### **Overview** Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) is a **Mini Ratna (Category-I) Central Public Sector Enterprise** under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. Incorporated in 1999, IRCTC functions as the **sole authorized entity** for online railway ticketing, onboard and station catering, and packaged drinking water distribution across Indian Railways. It has evolved into a **one-stop digital travel and tourism solutions provider**, serving millions of passengers daily while maintaining strong brand trust and technological leadership. --- ### **Business Segments & Key Operations** #### 1. **Internet Ticketing – The Backbone of Operations** - IRCTC operates **www.irctc.co.in**, one of the most transacted websites in the Asia-Pacific region, facilitating seamless online railway ticket booking. - The **Next Generation E-Ticketing (NGeT)** system handles over **28,000 tickets per minute**, supported by a high-capacity data center at CRIS, New Delhi. - In FY 2023–24: - Facilitated **8,025.06 lakh e-tickets**. - Contributed **30.33% to total revenue**. - Average daily bookings: **12.38 lakh tickets**. - Market share: **82.68% in reserved ticketing**. - Mobile app downloads: **Over 12.21 crore (Android + iOS)**. - Daily logins: ~**6.12 million**, with monthly transactions exceeding **35.94 million**. --- #### 2. **Catering & Hospitality – Scale and Innovation** - **Onboard Catering:** Provides services on **1,259+ Mail/Express trains**, including premium trains like **Vande Bharat, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Tejas Express**. - Pantry cars act as mobile kitchens with advanced reheating and food safety systems. - E-catering via partner restaurants available at **400+ stations** through a network of **2,000+ vendors**, including integrations with Zomato, Swiggy, RedBus, and Abhibus. - Daily meal orders: ~**16 lakh**, with **49% YoY revenue growth** in FY 2023–24 (over 3 crore meals annually). - **Static Catering:** Operates: - **Food Plazas** - **Jan Ahaars** - **Base Kitchens** - **Executive Lounges** (e.g., flagship lounge at New Delhi Railway Station) - Revenue from catering (FY 2023–24): **₹1,947.19 crore**. --- #### 3. **Packaged Drinking Water – Rail Neer** - Brand: **Rail Neer** — flagship national brand meeting **100% of Indian Railways’ packaged water demand**. - Production: - **19 plants** across India (as of Aug 2024), with a combined capacity of **17.68 lakh liters/day**. - Expansion underway: A new plant in **Mallavalli, Andhra Pradesh** will boost capacity to **~18.40 lakh liters/day**. - Plants equipped with fully automatic, no-touch purification using RO, UF, UV, and Ozonization. - **39.49 crore bottles produced in FY 2023–24**. - Revenue Sharing Models: - **Departmental Plants (15% to Railways)** - **PPP-model Plants (40% profit sharing)** - Strategic Expansion: Entering **non-rail domestic market** targeting middle-class households and travelers, leveraging post-pandemic tourism growth. --- #### 4. **Travel & Tourism – Diversified Growth Engine** - Position: **Market leader in rail-based tourism**, offering integrated multi-modal travel solutions. - Product Portfolio: - **Luxury Trains**: Maharajas’ Express, Golden Chariot, Tejas Express. - **Theme Trains**: Bharat Gaurav, Buddhist Circuit Special, Kashi Mahakal Express. - **Pilgrimage & Mass Tourism**: Aastha Trains, Ramayan Yatra, Pind Daan tours. - **Chartered Trains**: 187 operated in FY 2023–24. - **Domestic & International Packages**: Air-inclusive tours to Ladakh, Kashmir, Kerala, and NE India ("7 Sisters"). - **Customized & Small Group Tours**: Targeting families, NRIs, and corporate clients. - **Adventure & Medical Wellness Tourism**. - Dedicated Platform: **www.irctctourism.com** — central hub for all tourism products. - FY 2023–24 Performance: - Tourism revenue: **16.42% of total revenue**. - 15.59 lakh passengers availed tour packages (**134% YoY growth**). - 337 Aastha pilgrimage trains operated, carrying **5.48 lakh passengers**. --- #### 5. **Digital & Fintech Expansion** - **e-Wallet (iMudra)**: - Open wallet with **~600,000 users**, supports 75 payment options. - **iPay – Payment Gateway & Aggregator Business**: - Launched as pilot in 2018–19; now operational as a strategic fintech vertical. - Subsidiary **IRCTC Payments Ltd** incorporated on **February 10, 2024**, to function as a **licensed Payment Aggregator (PA)** under RBI. - Aims to serve government bodies (e.g., EPFO), PSUs, and e-governance platforms with a trusted public-sector digital payment solution. - **AI-Powered Innovations**: - **Ask Disha** – AI chatbot handled **93.88 million queries** in FY 2023 (in Hindi & English). - Co-branded **Conversational AI chatbot** launched for third-party use across government and private sectors. - Dynamic pricing and CRM tools for personalized marketing and service alerts. --- ### **Recent Strategic Developments (Aug 2024)** - **E-Commerce Ecosystem Expansion**: - Launching **e-Marketplace** on IRCTC platform for **bill payments, recharges**, and utility services. - Single-point payment solution developed (PoC tested on mobile app) to reduce failed transactions and improve refund processing. - **Multi-Modal Integration**: - **Bus Booking Platform**: www.bus.irctc.co.in launched in Jan 2021; live across 27 states and 7 UTs. - Partnership with **DMRC & CRIS** for **‘One India, One Ticket’** initiative in Delhi NCR for seamless urban mobility. - **Corporate Travel Solutions**: - End-to-end services including air/rail bookings, hotel reservations, LTC tours, visa facilitation, and insurance. - **280+ corporate tie-ups** with PSUs, ministries, and government departments. - **Hospitality Expansion**: - Developing **budget hotels** in **Khajuraho, Lucknow, Kevadia**. - Upgrading **retiring rooms** under pan-India contract. - Executing **MoUs** with CAPF and other institutions for institutional catering. - **Brand & Digital Engagement**: - Active on **Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube**. - YouTube channel crossed **1 million subscribers** in June 2024 (2.3M views, 32,400 watch hours). - Promoting **Buddhist Circuit Train**, **Maharajas' Express**, and heritage circuits via targeted ads. --- ### **Financial Highlights (FY 2023–24)** | Metric | Value | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Total Revenue | ₹7,439.6 crore | | EBITDA | ₹1,630.68 crore | | EBITDA Margin | ~21.9% | | 5-Year Revenue CAGR (FY18–23) | 19.21% | | Annual E-Ticket Revenue Pool | ₹54,313.46 crore collected | | Ticket Convenience Fee (H1 FY22) | ₹289 crores (key non-core stream) | Non-convenience fee revenue streams growing at **74% QoQ**, indicating successful diversification.