The Government of India has proposed the streamlining and rationalization of a number of Indian Railways units operating under the Ministry of Railways.
As per a proposal, drafted by Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, non-core units of the Indian Railways like manufacturing, construction, schools, hospitals, training institutes and Central Public Sector Undertakings need rationalizing, winding up or a merger with other units.
Merge CPSU Doing Similar Work
The Sanjeev Sanyal proposal calls for a revamp of several CPSUs operating under the Ministry of Railways.
Merger of RVNL with IRCON
Among the key recommendations is the merger of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) with IRCON. RVNL is a special purpose vehicle formed for better project execution. IRCON, according to the proposal, is also a ‘specialist infrastructure construction organisation’ and also has an international presence.
RVNL has no borrowing powers and receives projects from Indian Railways on a nomination basis. This, according to the proposal, is sufficient reason for the proposed merger.
RITES Takeover of Braithwaite & Co
A sick rolling stock CPSU that has only recently been turned around, Braithwaite & Co is proposed for takeover by RITES, an Indian Railways run technical consultant. The GoI proposal has identified both as performing ‘similar nature of work,’ as the justification for the takeover.
Wind up CRIS, Merge Railtel with IRCTC
GoI has proposed the winding up of the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). The work of the CRIS is to be taken over by IRCTC. Besides, GoI believes that Railtel and IRCTC perform similar functions and thus should be merged.
Shift all Production Units into one CPSE
The GoI proposal has also recommended shifting all eight Indian Railways production units into one new public sector enterprise. The eight units are Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, Modern Coach Factory (MCF), Rae Bareli, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Diesel Modernisation Works (DMW), Patiala, and Rail Wheel Factories in Bengaluru and Yelahanka.
The Sanyal proposal recommends this be done in a phased manner. Attempts to implement similar proposals have met with internal resistance earlier.
Wind Up CORE and COFMOW
The Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE) and Central Organization for Modernization of Workshops (COFMOW) should be wound up, according to the Sanyal proposal. This is because CORE will be mostly redundant in a couple of years with full electrification, while COFMOW has already lost relevance, reasons Sanyal.
The proposal recommends handing over all existing contracts to respective zones while the remaining work be handed out as EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contracts.
Choose Between RLDA and IRSDC
Another major proposal that may have significant consequences for station redevelopment is related to Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) and Indian Railways Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC). Both are at present working on the modernisation of station infrastructure and the monetization of Indian Railways’ land.
IRSDC has been focusing on big-ticket station redevelopment projects for major Indian Railways stations. However, according to the proposal, IRSDC has been unable to implement projects as per timelines and costs.
The Sanyal proposal recommends handing over full responsibility for this work to either RLDA or IRSDC.
Rationalize Directorates, Trim Board Staff to 100
Staff in the Railway Board should be reduced to 100 from 250 and the number of directorates should be reduced from the current 52, recommends the Sanyal Proposal.
According to the proposal, several directorates with similar functions should be merged. Therefore, the merger of Traffic Transportation and Traffic Commercial Directorates, Economics with Statistics & Economics, Tourism and Catering with Heritage, and Infrastructure with Land and Amenities Directorates is recommended.
Several directorates connected to financial matters are also proposed to be merged. This means the merger of Accounts, Accounting Reforms, Finance, Finance (Budget) and Finance (Expenditure) into one single Finance and Accounts Directorate.
NTA To Conduct Recruitment Exams, Wind up RRB
The National Testing Agency should conduct all Indian Railways recruitment examinations, eliminating the need for all 21 Railway Recruitment Boards, recommends the GoI proposal.
Also recommended is that NTA takes over the infrastructure of the RRBs and that the Indian Railways should set up an office to coordinate with NTA on examination activities.
Make NRTI Central University, Merge Central Training Institutes, One ZRTI per Zone
The Sanyal proposal has recommended several changes for the National Rail Transport Institute, the seven Central Training Institutes, Zonal Railway Training Institutes, etc.
- Turn NRTI into an autonomous Central University and Institute of National Importance
- Merge all seven Central Training Institutes into NRTI
- Reintroduce Apprentice Scheme under NRTI
- Withdraw Railway Board and Ministry from Institute of Rail Transport management and governing council
- Merge Centralized Training Academy for Railway Accounts with NRTI
- Reduce the number of Zonal Railway Training Institutes to one per zone
- Open ZRTIs to non railway employees
Besides this, the proposal also recommends upgrading of all Indian Railways hospitals, including through private partnerships where needed. Sanyal also recommends that Indian Railways officials withdraw from the Indian Railways Welfare Organization management and treat it at arm’s length as a privately run organization.
Sanyal also recommends bringing all railway schools under Kendriya Vidyalaya, state government or private operators with a quota for railway employees. This will significantly free IR management bandwidth that otherwise goes into the running of these schools.
Implementation of Proposals
The proposal has been sent to the Railway Board, and GoI wants monthly updates. However, it is not clear which of these recommendations will be implemented and with what timelines.
Several organisations like COFMOW and CORE have outlasted their utility and it may be time to shut them down. Walking away from the administration of IRWO and other non-core activities helps IR management focus on problems that continue to dog IR over decades. Hiving off of Indian Railways Production Units into a separate unit has been recommended by many experts and is long overdue.
However, Indian Railways has a poor track record when it comes to the implementation of reforms. Where this latest set of proposals will end up is something we will know over the next few months.
CAG report made serious financial lapses which should be also addressed. Whenever the Government changes new priorities crop in. I think Railway Administration was helpless partly. With so much of technological changes, many inputs given may become surplus.
These aspects also should be looked into. Otherwise this will be one-sided.