Facing severe criticism from the masses and the Opposition after Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted in the Parliament against restoring concessions on fares for senior citizens and some other categories, the PMO has intervened in the matter following which the Indian Railways is on course to restore them but with a severe tweak.
The restoration of senior citizen concessions is being planned only for the general and sleeper classes as of now. The age criteria too is being changed. Only those above 70 years, as against the earlier 58 for women and 60 for men, will be eligible for the concessional fare, sources said. The concessions were discontinued since the Covid outbreak.The sources said that fearing a constant attack by the Opposition on the issue and the huge uproar on social media against the Government’s assertion, the Railway Board, to begin with, has started to work on the restoration.
This change of line comes a week after Vaishnaw in a written reply in Lok Sabha last week ruled out a restoration citing that fares in most of the classes were already very low and Railways has suffered a recurring loss due to low fares and concessions to different category of passengers.
The tweaked restoration, the sources indicated, is to offset the cost of granting these concessions for Railways while retaining subsidy for the elderly. "We understand that these concessions help the elderly and we never said we were going to scrap it completely. We are reviewing it and will take a decision on it," sources said. Before being withdrawn during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the senior citizen concession was extended to women aged 58 and above and men aged 60 and above. While women were eligible for 50 per cent concession, men and transgenders could avail 40 per cent discount in all classes.
Another provision Railways is considering is to limit the concessions to non-AC travel only. "The logic is that if we limit it to sleeper and general classes, we cover 70 per cent of travellers. These are just some of options we are considering and nothing has been finalised," a source said.
Another option the Railways is considering is to introduce the 'Premium Tatkal' scheme across all trains. This will help generate higher revenue, which could offset the burden of the concessions. This scheme is currently applicable in around 80 trains.
The Premium Tatkal Scheme is a quota introduced by the Railways which reserves a few seats with a dynamic fare pricing. This quota is for the convenience of last-minute travellers willing to shell out a little extra. The Premium Tatkal fare comprises the basic train fare plus additional Tatkal charges. Over the last two decades, railway concessions have been a much-discussed topic with multiple committees recommending their withdrawal. As a result of this, in July 2016, the Railways made the concession for the elderly optional.
The national transporter incurs a huge burden of around Rs 2,000 crore every year due to over 50 types of concessions it offers to various kinds of passengers. The senior citizen concession amounts to around 80 per cent of the total discounts given by it. Earlier, the Railways had tried to encourage people to give up their senior citizen concession, but it was not a success.