Soon, Aadhaar must to avail rail concession
SOMESH JHA
SOMESH JHA
The Indian Railways may soon make it mandatory for senior citizen passengers to provide their Aadhaar numbers to avail concessions on rail tickets.
To begin with, senior citizens will be able to get ticket concessions only through Aadhaar from December this year, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Manocha told The Hindu.
At present, male senior citizens can avail 40 per cent discount on ticket fares and female passengers 50 per cent reduction on ticket fares on all trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto. Railways provides 53 such concessions, including those for the differently-abled and patients, incurring a loss of Rs.1,500 crore every year.
From December
To begin with, senior citizens will be able to get ticket concessions only through Aadhaar from December this year, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Manocha told The Hindu.
At present, male senior citizens can avail 40 per cent discount on ticket fares and female passengers 50 per cent reduction on ticket fares on all trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto. Railways provides 53 such concessions, including those for the differently-abled and patients, incurring a loss of Rs.1,500 crore every year.
From December
"The Railway Board has taken a decision to give discount on fares to senior citizens only on the basis of Aadhaar numbers from December," Mr. Manocha said.
He further said that IRCTC was likely to incentivise all passengers to book rail tickets through Aadhaar by offering them several sops.
"For instance, an IRCTC user can only book six tickets in a month, as per the present rules. However, we may do away with this norm as we will get to know if you are misusing the tickets or not through the Aadhaar number of the user," Mr. Manocha said. The Railways is also planning to extend the passenger insurance scheme to passengers travelling by unreserved tickets, by linking it with their Aadhaar and bank accounts.
He further said that IRCTC was likely to incentivise all passengers to book rail tickets through Aadhaar by offering them several sops.
"For instance, an IRCTC user can only book six tickets in a month, as per the present rules. However, we may do away with this norm as we will get to know if you are misusing the tickets or not through the Aadhaar number of the user," Mr. Manocha said. The Railways is also planning to extend the passenger insurance scheme to passengers travelling by unreserved tickets, by linking it with their Aadhaar and bank accounts.
