No, Indian Railways Has Not Reinstated Concessions for Senior Citizens
Social media users are sharing posts related to a 'Senior Citizen Train Ticket Exemption' scheme, claiming that the Indian Railways (IR) has introduced a new policy, giving those aged 58 and above up to 50 percent off on their train tickets.
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It adds several points from this alleged policy, providing different rates of concession for different seat classes for senior citizens.
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The post also mentions the benefits of booking under this policy, such as availing medical assistance, getting priority berth allocation, and wheelchairs.
An archived version of this post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
(Archived versions of more claims on social media can be seen here and here.)
Is it true?: No, the viral claim is false.
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Indian Railways had suspended the senior citizens' concession in 2020 and has not reinstated it since.
How did we find out the truth?: We started by running a keyword search with the term 'Senior Citizen Train Ticket Exemption', but did not find any credible reports confirming the existence of this scheme or policy.
The policy providing a discount for senior citizens on their tickets was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The policy was discontinued in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Source: IRCTC/Screenshot)
There were no recent announcements, notices, or circulars indicating that it had been reinstated.
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Responding to a question in the Parliament by CPI(M) leader S Venkatesan's query about reinstating this discount on 30 March 2022, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that IR was providing three types of concessions.
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These were limited to four categories of people with disabilities, eleven categories of patients, and students.
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"Cost of granting concessions weigh heavily on Railways, hence extending the scope of concessions to all categories of passengers including senior citizens is not desirable at present," Vaishnaw said.
The minister said that they would not be reinstating the senior citizens' discount.
(Source: Digital Sansad/Screenshot)
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In April 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed seeking reinstatement for these concessions for senior citizens, among others, as reported by several news organisations, including The Economic Times.
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The issue was raised in parliament again in November 2024 by BJP leader Babubhai Desai.
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In his response, Vaishnaw said that IR provided an average of a 46 percent concession for every traveller, but did not specify anything about reintroducing the senior citizens' concession.
Vaishnaw did not mention any concessions for senior citizens.
(Source: Digital Sansad/Screenshot)
Lastly, the 2025-26 Union Budget also does not state any schemes or policies which provide concessions for senior citizens while traveling by train.
Conclusion: A false claim about senior citizens being given concessions by the Indian Railways has gone viral.
(This story was originally published by thequint.com, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Zelenskyy says Putin wants rest of Ukraine's Donetsk region as part of ceasefire
Brussels, Aug 12 (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region that Ukraine controls as part of a ceasefire deal.
Zelenskyy said Russia's position had been conveyed to him by US officials ahead of a summit Friday between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska on the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls, saying that would be unconsitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
It remained unclear whether Ukraine would take part in the Friday summit. European Union also has been sidelined from the meeting, and they appealed to Trump on Tuesday to protect their interests.
Zelenskyy said at a news briefing in Kyiv that Putin wants the remaining 9,000 square kilometres of Donetsk under Kyiv's control, where the war's toughest battles are grinding on, as part of a ceasefire plan. He said the Russian position was conveyed to him by US officials.
Doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a region comprising Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.
Zelenskyy was offering new details on the call he held with Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after the latter's bilateral meeting with Putin. Witkoff told Zelenskyy that Russia was ready to end the war and that there should be territorial concessions from both sides. Some European partners were also part of the call.
“And that, probably, Putin wants us to leave Donbas. That is, it didn't sound like America wants us to leave,” he said, recounting the call. Further meetings at the level of National Security Advisors further clarified what Russia actually wanted, Zelenskyy said.
Meanwhile, Russian forces on the ground have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk, potentially to use as leverage in any peace negotiations.
Seeking Trump's ear before the summit
Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year. The US president has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.
The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia's energy might to try to intimidate the EU, might secure favourable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them.
European countries' overarching fear is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine.
Their leaders said Tuesday they “welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.” But, they underlined, “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine” and “international borders must not be changed by force.”
The Europeans on Wednesday will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine's cause at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part but did say “I'm going to get everybody's ideas” before meeting with Putin.
Russia holds shaky control over four of the country's regions, two in the country's east and two in the south.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of Zelenskyy's office, said anything short of Russia's strategic defeat would mean that any ceasefire deal would be on Moscow's terms, erode international law and send a dangerous signal to the world.
'A profoundly alarming moment for Europe'
Trump's seemingly public rehabilitation of Putin — a pariah in most of Europe — has unnerved Ukraine's backers.
The summit in Alaska is a “profoundly alarming moment for Europe,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
According to Gould-Davies, Putin might persuade Trump to try to end the war by “accepting Russian sovereignty” over parts of Ukraine, even beyond areas that it currently occupies. Trump also could ease or lift sanctions which are causing “chronic pain” to the Russian economy.
That would provoke a “really serious split in the transatlantic alliance," he said.
The war isn't about Russia's territorial expansion but about Putin's goal of subordinating Ukraine, which would create the opportunity to threaten other parts of Europe, Gould-Davies said.
It was unclear whether the Europeans also were unsettled by Trump mistakenly saying twice he would be traveling to Russia on Friday to meet Putin. The summit is taking place in the U.S. state of Alaska, which was colonized by Russia in the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the U.S. in 1867.
Tuesday's European joint statement was meant to be a demonstration of unity. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is Putin's closest ally in Europe and has tried to block EU support for Ukraine, was the only one of the bloc's 27 leaders who refused to endorse it.
Russia closes in on Pokrovsk
Russia appeared close to taking an important city in the Donetsk region, Pokrovsk.
Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles said the next 24-48 hours could be critical. Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit. It also would complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts.
“A lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,” Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, wrote on social media late Monday.
Ukraine's military said its forces are fending off Russian infantry units trying to infiltrate their defensive positions in the Donetsk region. The region's Ukrainian military command on social media Monday acknowledged that the situation remains “difficult, unpleasant and dynamic.”
Elsewhere in Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on a military training facility left one soldier dead and 11 others wounded, the Ukrainian Ground Forces posted on social media. Soldiers rushing to shelters were hit with cluster munitions, according to the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
