A considerable fraction of the Indian population depends on the state-run buses for its daily commute. Every day millions of Indians travel across the country as the Railways continue to be the nation’s lifeline. Millions of others use the roadways, metro rails, and the air travel network.
Something as drastic as the implementation of GST is bound to have an impact on the transportation sector. Luckily for us, the effect has been in the right direction.
Post the implementation of GST; the nation saw some exemplary achievements in the public transport sector of the country. Here are some highlights of the same.
Highway Construction
Proper roads are paramount to an active transportation network. The year 2017-18 saw the construction of 9,829 km of National Highways, according to MoneyControl.com. This set a record as the maximum amount of highway construction done in a financial year, only to have the record broken with the creation of 10,855 km the next fiscal year.
With a higher budget, the nation can provide safe roads for the transportation of goods, cattle, and humans. This has played an instrumental role in bringing rural India closer to its urban counterpart. As a result, there are better job prospects, business opportunities and people can dream of a better tomorrow.
Modernization of Indian Railways
The Indian Railways has mainly benefitted from the GST scheme of taxation. The revenue has been used for modernization purposes such as providing free WiFi in many trains and railway stations, refurbishing of railway stations and conversion of diesel locomotives into digital ones.
Infrastructure development in the Railway sector has been significant in recent years. Some of the significant post-GST achievements include:
- The successful construction of the Bogibeel Bridge linking the Northeastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. With this bridge, the travel time from Tinsukia (Assam) to Nahalagun (Arunachal Pradesh) is brought down by a significant amount.
- Significant coach beautification has taken place in recent years. Local paintings have been used to decorate trains and railway stations. An increasing number of bio-toilets has been introduced in Indian trains post 2017.
- Significant money has been invested in Railway research, and the fruits of the same are now seen. Train-18 is one such achievement wherein an engineless train can drive 16 air-conditioned coaches. This indigenously developed train has successfully met all safety standards during its trial run, thereby securing its place in the commercial field.
- Since businesses started using the gst registration portal regularly, a significant increase in revenue was noted. This allowed the government to invest a higher amount of money on the country’s rail infrastructure.
- The investments gave good returns and initiated a loop of profit and development. The Railway Budget for 2019-20 was the highest ever capital expenditure in this sector.
- The Railway Commando Battalion ‘CORAS’ has been established. In the short period since its existence, the battalion has done a brilliant job in keeping a check on Naxalites and terrorists who target the Indian Railways.
Flights
The last few years have seen a revamp of aviation transport. New airports are being inaugurated, and flights are now plying on new routes. The nation now boasts of 664 operational commercial flights and 34 newly operational air routes, according to CivilAviation.gov.in. There is no Indian state without an airport.
Metro Rail
India has a vast Metro rail network spread across multiple metropolitan cities. Post the implementation of the GST revenue system not only has there been a significant increase in the existing metro networks, but non-metropolitan towns also got their metro trains.
The Hyderabad Metro is the most significant PPP metro project in the world. The Lucknow Metro holds the world record for being built in the shortest time. The Bangalore Metro was the first to introduce WiFi in the trains. The Delhi Metro proudly boasts as the nation’s largest metro network.
A glance at the ever-growing achievements of metro rail in India will reveal that most developments happened post the implementation of GST. Not only did GST accelerate the development cycle, but it also allowed the transport sector to have bigger-than-ever dreams.
Conclusion
With GST, businesses search gst number of their vendors before filing their returns. This allows for cross-checking, thereby ensuring that everyone files their taxes and the nation does not lose out on revenue. The utilization of this revenue in the improvisation of the transport sector is indeed overwhelming.
