Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Friday said it is launching a host of initiatives, including passenger insurance and unreserved ticketing.
Arun Kumar Manocha, Chairman and Managing director of IRCTC, in its official statement, stated that "We are going to start passenger insurance soon and have already issued a letter of award. We have short-listed three companies. The insurance would cost less than Rs. 2 per trip for a sum insured of Rs. 10 lakh."
The public-sector undertaking of the Railways, which handles catering, tourism, and Internet ticketing activities, on Friday also partnered with the State Bank of India to enable digital payments through the SBI's mobile wallet Buddy.
Manocha further stated that "The company is also working together to explore other areas of railway ticketing activities. We are planning to enter unreserved ticketing system; it would be available in a few months time."
Manocha said IRCTC is improving its Android app to make refund process of e-ticket cancellation simpler. The company is working with several institutions, including Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, and Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition, Pusa just to provide upgraded services.
The proposed insurance scheme is optional and passengers will be given the option at the time of booking tickets. As per the scheme, around Rs 10 lakh will be provided in case of death and permanent disability, Rs 7.5 lakh for partial disability, Rs 5 lakh for hospitalization and expense for injury and transportation of mortal remains will be Rs 10,000 per passenger.
He also added that IRCTC is planning to launch its own e-wallet in a renewed form. "The failure of card payment is only 2-3 percent because of the pathway issues. We are hoping to launch e-wallet in the renewed form. It will be made free for the first three months. Currently, it is linked to the PAN card and it will also be linked to the Aadhaar card soon."
Considering the advancement in technology, IRCTC has also started the system of e-wallet that is expected to get launched by the month of October presumably by Diwali or Dussehra.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced plans to launch passenger insurance scheme in Rail Budget this year. According to Indian Railways, nearly 13 million passengers are served by the network daily, out of which nearly 12 million are unreserved passengers.
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