India railway firm scraps plan to monetize customer data following uproar
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a state-run firm with a monopoly on online booking of train tickets, has scrapped its plan to monetize customer data after its tender drew concerns from many. The Indian firm informed the local stock exchange Friday that it was scrapping its proposal because the Indian government had withdrawn […]
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a state-run firm with a monopoly on online booking of train tickets, has scrapped its plan to monetize customer data after its tender drew concerns from many.
The Indian firm informed the local stock exchange Friday that it was scrapping its proposal because the Indian government had withdrawn the personal data protection bill.
In a tender earlier, the firm had proposed appointing a consultant for digital data monetization on rail passengers’ data. The tender sought to explore studying customers behavioral data, their frequency of journeys, as well as geography, the kind of ticket they purchase and mobile number and gender.
The plan, had it been approved, would have helped the firm increase its revenue by over $125 million, according to an estimation by the firm. The uproar about the tender prompted the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, chaired by Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, to summon the IRCTC executives to answer public concerns.
