Question : Contract Licenses for Catering

(a) whether the contract for providing catering facility in the trains running on various routes in the country has been given to the private contractors;
(b) if so, the train-wise and private contractor-wise details of the contracts given to the private contractors in the trains running on various routes;
(c) whether the complaints regarding supply of sub standard food materials and local drinking water to the passengers during journey have been received by the Government;
(d) whether the health of people is being compromised with by supplying of sub standard food by the contractors; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken against the private contractors for not supplying pure and hygienic food to the passengers during journey?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a): Yes, Sir. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has engaged private contractors to provide catering facilities in special trains either through Pantry Car or Train Side Vending. For provision of e-Catering facilities, reputed service providers have also been empanelled by IRCTC.

(b): The train-wise and private contractor-wise details of the contracts given to the private contractors in the trains running on various routes are appended as Appendix-I and Appendix-II respectively.


(c) to (e): It is the continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to provide quality and hygienic food to the passengers as per norms and standards prescribed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Indian Railways have taken various measures to ensure quality, hygiene and standards of food served to the passengers, which include use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras in Kitchens, Quick Response (QR) codes on food packets providing all details of the meals produced including date and time of packaging, certification from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), customer satisfaction surveys, Third Party Audits of establishments and regular and surprise inspections by Railway officials. There is also a robust system of passenger grievances redressal through Integrated Helpline no. 139, Rail Madad, Twitter handle and CPGRAMS.
Indian Railways, at present, runs special trains in which only Ready to Eat (RTE) food is being provided which is hygienic and governed by FSSAI standards.
The details of complaints received by Indian Railways regarding quality of food and supply of packaged drinking water other than Rail Neer along with the action taken against them are appended as Appendix-III.
*****