Railway Concession For Senior Citizen: The first budget of the third term of the Modi government is going to be presented on 23 July 2024. This time, along with the salaried class, farmers also have a lot of expectations from the budget.
The Finance Minister can also make an announcement on the issue of income tax keeping the public in mind. Amidst all this, railway passengers are also sitting with great expectations from the government. Senior citizens traveling by train are hopeful that in this time’s budget, the concession given by the government on tickets can be restored again. If the government restores the old rule, then this will be the biggest step of the third term of the Modi government. Apart from this, special announcements are also expected to be made regarding new trains.
Hope for reinstatement of exemption after four years
During the Corona epidemic, in March 2020, the railways had stopped the discount on train fares for senior citizens. Under this, women senior citizens used to get 50 percent discount, male and transgender senior citizens used to get 40 percent discount. After this, all passengers have to pay the full fare. In the news published in Dainik Bhaskar a few days ago, it was also hoped that the discount on rail fares for senior citizens could be restored after four years.
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Discussion on restoring concessions for sleeper class
According to the news, there is a discussion on restoring the concession in fares for sleeper class instead of AC coaches. The government is trying to put the least financial burden on the railways. According to RTI, the railways’ revenue has increased by withdrawing the concessions given to senior citizens. During the last four years, the railways have generated a revenue of Rs 5,062 crore from eight crore senior citizens. Out of this, Rs 2,242 crore has come from stopping the concession.
Only those who want to avail the discount will get the benefit
Media reports claim that the discount in railway fare will be given only to those senior citizens who want to avail it. Earlier, every passenger was given the benefit of discount in railway fare after crossing the fixed age limit. According to this, now senior citizens will have to fill the discount column in the reservation form while booking the ticket. It is being considered to give this discount to every passenger two or three times a year.
The matter of restoring the concession was also raised in the Parliament.
Recently, the matter of concession given by the railways in fares was also raised in the Parliament. On this, the Railway Minister had said that a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore is already being given in passenger fares. It was told that the average expenditure on a passenger is Rs 110, while in comparison, only Rs 45 is charged. The Railway Minister had said that restoring the senior citizen concession will increase the financial burden on the government.
