New Delhi: The nearly three-lakh personnel strong country's largest paramilitary CRPF today inked a deal with the IRCTC to usher in the easy and fast e-booking of railway tickets system for its jawans and officers by replacing the age-old warrant system. CRPF Director General (DG) R R Bhatnagar signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director M P Mall at the forces' headquarters here, a senior official said. "The fresh e-ticketing solution will replace the earlier system of railway warrant which was cumbersome. The new system will also help in cost saving for the organisation and it is in line with the e-governance policy of the government," he said.

Till now, the paramilitary personnel had to carry a paper 'warrant' (rail travel authority document) and queue up before a railway reservation counter to book tickets for their travel that was a time consuming affair, he said. The jawans and officers of the Central Reserve Police Force will now be able to book a railway ticket at the click of a mouse from an official portal. "This e-ticket booking initiative with the help of the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) will act as a welfare step for the personnel. We will soon roll this out across all our formations in the country after today's launch at the headquarters," the DG said.

The CRPF, raised in 1939, is tasked as the lead internal security and anti-Naxal operations of the force and has 235 battalions deployed across the country.