01853nam a22001457a 4500 531210 531210 250801b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d Kumar, Sanjiv 55919 Merger of the railway budget with the general budget: A critical study Indian Journal of Public Administration 71(2), Jun, 2025: p.354-370 The merger of the separate Railway Budget with the General Budget marks a significant stride in the structural reforms within the Indian railways. This reform is strategically aimed at bringing railways investment to the forefront of holistic transportation policy and financing. By exempting dividend payment liability at the railways, the merger seeks to alleviate financial burdens and foster greater focus on infrastructural development. Chronic infrastructural constraints, exacerbated by under-investment and populist measures, have impeded the railways from effectively supporting India’s economic growth. The century-old practice of a separate Railway Budget has been identified as a contributing factor to these challenges. The integration of the Railway Budget into the General Budget has improved comprehension at the governmental and parliamentary levels. This consolidation has also facilitated enhanced budgetary support and capital expenditure allocation, thereby fostering an environment conducive to addressing infrastructural deficits and enhancing traffic performance with far-reaching implications for the nation’s economic development trajectory.- Reproduced https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00195561251335783 Structural reforms, Merger of budgets, Infrastructure, Growth, Divided, Gross budgetary support, Capital expenditure, Railways, Under-investment. 55920 Indian Journal of Public Administration AR 0 0 ddc 0 0 406408 IIPA IIPA 2025-08-01 71(2), Jun, 2025: p.354-370 AR136919 2025-08-01 AR