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Showing posts with label Cash flow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cash flow. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 June 2016

08:09

Yay! IRCTC Abolishes Service Fee on Online Train Ticket Bookings!

Yay! IRCTC Abolishes Service Fee on Online Train Ticket Bookings!

PM Modi’s Digital India vision is now spreading to all Govt. departments; and the latest to get smitten by it’s charm is Indian Railways.

In a move to promote cashless economy, Indian Railways has decided to waive off service fee from all type of online bookings, effective June 1st. Hence, if you use your debit/credit card or Internet Banking to book any train ticket (including Tatkal), there won’t be any service fee of Rs 30, which is normally levied for using IRCTC’s website for booking tickets.

This is a significant decision for encouraging cashless transactions, all over India. There are several passengers who enquire about seat availability online, but book their tickets by visiting at the counter, to avoid this service fee of Rs 30. But from now, such type of passengers shall use IRCTC’s platform to enquire as well as book the tickets.

Indian Govt.’s Cashless Push
Since last one year, Indian Government has announced several plans and schemes, meant for pushing and encouraging cashless transactions.

In February this year, Govt. removed surcharge, service charge and all types of additional fees for digital payments. Considering the fact cash transactions cost India’s GDP a whooping 5-7% as the cost amounting to maintenance is going up every year, Govt. is trying to lure one and all into the gambit of cashless transactions.

Last year, India Govt. shocked everyone when they announced all Govt. transactions above Rs 1000 would be digital, by rule. This was seen as one of the biggest push for cashless payments ever witnessed in India.

Startups Promoting Cashless Transactions
And, startups specializing in mobile wallets are anyways promoting and encouraging cashless transactions, which is perfectly in-sync with Government’s push for the same.

Paytm is the most aggressive company in this regard, as they have now enabled QR Code enabled cashless payments for offline shop-owners; payment of school fees, dues etc; Delhi Metro rides; and more.

FreeCharge is enabling P2P payments using their app in 5 seconds; while MobiKwik is transforming rural India with cashless initiatives. Ola and Oyo Rooms have partnered for cashless transactions for paying for hotel rooms and cabs; while ICICI Bank is enabling NFC based cashless payments using mobile.

The revolution of cashless and digital payments have actually begun, as last year in December, for the first time in history, digital payments surpassed paper-based transactions in India.

With Indian Railways removing any service fee for digital payments, we may soon witness a new surge in cashless payments in India.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015

11:26

New firm for better Rail connectivity at Major Ports to be registered soon

New firm for better Rail connectivity at Major Ports to be registered soon

New Delhi: The Union shipping ministry’s plan for a company to work on enhanced port-rail connectivity is to bear fruition soon. The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in this regard is likely to be registered by the end of next month.

The 12 major ports and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL, an arm of the railways ministry) will pool resources for the formation. Details of the first tranche of projects to be undertaken by the SPV are being discussed between the major ports and the  ministry. The initial projection is of at least Rs 200 crore. RITES, the government-owned engineering consultancy company, specialising in transport infrastructure, has been brought in to work on some of the feasibility reports for the potential projects.

It will be registered under the Companies Act, with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 100 crore, divided into a million equity shares of Rs 1,000 each. The initial capital will be Rs 500 crore, with further provision to raise the cap. The 12 major ports are to contribute Rs 90 crore of the Rs 100 crore, each having equity shares. RVNL will contribute the remaining Rs 10 crore.

“The SPV will undertake modernisation of rail infrastructure at ports, raise financial resources for handling port-related railway projects and also operate and manage the internal port railway systems,” said a ministry official.

In 2013-14, about 28 per cent of the total cargo handled by major ports was transported by Indian Railways, to and from the hinterland. Non-major ports handle 60-90 per cent of their cargo volumes through the rail network.
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