More Reforms in Indian Railways rolled out
By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Feb 28: With the simplification of processes for inviting innovative ideas, providing financial support, and paving the way for faster disposal of accident claims, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced two new reforms – the Rail Tech Policy for start-ups and reforms in the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT).
He also launched the Rail Tech Portal, stating that it will pave the way for the large-scale use of technology and enable systematic engagement with start-ups.
With these two initiatives, the total number of railway reforms announced this year has risen to four.
“Now there will be no barrier for start-ups to connect with Railways. The entire policy has been designed by start-ups only and it is much simplified than earlier policy. We have incorporated learnings from Defence, electronics, telecom and biotechnology. To develop the solutions by start-ups, 50 per cent of the funding requirement will be met by Railways and once the project becomes successful, the order for the substantial period will be given to scale it up,” said Vaishnaw.
Rail tech policy increases the scale-up grant more than three times and doubles the maximum grant for prototype development and trials.
He further said that the budget for these start-up projects would be met by the respective departments such as civil, maintenance, and electrical, under which the proposals would be approved to find solutions.
“Railways is actively looking for start-ups solutions to strengthen the safety, maintenance, employee grievances, AI cameras in coaches and other innovative ideas. The selection process will be simple where the feasibility of the technology will be checked at the concerned department level and then it will be recommended to the board for sanctioning,” said the minister.
He also said that projects under the policy would first be piloted in a division and, once proven and stabilised, would be expanded to other divisions.
Some of the innovation areas the Railways is exploring include an AI-based Elephant Intrusion Detection System (EIDS), AI-based fire detection system in coaches, drone-based broken rail detection system, rail stress monitoring system, sensor-based load calculation device on parcel vans (VPUs), solar panels on coaches, AI-based coach cleaning monitoring system, obstruction detection in foggy environments, and AI-based pension and dispute resolution systems.
Along with this, the Railways also announced the e-RCT system, which will enable complete digitisation of the Railway Claims Tribunals (RCTs), from the filing of cases to the adjudication of compensation claims related to deaths and injuries in railway accidents.
Currently, passengers face difficulties in identifying the appropriate RCT for filing claims, especially when they travel across states and meet with an accident. There are a total of 23 RCTs in the country.
With e-RCT, the litigants will be able to file their cases from anywhere electronically, irrespective of their location. Vaishnaw said that this reform will be rolled out over the next 12 months.
Currently, claimants and advocates are required to physically visit Tribunal offices for filing cases, submitting documents and tracking case progress. With the introduction of the e-RCT System, cases can now be filed online from anywhere at any time, tracking progress of judgment, including hearings, evidence submission, and adjournments.
It will also provide for a digital centralised repository of all case related documents including orders and judgments.
