Payments companies, OTAs can’t escape the IRCTC bogie-man

Payment apps and aggregators need IRCTC for train bookings. IRCTC needs them for new revenue streams. But when it comes down to business, the two don’t see eye to eye

OTAs and payment apps see IRCTC’s users as its prized next set of users

IRCTC is under pressure to find new revenue streams as it is smarting from a Rs 500 crore revenue loss

IRCTC’s new pricing policies will bring in more revenue but it makes it a very costly business even for well-funded OTAs and payment apps

IRCTC, being the monopoly it is, knows it has the upper hand in this relationship

The Indian Railways is a massive machine. One of the world’s largest employers with about 1.4 million employees, it has its own annual budget, its own union minister, and makes all the rules to run the 12,617 trains that move India’s billion-plus population.

Now, consider the scope and the fact that the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a partner to the Indian Railways which handles online ticketing operations, has a monopoly on bookings. More significantly, a monopoly on the sale of 284 million tickets a year. It’s no joke.

AUTHOR

Arundhati Ramanathan

Arundhati is Bengaluru-based. She is interested in how people use money in the digital age and how new economies will take shape based on that interaction. She has spent over 10 years reporting and writing on various subjects. Previous stints were at Mint, Outlook Business and Reuters.

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