Lok Sabha Question No. 4028 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-10
Subject: Ready-to-Eat Food
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4028 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2016

## READY-TO-EAT FOOD

4028. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Indian  Railway  Catering  and  Tourism  Corporation (IRCTC)  has  launched  recently  its  ready-to-eat  food  at  subsidized
- rates at some railway stations and if so, the details thereof, stationwise;
- (b)   the details of the price of the said ready-to-eat food;
- (c)  whether  the  IRCTC  has  also  tied  up  with  the  Defence  Food Research  Laboratory  (DFRL),  a  unit  under  the  Defence  Ministry,  for this purpose;
- (d)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  terms  and  conditions thereto; and
- (e)  the steps taken/being taken by the Railways/IRCTC to ensure that good  quality  and  hygienic  ready-to-eat  food  is  provided  at  all  the railway stations of the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  4028  BY  SHRI  GAJANAN  KIRTIKAR  AND  KUNWAR HARIBANSH  SINGH  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  10.08.2016 REGARDING READY-TO-EAT FOOD

(a) and (b): Yes, Madam. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)  has  started  sale  of  Ready-to-Eat  food  packets  at  some  of  the Railway stations on trial basis.  During the trial period the MRP has been kept at ₹ 40/- per packet for all items.   Details of stations where Ready-toeat packets are being sold during trial period are Appended.

(c) and (d) Yes, Madam. IRCTC  has signed  a  Memorandum  of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Food Research Laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for Transfer of Technology of Retort Pouch Processed Foods so that ready-to-eat food can be warmed and eaten straight out of the packet.  The terms and conditions enshrined  in  the  MoU  between  DRDO  and  IRCTC,  inter-alia,  include: (i) DRDO shall transfer the complete details of the technical know-how and testing method for quality assurance to IRCTC with requisite data on the functioning of the Retort Pouch Processed Food. (ii) DRDO grants a nonexclusive  license  to  utilize  the  Technology  by  IRCTC  for  manufacture  in India  for  a  period  of  10  years.  (iii)  The  title  and  ownership  of  the Technology  including  new  variants,  copyrights  and  intellectual  property will rest exclusively with DRDO. (iv) DRDO shall depute experts/personnel free  of  cost  for  Technology  Transfer  Period  not  exceeding  10  mandays beyond which the service will be chargeable. (v) IRCTC shall pay to DRDO an  upfront  Technology  Transfer  Fee  at  the  time  of  signing  of  Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology along with the service tax in this regard.  (vi)  IRCTC  shall  pay  Annual  Royalty  @  2%  on  net  sales  to  Indian Market and 6% on net sales for Export Market.

Contd..2/-

(e):  Steps  taken  to  improve  the  quality  of  food  in  Railways  inter-alia include:  (i) Phased introduction of station based e-catering at all A1 and A category stations for widening the range of options available to passengers for ordering food of their choice. (ii) Introduction of precooked food ('ready to eat' meals). (iii) Operation of centralized Catering Service Monitoring Cell (CSMC) (toll free number 1800-111-321) for prompt redressal of passenger grievances relating to the catering activities and real  time  assistance  to  travelling  public.  (iv)  Imposition  of  penalties  in case  of  deficiencies  detected  in  services.  (v)  Operation  of  All  India Helpline (No.138) for rail-users to lodge complaints/suggestions regarding food and  catering services (vi) A Twitter handle  with the  address @IRCATERING has also been made operational to cater to the complaints/suggestions with regard to catering services (vii)  Technology Transfer Agreement  has been signed with Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysore in order to provide safe, nutritious and hygienic ready-to-eat food to Rail passengers.

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APPENDIX REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) AND (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4028 BY SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR AND KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  10.08.2016  REGARDING READY-TO-EAT FOOD

(a)  and  (b):  Details  of  stations  where  Ready-to-eat  packets  are  being  sold during trial period are as under:-

| S.no.           | IRCTC Zone                   | Name of Station   |
|-----------------|------------------------------|-------------------|
| 1 South Central | Zone Secunderabad            |                   |
| 2               | Vijayawada                   |                   |
|                 | Tirupati                     | 3                 |
| 4 South Zone    | Chennai                      | Egmore            |
| 5               | Chennai Central              |                   |
| 6               | Chennai Central              |                   |
| 7               | Katpadi junction             |                   |
| 8               | Trivandrum Central           |                   |
| 9               | Eranakulam junction.         |                   |
| 10 West Zone    | Mumbai Central               |                   |
| 11              | Surat                        |                   |
| 12              | Vadodra                      |                   |
|                 | Khutbav                      | 13                |
|                 | Bhusaval                     | 14                |
| 15              | Igatpuri                     |                   |
| 16              | Pune                         |                   |
| 17              | Ahmedabad                    |                   |
| 18              | Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal |                   |
| 19 North Zone   | New Delhi                    |                   |
| 20              | Delhi                        |                   |
| 21              | Anand Vihar Terminal         |                   |
|                 | Hazrat Nizamuddin            | 22                |
| 23              | Lucknow                      |                   |
|                 | Lucknow junction             | 24                |
|                 | Kanpur                       | 25                |
|                 | Varanasi                     | 26                |
| 27              | Katra                        |                   |
| 28              | Jaipur                       |                   |
| 29 East Zone    | Hawrah (Old Complex)         |                   |
|                 | Hawrah (New Complex)         | 30                |
|                 | Kolkata                      | 31                |
|                 | Sealdah                      | 32                |
|                 | New Jalpaigudi               | 33                |
|                 | Guwahati                     | 34                |
| 35              | New Tinsukia                 |                   |
| 36              | Mughal Sarai                 |                   |
| 37              | Bhubaneswar                  |                   |

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