India’s gallantry award recipients from the armed forces are set to receive a special travel concession allowing them to travel across the country without paying fares in select train classes. The facility, being extended by the Ministry of Defence, will cover eligible recipients from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Under the proposed arrangement, eligible gallantry award winners can travel free of charge in First Class, Second AC and AC Chair Car on Indian Railways routes. The concession is intended primarily for long-distance journeys and will remain available throughout the recipient’s lifetime, subject to the prescribed conditions.
The benefit will also extend to the award recipient’s spouse. In cases where a recipient has died, the widow or widower may continue to receive the concession under specified conditions. However, the benefit will reportedly cease if the surviving spouse remarries.
An additional provision applies to unmarried service personnel who receive a gallantry award and subsequently die in service. In such cases, their parents may be eligible for the railway concession.
Applications for the electronic travel pass are scheduled to begin from November 1 through the Indian Railway Concession Card portal. Applicants will need to submit the required documents for verification. Once eligibility is confirmed, a travel pass will be issued, which can then be used for railway bookings through IRCTC.
The travel pass will need to be renewed once every three years. The initiative provides a structured railway concession for gallantry award recipients and eligible family members, while the online process is expected to simplify access to the benefit.
