Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) has been accorded mini ratna Category 1 status by the Ministry of Railways. This status is granted under guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to make the public sector more efficient and competitive by allowing greater financial autonomy and delegation of powers to the company. IRCTC is responsible for a number of diverse passenger front end activities of Indian Railways such as catering on trains and at railway Stations, manufacture of Rail Neer its packaged drinking water, internet ticketing, 139 rail enquiry call centre, tourism packages and Bharat Darshan Trains etc. IRCTC is also mandated by the Railway Ministry to set up 100 Budget Hotels at railway stations all over the country and is planning to launch a pan-India luxury train shortly.IRCTC had reported a net profit of Rs 20.22 crore in 2006-07 with a total turnover of Rs 433.54 crore.
