Will government restore subsidy on senior citizens train tickets? Here's what railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, senior citizens in India used to get subsidy on their train tickets. But the Indian Railways withdrew the subsidy during the pandemic. The pandemic ended, but the subsidy was never restored. Time and again, the demand to restore it has been raised by various sections of society. The demand was raised in the ongoing Lok Sabha winter session on Tuesday as well, but Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made it clear in the Lok Sabha that the government had no plan to restore it since every passenger was already getting a subsidy of 53 per cent on their train tickets.

During Zero Hour in the House, Janata Dal (United) MP Kaushalendra Kumar said that before COVID-19, senior citizens used to get discounts on train fares. He made the argument that COVID-19 was over, but the government didn't start providing subsidy to senior citizens on train tickets. Kumar urged the government to restore the concession.
 
Vaishnaw has already told the Lok Sabha that Railways tries to provide economical train service to all sections of society. Between 2019-20, Railways has given a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets. Railways give an average 53 per cent subsidy to every person travelling by train. This subsidy is being given continuously to all the passengers, he said.
 
Railways also gives discounts on train tickets to many special categories of passengers. For example, concessions are being given to 4 categories of disabled persons (Divyangjan), 11 categories of patients, and 8 categories of students. 
 
During 2022–23, approximately 18 lakh patients and their companions have benefited from this special concession.