The Railways are mulling over the possibility of restoring the senior citizen concession. It is, however, is considered to include revisions that aim at reducing the burden on the Railways.
According to sources, the Railways are considering reinstituting senior citizen concessions, but they would only apply it to the general and sleeper classes of travel. This is in response to criticism from a number of quarters.
According to those sources, another possibility involves adjusting the age requirements for the senior citizen concession and limiting eligibility to individuals over 70 years old. Previously, the age threshold was 58 for women and 60 for males. The objective of this plan is to reduce the cost of offering these concessions for the Railways while maintaining the subsidy for senior citizens. This would reduce the liability of the transporter.
As one of the sources said, they are aware that these concessions are helpful for the elderly. It has not been suggested that the concessions be scrapped completely. They are being reviewed and a decision is to be made soon.
Another condition that is being considered by the Railways is to restrict the concessions to just apply to non-AC travel. The reasoning for this is that restricting it to the sleeper and general classes will accommodate seventy per cent of passengers. These are some of the possibilities being considered, but nothing has been finalised.
Concession system before the pandemic
The senior citizen concession was made available to women aged 58 and above and males aged 60 and above until it was discontinued during the coronavirus pandemic in the year 2020. While women were eligible for a concession of 50 per cent, men and transgender individuals could take advantage of a discount of 40 per cent in all classes.
Premium Tatkal scheme
The idea of introducing the “Premium Tatkal” scheme across all trains is another alternative that is being considered by the Railways. This will assist in generating higher revenue, which may help balance the strain that the concessions may cause. Approximately eighty trains are currently compatible with this scheme.
The Premium Tatkal Scheme is a quota that was established by the Railways to reserve a few seats at a dynamic fare pricing. The purpose of this quota is to make things easier for last-minute travellers willing to shell out a little extra. The standard rail fare, in addition to the additional Tatkal charges, is included in the Premium Tatkal fare.
Financial Burden on the Railways
Over the course of the past two decades, railway concessions have been the subject of extensive debate, and numerous committees have recommended that they be terminated. As a direct consequence of this, the Railways decided to make the concession for senior citizens optional in July of 2016.
As a result of the more than 50 different sorts of concessions that the national transporter provides to different categories of passengers, it is forced to carry an enormous financial burden of almost 2,000 crore rupees each and every year.
The concession offered to elderly citizens accounts for approximately 80 per cent of the overall discounts offered by it. Earlier, the Railways attempted to persuade customers to give up their senior citizen concession, but they were unsuccessful in doing so.
In response to a question posed in Parliament last week, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the cost of giving concessions places a significant burden on the Railways. This is why it is not desirable to extend the scope of concessions to all categories of passengers, including senior citizens.
