With an objective to better equip human resources and build the capacity of the Indian Railways, the Union Cabinet on December 20 approved the Ministry of Railways’ transformative initiative to set up the first ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara.
“Realising PM @NarendraModi’s vision of ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ & ‘Startup India’, Govt. to set up India’s 1st National Rail & Transportation University in Vadodara, Gujarat,” Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.
“The #RailUniversity will foster entrepreneurship & generate large scale employment opportunities,” he added.
The innovative idea of establishing the university will be a catalyst for transformation of rail and transport sector towards New India.
To be set up as a deemed to be university under de novo category as per the UGC [Institutions Deemed to be Universities] Regulations, 2016, the first academic session of the university will begin from July 2018 and the government is working to complete all approvals by April 2018.
A not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 will be set up by the Ministry of Railways to manage the university.
The company will provide financial and infrastructural support to the university and will appoint Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor of the university.
A Board of Management, comprising professionals and academicians, will be set up with full autonomy to perform its academic and administrative responsibilities.
With the plan to use latest pedagogy and technology applications (satellite based tracking, Radio Frequency Identification and Artificial Intelligence), the university will improve on-the-job performance and productivity.
Existing land and infrastructure at National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) at Vadodara, Gujarat will be utilized and suitably modified and modernized for the purpose of the university.
It is expected that the university will have 3,000 full time students and the funding of the new university will to entirely come from Ministry of Railways.
With the objective to set Indian Railways on the path of modernisation and help India become a global leader in transport sector, the university will create a resource pool of skilled manpower and leverage state-of-the-art technology to provide better safety, speed and service in Indian Railways.
It will also support ‘Startup India’ and ‘Skill India’ by channeling technology and delivering knowhow and foster entrepreneurship, generating large scale employment opportunities.