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Fare track: Latest hike in railway tariff seems a modest proposal
The fare increase is expected to generate revenue of ₹700 crore in FY26 over a Budget estimate of ₹92,800 crore
Business Standard Editorial Comment Mumbai
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The Indian Railways' proposal to raise fares from July was long overdue. But questions may be raised on whether this increase, the first since 2020, can make an appreciable difference to the state-owned utility's functioning. The railways admits that the increase would be the lowest since 2013. The highest raise is being planned for the air-conditioned (AC) class in all trains at 2 paise per km; for the non-AC sleeper class, the increase is 1 paisa per km, and for second-class half a paisa per km. Suburban fares and monthly season ticket rates would remain unchanged.
The fare increase is
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Individualised micro-plans are prepared based on the deprivation factors of the family, which help the relevant departments to act swiftly. Most of the identified families fell under the category of homeless or landless-homeless, which were highlighted as the priority. Indicators such as food, clothing, shelter, and health have been kept as first priorities, followed by income generation, which was addressed through channelling financial aid to those eligible for it, as well as creating employability through programmes such as Ujjeevanam, a 100-day special livelihood campaign under Kudumbashree. 'Extreme poverty' eradicated? Despite facing financial constraints, Kerala has been able to invest in welfare schemes and targeted programmes. The minister attributes this to continued and collective effort. 'Instead of limiting ourselves to broad assumptions, we made it a priority to identify, recognise, and take targeted action for those in need. 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7 hours ago
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New Delhi, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently reviewed the progress of ongoing reforms in the passengers reservation system and emphasized the need for smart, transparent, accessible and efficient ticketing system with a focus on passenger convenience, the ministry on Sunday said. Railway Minister reviews reservation system, emphasises reforms for passenger convenience Under Vaishnaw's guidance, officials are working to prepare the reservation chart eight hours before the train's departure instead of the current system of four hours. "It will benefit passengers travelling from remote locations or suburbs of major cities for catching long distance trains. It will also provide more time to make alternative arrangements in case the wait list is not confirmed," the ministry said in a press note. "The new upgraded Passenger Reservation System will allow over 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute. This will be an increase of roughly five times from 32,000 tickets per minute in the current PRS," it added. The ministry stated the new Passenger Reservation System also has a multilingual and user-friendly booking and enquiry interface. In the new PRS, users will be able to submit their choice of seat and see the fare calendar. It also has integrated facilities for Divyangjan, students and patients etc., officials said. "Streamlined authentication for Tatkal bookings Indian Railways will allow only authenticated users to book Tatkal tickets on IRCTC website and mobile app beginning 1st July, 2025," the ministry added. It emphasised that OTP-based authentication will be done for Tatkal bookings from the end of July. The minister instructed officials to broadbase the authentication mechanism for Tatkal bookings. "The authentication should be done using Aadhaar or any other verifiable Government ID available in the user's DigiLocker account," the press note said. According to the ministry, these measures reflect the Indian Railways' continuous efforts to modernise its systems and make them more citizen friendly. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
