India's first ever Rail University to come in Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet has recently approved a project initiated by Ministry of Railways' to set up India's National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara (Gujarat).

According to reports, the Rail University project has been pending for the past three years.

Further, a not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, will be created by the ministry of railways which shall be the managing company of the proposed university.

While announcing the same, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in recent tweet said, "India's 1st National Rail & Transportation University to transform Indian railway and transport sector for a New India.

Realising PM @NarendraModi's vision of ï¿½??Make in Indiaï¿½??, ï¿½??Skill Indiaï¿½?? & ï¿½??Startup Indiaï¿½??, Govt. to set up Indiaï¿½??s 1st National Rail & Transportation University in Vadodara, Gujarat. The #RailUniversity will foster entrepreneurship & generate large scale employment opportunities. pic.twitter.com/IoDON5dgaz - Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 20, 2017

More on the report:

The first batch of students is set to start classes in June next year, as reported by The Indian Express.

Also, the not-for-profit company will provide financial and infrastructural support to the university, and appoint Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor of the university.

A Board of Management, comprising professionals and academics, shall be independent of the Managing Company with full autonomy to perform its academic and administrative responsibilities, official report added.

Moreover, as reported by PIB, the university will help in creating a resource pool of skilled manpower and leverage state-of-the-art technology to provide better safety, speed and service in Indian Railways.

Govt. to set up India's 1st National Rail and Transportation University in Vadodara, Gujarat which will help create a resource pool of skilled manpower and leverage state-of-the-art technology to provide better safety, speed and service in Indian Railways.https://t.co/Vr6TFrCIJV pic.twitter.com/vrELzBwmQ4 - Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 21, 2017

PM Modi's decision to start Rail University:

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a railway university was needed for the research and modernisation of the country's archaic railway system in particular, and transport infrastructure in general. It was subsequently included in the Railway Budget in 2014.

He had announced the decision to start the university on the NAIR campus in Vadodara in 2016.

Improve on-the-job performance and productivity:

The university plans to use latest pedagogy and technology applications such as satellite based tracking, Radio Frequency Identification and Artificial Intelligence to improve on-the-job performance and productivity

National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR):

"Existing land and infrastructure at National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) at Vadodara, Gujarat, will be utilised, and suitably modified and modernised for the purpose of the university.

Student enrollment:

In its full enrollment, it is expected to have 3,000 full-time students.

University funding:

The proposed university funding will entirely come from Ministry of Railways.

(With inputs from PTI)

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