At present, Railways is running a pilot project for senior citizens who are entitled for rail concessions. The concessional tickets cost the Railways about Rs1,600 crore in 2015-16, with the bulk being accounted for senior citizens. The government has decided to end the 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate railway budget and merged it with the general budget. According to officials, Railways would continue to bear the expenditure on social and public service obligations. It is also expected that Jaitley will present a separate statement of budget estimates and demand for grants for Railways in the general budget.

Source: Mint January 29, 2017 06:18 UTC