a PSU with IRFC, for raising long-term debt from domestic as well as overseas sources, including multilateral and bilateral financial institutions that have expressed keen interest in working closely with Railways in this endeavour," he said. Resources from Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been pegged at Rs 17,136 crore.
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