🚂 IRCTC Rejecting A Rs. 1000-Crore Opportunity?
IRCTC wanted to diversify its revenue streams. But criticism may have caused it to can the plan. Here's why that could be a bad idea
Did you know that we own something really precious that we are giving away to others for free?
Our data.
Yes, the details we fill on countless websites, the posts we like on social media and the thoughts we publish on our status: this is all precious data that we are mostly giving away for free.
And one of the country's most well-known companies had full plans to monetise this free data: IRCTC.
But now it is backtracking on this Rs. 1,000 crore plan. Wondering why? ReadOn!
But now it is backtracking on this Rs. 1,000 crore plan.
âš¡The Importance of Data
Before we get into the IRCTC debacle, let us understand why data is so important.
Our data is like our digital janamkundli (tweet this).
And the right pandit can use it to predict our future behaviour.
You see, data can reveal where we live, what we do, what you like, and even who we like.
Every single thought we post on Twitter, every single purchase we make on Amazon, they are all meticulously tracked to make sure these companies know what we want before we even know it.
Yes, that's how Amazon reads your mind and recommends things you had just been thinking of.
It's no magic, it's all in the data.
So, it makes sense that everyone wants their hands on this precious data. In such a situation, the companies that get this data by default are sitting on a virtual gold mine.
And one such company is IRCTC.
🧠IRCTC's Alleged Plan
Love it or hate it, if you want to book train tickets, you've got to do it through IRCTC's website.
Which means IRCTC has all the data about our train travels: right from our name to the number of times we travelled to our hometown.Â
And it doesn't have the data of just a few people: it has the data of 10 crore users, of which 7.5 crores are active.Â
Not to mention the data of hundreds of companies who use the railways to book freight trains.
And it has been gathering this data since 1999.
So, it would seem logical for the company to find a way to monetise all this data, right?Â
Which is why it recently launched a tender to find a consultant that could help them do so and unlock Rs. 1,000 crores in additional revenue.Â
The consultant's job was:Â
Analysing and segregating monetizable data sets
Identifying the market potential of these data sets internationallyÂ
Preparing a road-map for the digital data monetisation
But with great data comes great responsibility.
You see, this tender ignited a lot of criticism from privacy rights advocates.
Like we said, data is a powerful tool and power in the hands of the wrong people can have disastrous consequences (the message of literally every superhero movie).Â
If this data falls in the hands of the wrong people like hackers, it could jeopardise things.
For instance, when the government made the Vahan (automobile) database available to private companies, it was reportedly used by rioters to identify vehicles of the people they wanted to target.Â
So, as soon as IRCTC's plan of data monetisation was announced a lot of criticism broke out.
Some even accused the company, which makes millions because it has an 85% gross margin on commissions, of giving in to corporate greed with no regards about people's personal data.Â
And all this is coming in as India's data privacy bill was just tabled (because a lot more needs to be added to the bill before it can become a law).
So, people's concern was justified.
But now IRCTC has begun singing a different tune. It has claimed that it never intended to sell people's personal data and the consultant hiring was to develop other business opportunities.
This claim comes despite their render clearly stating their data monetisation ideas.
Moreover, the IRCTC has claimed it doesn't store people's financial data.Â
So, is the saga over? Much ado about nothing?
Well, that's where the problem is. You see, it is too much to expect that companies will not use the data that we give them.Â
What we need is robust laws that ensure that this data is used ethically.
And while the government is working on such a law, it has been in the works for over 4 years now.
So, it is unreasonable to expect companies to wait around and not utilise data sets until it comes through.
What IRCTC could do here is set an example for other companies regarding how to use data ethically.
And this is very much possible.
You see, IRCTC could store data in an encrypted and anonymised manner so that even if hackers do get access to data, they can't do much with it.
Sounds complicated? Well, let's give you an example of how data can be anonymised.
Right now all of our personal data is stored under our names with our email address, phone number and other such identifiers.
That's how a company or a hacker gets all the information about you.
But instead of storing your data along with your name and other identifiers, companies could just store it under a random token number.Â
This data set can thus help companies understand your buying behaviour and consumption pattern but not your name and number.Â
And if IRCTC really wants your name and number and other details to be stored as well, it could ask users' permission to do so.
The users that do provide their data could receive reward points or discounts, which would prompt more people to share their data.Â
So, IRCTC still has a golden opportunity to monetise the huge data bank it is sitting on. But if it does choose to do so, all eyes will be on it.Â
It will have to step really carefully to ensure user privacy is protected as it will be setting a standard for other companies until a data bill comes into existence.Â
Do you think IRCTC will grab this opportunity?
 ⚡In a line: IRCTC is backtracking on a plan to monetise user data because it could lead to a lot of privacy issues.
💡Quick question: Would you be willing to sell your data?
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