India reined in spending on its vast but decrepit rail network on Tuesday, setting the tone for what is expected to be the most austere federal budget in years in two days' time as the government struggles to tame its fiscal deficit. Gross budgetary support for the railways will rise nearly 8 per cent to 260 billion Indian rupees (US$4.82 billion) in the coming fiscal year, less than half the 20 per cent increase that was allocated last year's rail budget. India's railway network is the world's fourth-largest but it has suffered from years of low investment and political meddling. The result is a creaking system plagued by delays, overcrowding and slow freight delivery times that sap the...
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