IRCTC IPO papers were filed with SEBI earlier in August.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), which sells tickets for Indian Railways and manages its catering services, is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on September 30 and close on October 3, suggests media reports.

The IRCTC, after discussion with merchant bankers, has set the price band for its initial public offering (IPO) at Rs 315-320 per share, reports business news website Money Control.The IPO comprises an offer for sale of 20 million shares, representing 12.5 per cent of total paid-up equity.

The government intends to raise Rs 635.04-645.12 crore at the aforementioned price band, the Economic Times reported.

The plan to launch the IRCTC IPO comes immediately after stock markets see a turnaround with Sensex zooming up to 2,000 points after the government cut corporate tax last week.

The IRCTC had filed papers with Securities and Exchange Board of India or SEBI for IRCTC IPO earlier in August. It is the only entity authorised by the Indian Railways to provide catering services to railways, online railway tickets and packaged drinking water at railway stations and trains in India.

The central public sector enterprise has also diversified into other business segments like e-catering, executive lounges, and budget hotels.

The IRCTC operates one of the most transacted websites in the Asia Pacific region with transaction volume averaging at 25 million per month and 7.2 million logins a day. Over 1.4 million passengers travel on a daily basis of which 71.42 per cent book their tickets online.