Railway Board to be replaced with a leaner structure
Real Estate

Railway Board to be replaced with a leaner structure

On September 2, 2020, the top decision-making body of the railways set up during the British Raj, The Railway Board, was restructured and pruned post going through a churn in the last few months. As a part of the Cabinet-approved restructuring plans, the board’s designations were changed. The formally constituted Board now has its first CEO, Vinod Kumar Yadav (currently, the chairman) and four other members. The appointments were approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).

In December 2019, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the recast of the 115-year-old Railway Board. The number of board members has been reduced from eight to five as a part of the recasting. PS Mishra, who was Member (Traffic) has been redesignated as Member (Operations & Business Development); PC Sharma, who was Member (Traction) earlier is now Member (Traction and Rolling Stock); Pradeep Kumar, who was Member (Signaling & Telecom) earlier is now Member (Infrastructure); and Manjula Rangarajan as a member (finance).

Chairman and CEO VK Yadav will be in charge of the management of Human Resources and personnel and will be assisted by Director General (HR) in the same. The Railway Board, which was previously organised on departmental lines like electrical, mechanical, stores, traffic, civil, signal, and telecom, personnel and accounts, will now be replaced with a leaner structure based on functional lines. Each new department is a complete unit in itself and will be headed by secretary-level officers called members. The eight ‘Group A’ services have been reorganised into a Central Service called the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). This measure was reportedly taken in order to cease the rampant departmentalisation and duplication of work in the Indian Railways. It is a zero-cost exercise as the surrendering of board posts will help save costs. Further, as reported, the Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS) will be renamed the Indian Railway Health Service (IRHS).

As reported according to a former board member, the railways consisted of more technocrats that operation experts who had little commitment towards the business aspect of the organisation.

The restructuring of the board is seen as the first step in the railways' quest for the promotion of efficiency in operations and improving its precarious finances.

On September 2, 2020, the top decision-making body of the railways set up during the British Raj, The Railway Board, was restructured and pruned post going through a churn in the last few months. As a part of the Cabinet-approved restructuring plans, the board’s designations were changed. The formally constituted Board now has its first CEO, Vinod Kumar Yadav (currently, the chairman) and four other members. The appointments were approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC). In December 2019, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the recast of the 115-year-old Railway Board. The number of board members has been reduced from eight to five as a part of the recasting. PS Mishra, who was Member (Traffic) has been redesignated as Member (Operations & Business Development); PC Sharma, who was Member (Traction) earlier is now Member (Traction and Rolling Stock); Pradeep Kumar, who was Member (Signaling & Telecom) earlier is now Member (Infrastructure); and Manjula Rangarajan as a member (finance). Chairman and CEO VK Yadav will be in charge of the management of Human Resources and personnel and will be assisted by Director General (HR) in the same. The Railway Board, which was previously organised on departmental lines like electrical, mechanical, stores, traffic, civil, signal, and telecom, personnel and accounts, will now be replaced with a leaner structure based on functional lines. Each new department is a complete unit in itself and will be headed by secretary-level officers called members. The eight ‘Group A’ services have been reorganised into a Central Service called the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). This measure was reportedly taken in order to cease the rampant departmentalisation and duplication of work in the Indian Railways. It is a zero-cost exercise as the surrendering of board posts will help save costs. Further, as reported, the Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS) will be renamed the Indian Railway Health Service (IRHS). As reported according to a former board member, the railways consisted of more technocrats that operation experts who had little commitment towards the business aspect of the organisation. The restructuring of the board is seen as the first step in the railways' quest for the promotion of efficiency in operations and improving its precarious finances.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Resources

Schindler named among Forbes’ World’s Best Employers 2026

Schindler has been named among Forbes’ World’s Best Employers 2026, a global ranking recognising companies for their workplace environments.Compiled by Forbes in partnership with Statista, the ranking is based on independent employee feedback, including whether employees would recommend their organisation to friends and family.The company said the recognition reflected its focus on creating a workplace where employees can develop their expertise and build careers. ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

India needs an export-execution mindset: Vishesh Jain

Interview with Vishesh Jain, Founder & CEO, EximpleWhat gaps in India’s global trade ecosystem led you to build Eximple, and what problem did you see businesses struggling with most?Eximple came out of a problem that all three founders had seen from different choke points in the trade ecosystem. India has millions of MSMEs and manufacturers, and many of them can make products that are genuinely competitive on quality. Yet only a small fraction is able to build meaningful international businesses. In our experience, the gap is usually not manufacturing capability; it is the ability to exe..

Next Story
Building Material

Nuvoco reports 13.5% revenue growth in Q2 FY27

Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd. reported consolidated revenue of Rs 27.9 billion for Q2 FY27, up 13.5% year on year. Cement sales volume rose 9% to 4.7 million tonnes (MMT), while EBITDA increased 11% to Rs 4.11 billion.The company said it began its cement operations in 2014 with a 2.3 MMT per annum (MMTPA) operation at Nimbol. It now aims to reach 35 MMTPA of cement capacity by FY28, nearly 15 times its initial capacity. Its portfolio spans cement, ready-mix concrete and modern building materials.On sustainability and cost efficiency, Nuvoco partnered with CleanMax for a 46.4 MW wind-solar hybrid re..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

SPECIAL OFFER
QR Code