In March 2020, the Indian Railways discontinued the concessions given to senior citizens on train fares. Under this concession, a discount of 50 percent was given to female senior citizens and 40 percent discount was given to male and transgender senior citizens.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the Budget 2024 on July 23. From women to farmers, everyone is hopeful that some special announcement can be made from this budget. Also, the middle class is hoping that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can also make an announcement regarding tax. Meanwhile, senior citizens also have special expectations from the budget.
Senior citizens are hopeful of the government’s possible reinstatement of railway concessions, a move seen as a significant one ahead of the general elections later this year. In March 2020, the Indian Railways discontinued the concessions offered to senior citizens on train fares, which included a 50 per cent discount for female senior citizens and a 40 per cent discount for male and transgender senior citizens. As a result, senior citizens now have to pay the full fare.
Railways benefited from withdrawing the concession
According to the railways, men and transgenders aged 60 years or more and women aged 58 years or more are considered senior citizens. Senior citizen railway concession was available on all categories of mail and express trains such as Duronto, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains. According to reports and RTI, the railways have got extra revenue by withdrawing the concession given to senior citizens.
During the period of suspension, Indian Railways generated a revenue of Rs 5,062 crore from eight crore senior citizens, of which Rs 2,242 crore came from lack of concessions. In this segment, there were 4.6 crore male passengers, 3.3 crore female passengers and about 18,000 transgender persons.
What does the government say?
In 2022, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told Parliament that there has been a persistent demand to restore railway concessions to senior citizens. However, he said that such a restoration would increase the financial burden on the government. In December 2023, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav highlighted that the Railways provided a substantial subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets in 2019-20 keeping in mind all sections of the society, which is an average concession of 53% for each rail passenger.
Vaishnav said this subsidy will continue for all passengers, with additional concessions given to various categories, including four categories of disabled persons (Divyangjan), 11 categories of patients and eight categories of students.
