to instantly read 150+ free stories & 250-word summaries of all our stories

It's complicated

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

07/06/19

Arundhati Ramanathan

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

scarecrow.jpg

Want to read a free 200 word summary?

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…

Read the full story. Subscribe now.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Demonetisation and GST, PhonePe and Future of Retail

Why subscribe? Let us explain.

Already Registered?

Related stories

More stories in /Analysis & /Reportage

See all in Reportage & Startups

This story is for subscribers only.
or

Read the full story. Subscribe now.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Demonetisation and GST, PhonePe and Future of Retail

Why subscribe? Let us explain.

The selected story is available only for paid subscribers. Might want to change your mind!

Subscribe now

Already Registered?

Questions?

What is The Ken?

The Ken is a subscription-driven media site. We write one story a day (weekdays only). These stories have sharp, original insights on technology, business, science and healthcare from India.

Why do I have to sign up to read your stories?

Our stories are not free. Well, some select stories are. But, a significant part of what we write at The Ken is for subscribers only. We put in a lot of effort and resources in writing our stories and believe that you must pay for good journalism.
Hence, our three plans. 1) The annual membership
2) The free sign up
3) The recurring quarterly subscription

On journalism and why you should pay for it, if you haven’t already seen it, here’s a great explainer from John Oliver.

So, one must pay for journalism?

Yes.

How many stories will I get if I take an annual membership?

785+ stories.

And, in the free sign up?

Four stories every month.

Do I get a refund?

We allow you to sample our journalism for free before signing up, and after you do, we stand by its quality. But we do not offer refunds.

I am not getting my daily emails. Do I have to whitelist emails from The Ken?

An added benefit of your subscription (free/paid) are the daily personalised emails. These emails, at times, might end up in your spam/junk folder due to emojis, attachments or images. In case you’re not receiving these emails, it might help to whitelist us. If the problem still persists, write to us at [email protected].

Why am I unable to access the archives?

Full and unrestricted access to our archives is a feature of our annual membership.

My payment is not going through, what can I do?

Please write to us at [email protected] detailing the payment error or queries.

See all FAQs

    See all results for Ken

    No results found for Ken.