Airtel, Jio to offer 1.1 million CUG connections to Indian Railways employees
2 min read . Updated: 18 Apr 2023, 09:37 PM IST
PremiumAirtel and Jio reportedly came out to be the lowest bidders of the Indian Railways closed user group(CUG) scheme. As per the scheme, the two giant telecome operators will provide around 1.1 million mobile connections to Indian Railway employees
Around 1.1 million Indian Railway employees will get mobile connections from Jio and Bharti Airtel, as the two telecom giants reportedly secured their lowest bids in Indian Railways' closed user group(CUG) scheme, reported Business Standard.
The twin telecom operators will provide around 11 lakh mobile connections to Railway employees under its CUG scheme. Last year, the national transporter added more than 8,00,000 additional railway employees under its ambit. Reliance Jio will provide mobile connections at the contract value of ₹128 crore for providing 7.28 lakh sim cards, whereas, Bharti Airtel will be paid ₹84 crore for providing 4.85 lakh sim cards, according to a Business Standard report.
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Earlier, Jio was the only service provider to Indian Railways employees under the scheme. However, the scheme marked the entry of Airtel after it matched the lowest bidder, Jio, and became the second lowest bidder in the scheme. The contract will mark the re-entry of Bharti Airtel, which used to be the telecom service provider for the Indian Railways for over six years before Reliance entered the market.
The mobile connections, to be provided under the new scheme, have been divided into four separate plans, which will be provided to Indian Railways employees based on their grades. According to the report, the new sim connections will be provided under ‘Plan C’, which is for Group C staff of the railways. The new plans will also be provided at cheaper rates than previous plans.
The national transporter claimed of saving around 30 per cent on its mobile bills wChen it finalised Reliance Jio as its telecom service provider in 2018, reporter PTI.
Closed User Group Scheme of Indian Railways
The CUG scheme of the Indian Railway is an alternative service provided by mobile operators to its subscribers who can avail of their services like calling, sending SMS, using the internet, etc under subsidised rates.
The CUG sim cards are used by Railway officials who are in the direct operation of trains, like guards, loco pilots, motormen and station masters, etc. Under this scheme, a selected number of users can talk to each other for an unlimited duration by paying monthly rent, which is paid by the Indian Railways.