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An archived version of this post can be seen here.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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23-year-old woman found dead at Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.
Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.
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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.
Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.
It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.
Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.
The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.
Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.
