IRCTC's resilience during the pandemic

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), a Mini-Ratna Public Sector Enterprise Under Ministry of Railways was incorporated on 27^th September 1999 as an extended arm of the Indian Railways for upgrading and professionalising the catering and tourism business of Railways over the country.

The company along with its able and dedicated team of professionals is one of the most valuable listed companies in the stock exchanges of the country.

Due the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, being essentially a service sector organization, the company had to bear the brunt of the cascading affect of series of lock downs imposed by the government to contain the spread of the disease which led to severe restrictions on the movement of domestic as well as international tourists and adversely affecting all the businesses lines of the company. However, the company with its diversified business, competent management and team of dedicated employees was able to sail through the period with substantial profits in its books.

During FY 20-21, the Company achieved total income of Rs. 868.69 Crores, as compared to Rs. 2342.41 crores in the FY 2019-20. The Company earned a Profit before tax of Rs. 260.89 crores in 2020-21 as compared to Rs. 729.58 crores in 2019-20 and Profit after tax of Rs 189.90 crores in 2020-21 as compared to Rs 513.11 crores in 2019-20.

Catering & Hospitality:

Adhering to its continuous endeavour to provide quality, safe, value for money and hygienic food to passengers and adhering to the health advisories issued by the government from time to time, IRCTC kept pace with phase-wise lifting of lockdown to fulfill the catering and hospitality needs of the passengers on trains and at railway stations around the country. On trains, the company started the service of Ready To Eat Meals for the passengers and at the stations, it gradually opened its catering outlets at stations to serve the passengers with much need food and beverages during their transit. During this period, IRCTC aggressively promoted e-catering option to the passengers travelling on trains wherein passengers can order their choice of meals from reputed restaurants through mobile app.

Travel and Tourism:

IRCTC is one of the leading travel and tourism companies in the country and is also a major player in the field of Online Travel Agency (OTA) business with its presence in almost all forms of tourism activities. IRCTC specializes in mass tourism business with its signature Bharat Darshan and Pilgrim Special Tourist Trains being patronized by a large number of domestic tourists annually. Besides, the company also operates a luxury tourist trains such as Maharajas’ Express and Golden Chariot for the upscale market and Deluxe Tourist Trains for the mid-segment tourists. Despite the ongoing pandemic, IRCTC was among the few travel companies which could do limited domestic tourism business in FY 2020-21 as international travel restrictions were in place.

Internet Ticketing:

IRCTC increased its share in booking of train tickets over Indian Railways with around 80% of the reserved tickets being booked by its internet ticketing portal www.irctc.co.in. On an average, about 4.80 lakh tickets were booked daily through IRCTC's website and app during FY2020-21 despite, passenger train services were severely hit during the first and second quarter of FY 2020-21.

Rail Neer Packaged Drinking Water :

Rail Neer packaged drinking water is one of the most trust brands of drinking water in the country today. Rail Neer is exclusively sold in trains and stalls on Railway Stations. Till the end of FY 2020-21, the company had 14 Rail Neer plants across the country and recorded a production of 7.53 Crore bottles

IRCTC in country wide welfare activities during onset of COVID-19

IRCTC contributed selflessly in various welfare projects of the government during the onset of the pandemic. The company played a pivotal role in assisting Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs in provision of on-board catering services in 4,185 Shramik Special Trains operated by authorities for the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other person, stranded at places. IRCTC had supplied Meals with Rail Neer drinking water to the passenger in Shramik Special Trains. A total of 1.74 Cr. meals in 4184 Shramik Special Trains were provided by IRCTC. During this period of lockdown as a humanitarian gesture, IRCTC distributed community meals for the poor and distressed people with NGOs, RPF and other associations. In all, IRCTC distributed 21 lakh community meals from 35 kitchens across the country from March to May 2021.

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