Setu Bandhan Scheme

About Setu Bandhan Scheme: 

• It is an initiative of the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways.
• Objective: It has introduced to improve inter-state connectivity, especially on the rural areas at the borders where state roads do not get the required attention.
• It is aimed at replacement of railway line Level Crossings (LCs) with Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/Rail Under Bridges (RUBs) in the states.

Key facts about Central Road and Infrastructure Fund

• It was established in 2000 under the Central Road Fund Act, 2000.
• It was previously known as the Central Road Fund.
• Its subject matter belongs to the Ministry of Finance.
• The fund consists of a cess imposed along with excise duty on the petrol and diesel.
• The Central Road Fund Act, 2000 was amended in 2018 and its objectives are as follows
  • To use proceeds of the road cess under CRIF to finance other infrastructure projects such as waterways, some portion of the railway infrastructure and even social infrastructure, including education institutions and medical colleges.

Q1) What is cess?

Cess is a form of tax charged/levied over and above the base tax liability of a taxpayer. A cess is usually imposed additionally when the state or the central government looks to raise funds for specific purposes.

Source: Shri Nitin Gadkari approves 7 bridge projects worth Rs 118.50 Crore in Arunachal Pradesh under the Setu Bandhan Scheme