The Railways Ministry through a recent order decided to make this change to protect the HIV-infected people from the stigma attached with the disease.

“We have been asked by the Health Ministry to make this change. What has prompted this decision is a realization that branding a category of people as ‘HIV/AIDS infected’ while granting them a concession was not only exposing them to social stigma but was also being thought of as derogatory,” a senior Rail Bhavan official told The Indian Express. Sources said instances of discriminatory behaviour by co-passengers towards those availing this concession had already been reported ever since the concession was introduced.

The Railways Ministry has now directed all concerned to immediately get these changes incorporated in the Passenger Reservation System, the manual ticketing system, the Self Printing Ticket Machines and the Unreserved Ticketing System. All the 16 zonal railways have been asked to arrange the necessary revision of the certificates issued to those availing the concession. “The existing certificates will, however, continue to be accepted till the new certificates are printed,” the order said.

The ministry has also asked the Health Secretary to advice the concerned ART centres on this. The order also extends the validity period of the concession certificate for the Immuno Compromised people from three months to six.

In last year’s rail Budget, the then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had announced a 50 per cent concession in second-class passenger fares for HIV-infected people traveling to 123 nominated ART centres.

This concession is admissible in basic mail/express fares only and not in other charges like reservation fee, superfast surcharge and development surcharge, which are still recovered in full.