Eye on more non-fare revenue, Indian Railways invites ideas

Someone without a business interest proposing an idea may get a token earnest money of at least Rs 10,000 (depending on the revenue potential and magnitude), while entrepreneurs can hope to strike a business deal as well.

There are some caveats to trying out new ideas or projects. “Projects should not be religious or political in nature. No permanent structure should be constructed (on railway premises),” the policy guidelines say.

“We are looking for genuine ideas to increase the share of non-fare revenue. We are not looking for casual advice,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

This comes in the backdrop of three years of the national transporter’s struggle to make its various non-fare revenue projects a success. Rail Display Network (RDN), putting up screens across stations in sync with the internet to display ads; en masse tendering out of outdoor publicity spaces to big players; encashing on on-board entertainment are all ideas the Railways has been toying with without making much headway.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the PMO, at almost every meeting, have been egging the Railways to earn more from non-fare revenue modes. At earlier meetings, Modi has even given examples of cricket using everything from jerseys to stumps and bells to earn advertising revenue, to drive home the point that Indian Railways with its mammoth assets has huge potential for earning non-fare revenue.

Railways has been missing its own budget targets on non-fare revenue. In 2017-18, as opposed to a target of Rs 14,000 crore, it earned only around Rs 8,000 crore. But instead of new, innovative ideas, the earnings come from avenues like PSU dividends, sale of scrap and parking at stations.