 "Budget 2024: Will the govt bring back fare concessions for senior citizens?")
Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget 2024, reports suggest that a pressing question in the railways sector is whether the Indian Railways will bring back concessions on fares for senior citizens, according to a report by The Financial Express.
In March 2020, the Indian Railways discontinued the discounts on train fares previously available to senior citizens. This decision eliminated the 50 per cent discount for female senior citizens and the 40 per cent discount for male and transgender senior citizens. Since then, senior citizens have been required to pay full fare, similar to other passengers.
According to railway guidelines, individuals aged 60 and above for males and transgenders, and 58 and above for females, qualify as senior citizens.
The removal of senior citizen discounts reportedly led to a significant increase in revenue for the Railways, the report said, citing various reports and RTI inquiries.
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to queries about reinstating senior citizen discounts before the Interim Budget 2024, stating that Indian Railways already provides a 55 per cent fare discount to all passengers.
Railways earns from seniors
Earlier this year, in response to an RTI application by Chandra Shekhar Gaur of Madhya Pradesh, Indian Railways disclosed earning around Rs 2,242 crore from about 150 million senior citizens during the financial year 2022-23.
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The decision on whether to reintroduce senior citizen discounts in Budget 2024 is not just a policy matter but also reflects societal values and priorities. It presents a significant opportunity for the government to showcase its dedication to elder care, social justice, and accountable governance, the report further said.
Interim Budget 2024
In the Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 2.55 trillion to the Indian Railways for the financial year 2024-25. This marks a 5.8 per cent increase over the budgetary estimate of Rs 2.41 trillion for 2023-24. The revised estimates for the financial year 2023-24 were set at Rs 2.43 trillion.
FM Sitharaman said, “Three major economic railway corridor programs will be implemented. These are energy, mineral and cement corridors, port connectivity corridors, and high traffic density corridors,” she had said, while tabling the interim Budget in February.
She further said that these initiatives were earmarked under PM Gati Shakti to enhance multi-modal connectivity, aiming to enhance logistics efficiency and lower costs.
Budget 2024: Train bogies
Furthermore, an additional 40,000 normal passenger train bogies are undergoing conversion to meet the Vande Bharat standards, aimed at improving passenger safety, convenience, and comfort.