Rail Fares Hikes: Need or avoid?

Main problem with our country is that here fiscal decisions are taken according to political requirements rather than economic principles! Despite over-all increase in prices of all commodities in last ten years, rail-fares were never hiked despite heavy odds like implementation of sixth pay-commission. Such a system can derail Indian Railways to be on verge of bankruptcy like has been in case of national airliner Air India. Country could survive interruption in services of Air India caused by non-payment of salary in time, because private airlines were there. But such a situation cannot even be imagined in Indian Railways which has monopoly in providing train-services. There should be a system whereby there may be annual auto-revision of rail-fares in tune with general price-index rather than giving a sudden jerk after ten years. It will not only give increased revenue to Indian Railways, but will make people adjust easily to annual marginal rise of rail-fares.

Rounding-off rail-fares in multiples of rupees five will eliminate pocketing of balance money by counter-persons. But it should be logical like rounding off amount upto rupees 12 rather than 11 to rupees 10, and above rupees 12 to 15. In case of prestigious trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi or Duranto, and also in first-class air-conditioned in all trains, such rounding off can be in multiples of rupees 50 or 100 even without any lowering off the amount to be in round figures.