Innovative and Transformation Cell – Indian Railways

Innovative and Transformation Cell – Indian Railways

• Transformation Cell Constituted by Railway Board on 09.03.2017. New name is Innovative & Transformation Cell. The Cell works under the Railway Board, often in consultation with NITI Aayog, Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), and other strategic bodies. Coordination is ensured with Railway PSUs, RDSO, and zones for seamless adoption and replication of innovations.

• During the period from 2017 Oct to 2018 Oct - Nearly 158 Circulars are  issued.  That means, On an average 12 circulars are being issued every month or 3 circulars every week ,which is remarkable.

• PED - Principal Executive Director  is in charge of the Transformation Cell.  Under him 8 Executive Directors work, drawn from different disciplines like Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Personnel, Accounts ,etc.

• It hires young professionals — MBAs, BTechs, CAs — from the private sector to assist. 

• It overrides all the other existing directorates.

• Mandated with the implementation of 55 new ideas

• Story behind formation: Railways had crowd sourced ideas of reformation ,from its 13 lakh employees and has received 1.5 lakh suggestions on issues regarding cleanliness, improving passenger amenities, safety of the railway employees,  increasing earnings from freight and processing of making journey in Indian railways a pleasant experience for its 23 million passengers . 

• 125 sq m prefabricated office on a third-floor terrace - earmarked for Transformation Cell - which is not far from the cabins of the members and chairman of the Railway Board — the highest decision making body of the Indian Railways (IR). The new hall is designed to give a look and feel of a corporate office — a common area surrounded by 9 sq m cabins, each meant for one Executive Director.

• To infuse new ideas and adopt latest technologies that can bring a change in the working of railways, the Indian Railways is in the process of creating a new Transformation Directorate which works to implement the suggestions made during Rail Vikas Shivir which was attended by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in November 2016.

• During the last two years, four directorates have been created to look into specific areas. These include ,non fare revenue, mobility, environment and heritage.

• Improving financial health of the railways and providing world class amenities to passengers are the top most agendas of the Government. The ministry has been having regular meetings with Niti Aayog to carry out reforms in Indian Railways.

 

• Objectives:  To promote innovation, modernization, and efficiency in the functioning of Indian Railways. The aim is to bring in fresh ideas, disruptive technologies, and transformation strategies across various functional areas.

 

• Collaboration: With startups, PSUs, and technology providers to solve railway challenges & promote cost-effective solutions and ease of doing business within Railways.

 

• Major Focus areas: 

1. Passenger Amenities and Services

2. Digitization and Automation

3. Railway Infrastructure Modernization

4. Safety Enhancement

5. Energy Efficiency and Green Initiatives

6. AI, Big Data, and IoT Integration

7. Innovative HR and Training Approaches

• Working Mechanism: Acts as a nodal point for ideation, review, and execution of innovative proposals. Ideas are sourced through competitions, hackathons, and open calls from employees and the public. Cross-functional teams evaluate feasibility and suggest pilot implementation. Regular monitoring and scaling up of successful innovations across zones/divisions.

 

• Achievements so far 

1. MSOP - Model Schedule Of Powers 

2. GCC for Services 

3. Re Engagement of Retired personnel & engagement of consultants

4. Railway Innovation Portal: Platform to crowdsource ideas from employees and public.

5. Startup Collaboration under 'Startups for Railways' policy to fund and support technology-based solutions.

6. AI-driven predictive maintenance tools and smart yard management systems.

7. Passenger-centric apps and digital complaint redressal systems.

Blogging Milestone Summary - Record 900 Posts - Approx 50 Lakh views

Blogging Milestone Summary

> I began my blogging journey on 10th January 2017, and on 30th March 2025, I proudly published my 900th article.

> Over a span of 3,000 days (approximately 8 years and 2 months or 100 months), I have consistently shared 900 articles, averaging:

* 1 article every 3 days, 

or

* 9 articles each month

> Thanks to the continued support and readership, the blog has reached an incredible Approx 50 lakh  total views (4,980,155 views), averaging around 1,660 views per day.

> I extend my heartfelt thanks to Google (Blogger.com) and to all my loyal readers and followers who have made this journey meaningful and rewarding.

With gratitude,

Nageswara Rao M

Blogger

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Railway Board - Distribution of Work among the Members

 Railway Board - Distribution of Work among the Members

Codes - Indian Railways

Codes - Indian Railways

Link for Website to access Railway Codes & Manuals

SN	Code	Index Letter	Dept	Year of First edition	Year of Latest edition	No of volumes	Remarks
1	Accounts Department	A	Accounts	1940	1983	2	Part I - General Accounts. Chapters 1 to 19 Part II - Traffic Accounts. Chapters 20 to 34
2	Engineering Code	E	All Depts			1	19 chapters
3	Finance Code	F	All Depts		1981	2	Part 1 - 11 Chapters Part 2 -  Classification of expenditure & receipts
4	Administration & Finance - An introduction	G	All Depts	1976	1991	1	12 chapters
5	Rolling Stock	M	Mechanical	1940	2016	1	11 chapters. Previous name is Mechanical Dept code (workshops)
6	Establishment Code	R	Personnel	1940	1985	2	Part I - 1 to 12 chapters Part II - 13 to 20 chapters
7	Stores Code	S	Stores	1938	1990	2	Part I - 1 to 11 chapters Part II - 12 to 33
8	Traffic Dept (Commercial)	T	Commercial	1939		1	19 chapters

Notes:

• The erstwhile Indian Railway General Code (provisional edition published in the year 1938) was re-written in two separate texts under the titles " The Indian Railway Administration and Finance—An Introduction " and " Indian Railway Finance Code ".

• Code Revision cell was constituted in 1973 year

• Paragraph Numbers.-For convenience of indexing and of reference, the paragraphs have been numbered according to a 3/4 figure "Code".  First 1 or 2 digits indicate chapter number.  Last 2 digits indicate Para Number.

Examples:

1) 1302 - A I- paragraph 2 of Chapter XIII of Accounts Code Volume I

2) 116 - F I indicates Paragraph 16 of chapter I of Finance Code volume I

• Forms indicate as follows.  The index letter of the code in question being prefixed to the number of the paragraph in which the form is Illustrated Code Index letter is prefixed (unlike suffixed in case of Paragraphs)

• Example: S-1313  .  That is the form that is described and illustrated in Paragraph 13 of Chapter XIII of Stores Code.  (combined Requisition and issue Note for drawing materials from stores Depots)

•  Simply, The Index letter of the Code is prefixed for Form Number and is suffixed for Paragraph Number.

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CONCOR - RAILWAY PSU

CONCOR  - CONTAINER CORPORATION OF INDIA

·         A Navaratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways (granted the status in the last year 2014-15). It is the first Navaratna CPSE (Central Public Sector Enterprise )of Indian Railways.

·         Incorporated in the year 1988 and commenced operations in the year 1989.

·         Headquarters is in New Delhi.

·         Present Chairman & Managing Director: Shri Sanjay Swarup, IRTS 1990 batch officer 

·         Started with the existing 7 ICDs (Inland Container Depot) taking over from Indian Railways in the year 1989.  Now it has a network of 61 ICDs (Inland Container Depot)/CFSs (Container Freight Station)

·         Indian Railways first ICD is at Bangalore in the year 1981.

·         Operates three core businesses 1) Cargo carrier 2) Terminal Operator 3) Warehouse Operator

·         Plans for setting up of 15 MMLPs – Multi Modal Logistic Parks during 12^th Five year plan for providing seamless connectivity and one stop solution for customers.

·         Cargo handled during the year 2021-22 is 40.73 Lakhs TEUs- TEU means Twenty foot Equivalent Unit.

·         Profit after tax is Rs.1062 Crores during the year 2021-22.  It is listed in the NSE & BSE. 55% shares owned by promoter group i.e., Indian Railways.  Rest of the 45 % shares owned by the Public

·         Pioneer/Developer of containerization in the world- Malcolm McLean He was an American transport entrepreneur who developed the modern shipping container which revolutionized transport and international trade in the second half of the twentieth century. 

·         Containerization led to a significant reduction in the cost of freight transportation by eliminating the process of transportation by lorry to the port, unloaded into a warehouse and then reloaded into the ship 'piece by piece' and also improved reliability, reduced cargo theft, and cut inventory costs by shortening transit time. 

·         CONCOR  - Monopoly in the Container business in India, though 15 private players entered in this segment  to

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