Page 7 - NIS English 16-30 April, 2026

Changes in Railway confirmed ticket cancellation rules

Indian Railways has introduced several changes to its rules regarding the cancellation of confirmed tickets.
The previous timeframes for cancelling tickets, 48, 12, and 4 hours before train departure, have been revised
to 72, 24, and 8 hours, respectively. This modification has been implemented to align with the process of
preparing reservation charts, which are now generated between 9 and 18 hours before departure. This new
railway rule will directly benefit passengers currently on the waiting list. If a person cancels a confirmed
ticket—or has it cancelled—between 24 and 72 hours in advance, 25% of the fare will be deducted. If
cancelled between 8 and 24 hours in advance, a 50% deduction will apply; for cancellations made less
than 8 hours prior, no refund will be issued. Under the new provisions, passengers will now be able to
upgrade their travel class up to 30 minutes prior to departure, a change that was previously possible only
before the reservation charts were prepared. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Railways, Information &
Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, stated that the objective behind these changes
is to ensure that tickets are secured by genuine passengers. For this purpose, approximately 30 million
suspicious accounts have also been closed. The Railway Minister further added that, henceforth, counter
tickets can be cancelled at any railway station across the country.

Promoting Tribal Products Creating History by
on E-Commerce Platforms Producing 50 Million

Tonnes of Iron Ore
India’s largest iron ore producer and ‘Navratna’
CPSE, NMDC Limited, has created history by
becoming the country’s first mining company
to produce 50 million tonnes of iron ore in a
single financial year. Since 2015, production has
increased by approximately two-thirds, rising
from 30 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes.
In an effort to empower tribal artisans and promote Of this growth, nearly one-fifth of the current
indigenous products, the Department of Posts capacity has been added within just the last
has entered into an agreement with the Tribal four years. India is steadily advancing toward
Cooperative Marketing Development Federation its goal of increasing its steel manufacturing
of India (TRIFED), an organisation operating capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030. n
under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Under the
terms of this agreement, the Department of Posts
will provide end-to-end logistics solutions for all
e-commerce orders placed through TRIFED’s
online channels. This initiative will significantly
strengthen market access for tribal artisans and
entrepreneurs. This partnership is poised to boost
tribal livelihoods and foster growth within the digital
economy, while simultaneously contributing to an
increase in the income of tribal communities.

April 16-30, 2026 || NEW INDIA SAMACHAR 5