CRIF - Central Road & Infrastructure Fund

CRIF - Central Road & Infrastructure Fund

·         One of the Sources of Finance under Capital Expenditure (Capex) of Indian Railways

·         Rs. 18,500 Crores - allocated to Capex of Indian Railways in 2020-21 Budget (Rs. 15,250 Crores in 2019-20) - Usually spend on LC Gates and ROB/RUBs under Plan Heads 2900 & 3000 through RSF - Railway Safety Fund.  CRIF is the main source for RSF.

·         Established in 2000   (The Central Road and Infrastructure Act, 2000) F

·         Old name is CRF - Central Road Fund

·         Managed by Dept of Economic Affairs (DEA) under Ministry of Finance. (Previously it is under Ministry of Road Transport & Highways)

·         Source of Fund -  Levy & collect by way of Cess, a duty of excise and duty of customs on Petrol and Diesel  (in 2018-19 - Rs. 1,13,000 Crores collected).  It is approximately Rs. 10 per liter of Diesel / Petrol.

·         Object: To finance infrastructure projects such as Railways, Inland Waterways, Roads & Bridges, Ports, Shipyards, Urban Public Transport, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Communication & Social infrastructure (educational institutions)

   

·         Ministerial panel on CRIF - 4 Ministers (of Finance, Railways, Road transport & Highways, HRD) - for allocation of funds under CRIF

·         The 15-member sub-committee has Secretaries from different Ministries - Examine and evaluate proposals received from Ministries on infrastructure projects.

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