Rahul Himalian Given Additional Charge as IRCTC CMD, Effective July 20
Ministry of Railways gives Rahul Himalian additional charge as IRCTC CMD from July 20, 2026, following Sanjay Kumar Jain's resignation.
The Ministry of Railways has assigned additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to Rahul Himalian, currently Director (Tourism & Marketing) at the company, with effect from July 20, 2026.
The CMD's office at IRCTC oversees the three revenue arms that keep the listed PSU profitable: online railway ticketing through the IRCTC platform, onboard and station catering contracts, and the tourism packages sold under its rail-tourism brands. Ticketing alone accounts for the bulk of the company's annual income, since IRCTC holds a near-exclusive mandate to process online reservations for Indian Railways.
Himalian takes on the additional responsibility from his existing post as Director (Tourism & Marketing), a board-level role at IRCTC that puts him in charge of the company's packaged tour offerings and marketing strategy. He will hold the CMD's charge for three months, or until a regular appointment is made, whichever comes first.
He steps in for Sanjay Kumar Jain, whose resignation as CMD has been approved by the Ministry of Railways. The order does not specify Jain's next assignment, and the Ministry has not indicated when the search for a permanent replacement will conclude.
The additional-charge arrangement is a standard stopgap used across the railway PSU ecosystem when a CMD's exit leaves a board-level vacancy: an existing whole-time director from within the company is asked to hold both portfolios until the Public Enterprises Selection Board completes its process for a permanent appointment.
The timing puts Himalian in charge through the peak monsoon and festive-season travel window, when ticket volumes and catering demand typically rise sharply. IRCTC's ability to keep its digital ticketing and tourism operations running without disruption during this stretch will be an early test of the arrangement.
The Ministry of Railways' order took effect July 20, 2026, and was issued under the standard additional-charge provisions applicable to board-level PSU appointments.
