After LPG, You Can Give Up Your Rail Fare Subsidy From August

The scheme will be introduced for all trains in a “phased manner”.

File photo of a busy railway station.

(Photo: PTI)

After petroleum ministry’s 'Give-It-Up' campaign, wherein, more than 10 million households gave up their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy, the Railway Ministry has decided to follow suit.

A Times of India report said that rail passengers will now be provided with an option of surrendering their subsidy on tickets under two slabs – 50 percent and 100 percent of the subsidy amount.

It will be launched in August and will be introduced for all trains in a "phased manner". The report further said that Indian Railways incurs a loss of Rs 30,000 crore every year as it "bears 43 percent of the cost of all fares".

A senior railway official told Business Standard:

We expect the people who are well-off to forego the subsidy, as details of this are already printed on tickets.

The idea struck Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu after a passenger named Avtar Krishen Kher returned the differential amount of the actual price of the ticket and subsidy to IRCTC, which was around Rs 950.