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ABHIVYAKTI • VOLUME 21 • NO. 1 • JANUARY-JULY 2010 1

Editorial Board

Chairperson

Niraj Kumar : DG

Vice Chairman

C. P. Sharma : Dy.DG

Executive Editor

BVL Narayana : SPTM

Members

S. K. Bajpai : SPOB

A. K. Shrivastav : SPST

A. K. Shukla : PAM

"Abhivyakti"is published quarterly by Railway Staff College. All

Editorial correspondence and articles should be addressed to the

Executive Editor, Abhivyakti, Railway Staff College, Lal Baug,

Vadodara - 390 004 (India)

E-mail : [email protected]

Web Site : http://www.rscbrc.ac.in

Phone - BSNL : 0265-2651975 (Off.)

0265-2653488 (Resi.)

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Fax : 0265 - 2638607 (Office)

Views expressed in the articles are those of the

respective authors. Neither Abhivyakti nor Railways

can accept any responsibility for nor do they agree

with the views expressed in the articles. Every

effort is made to acknowledge source material relied

upon or referred to but Abhivyakti does not accept

any responsibility for any inadvertent omission.

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�

From the desk ofExecutive Editor..As we stand on the threshold of another Independence

Day anniversary, it is time for a review, an assessment

of what we had aimed for and what we have achieved.

As a nation we have progressed considerably be it in

terms of technology, economy or in social structure. Over

the last 60 years since independence, we have strived

to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains, milk and fertilizer

production which are essential requirements for a society

to survive at the physical level. In this attempt we have

succeeded in some measure. We have also progressed

to self suf ficiency in both technology and

telecommunications and have made our presence felt in

the global arena. Indians have stretched their financial

investments to other continents.

Yet we see stark poverty, rising population numbers and

increasing disparity in distribution of health care,

education, food grains and basic facilities like electricity

and housing. The country is struggling, yet we do not

lose hope. We want to be world class. And we hope

and do what we must and toil upwards in our quest

for excellence!

The condition at RSC and Abhivyakti in particular

mirrors this hope. We still await our valued inputs

from our readers to make this magazine better! We

also wait for similar inputs from trainee officers to make

RSC world class!

Impressions as to what is world class vary from person

to person, but what is the general; perception among

our readers and the trainee officers allows us to understand

the majority opinion. This forms the basis for future

developments and direction of progress.

As years pass by, we must be able to leave landmarks

in the history of RSC and Abhivyakti so that future

generations remember our contributions. Our readers’

valued opinions are a way towards our achieving

landmarks.

This issue has created a place for such contributions.

Please write to use. We value your opinions.

-Executive Editor

2 ABHIVYAKTI • VOLUME 21 • NO. 1 • JANUARY-JULY 2010

Article

A STRATEGY FOR URBAN TRANSPORT

DEVELOPMENT IN DELH

It has been rightly argued that in most developing countries, cities are the engines of economic growth,

and that efficient urban transport is the oil that prevents the engine from seizure & break down.

Unfortunately, deteriorating transport conditions are already causing irreparable damage to the economy

of many large cities, including mega cities of the world, amongst which New Delhi would rank

very high in terms of poor mobility, high incidence of fatal accidents and unacceptable levels

of transport related atmospheric pollutions.

Future of city Transport in Delhi

Population 18.20 million

Area 1484sq/kms

Road length 31183 kms

Road density 21 km per sq km (one of the highest in the country)

Road Vehicles

S.No. Category No. of vehicles(as on 31/12/07)

1. Two Wheelers (Pvt.) 3308610

2. Four Wheelers (Pvt.) 1534353

3. Buses (LPV, MPV, HPV) 43639

4. TSR (Auto Rishkaw) 75603

5. Taxis 22503

6. Goods(LGV,MGV,HGV) 141222

7. Others 13619

Total 5139549

No of bus stands 2700

Metro network 68 kms

Metro stations 62

Delhi Master Plan-2021 takes a multi displianary and holistic view for overall enhancement of

the quality of city life and envisages a fully integrated world class multimodal Transport System

in Delhi to include the Metro, suburban Rail, High-Capacity Bus /BRT, Mono rail &, LRTs etc.

The enabling land use pattern suggested in the master plan visualizes District and Community

Centers to be developed along major transport corridors and networks to “prevent unintended

and unplanned ribbon development”. along transport corridors including major arterial roads

impeding free flow of traffic on city roads.

- Govind Ballabh


The corner- stone of this vision is an empowered, unified City Transport Authority., a statutorybody with a legal cover.

The broad aims of the City Transport Authority will be -

� to ensure safe, convenient quick and economical commuting between places of origin anddestination, to all areas and all sections of the society meeting these objectives by providingsignificant increase in efficient, rapid public transport systems and facilities with correspondingreduction in individual/ private transport usage.

� Preparation and implementation of an integrated and mutually complementary multi-modaltransportation and traffic plan comprising Road, Rail and Metro network, so that work centersand residences are within walking distances. The multimodal system will be integrated withsafe facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, disabled persons

� ensuring reduction in levels of pollution, congestion, transport related fatalities and injuries,augmenting energy efficiency and safety in all modes of urban transport.

� Promoting pedestrian zones, non-motorized transport systems in specific areas.

Historical Background of Delhi

� The period between 1981 and 2001 has seen a phenomenal increase in the growth of transportdemand.

� “There has been a rise in per capita trip rate (excluding walk trips) from 0.72 in 1981 to0.87 in 2001. Keeping in view the population growth, this translates into an increase from45 lakh trips to 118 lakh trips.

� The population of motor vehicles has increased from 5.13 lakh in 1981 to 32.38 lakh in2001(50,36,846 in dec-2007) and the number of buses has increased from 8,600 to41,483during this period.”

� Delhi has emerged as a borderless city and an urban conglomerate comprising a number ofrapidly growing towns in Haryana and UP. This has added to the flow and movement oftraffic within Delhi.

� Despite measures for increasing the length of the road network and road surface space throughwidening, construction of flyovers, clover leafs /grade separators, and signal free intersections,the traffic congestion has continued to increase unabated due to increase in demographic andvehicular population. This has had its inevitable consequences in terms of traffic congestion,accidents, pollution, high commuting time, and wasteful energy / fuel consumption.

� Since roads in Delhi already occupy 21 percent of the total area of the city, with road densityof 21kms per sq km there is hardly any potential left for increase in road width and lengthexcept by prohibitive underground /bi-level construction.

� The current stress on palliatives like grade separation of roads to minimize delays at intersectionsby constructing flyovers is likely to be a serious bottleneck in future provision of elevatedMRTS /LRT

� Based on the rate of increase in the number of trips between 1981 and 2001, it is estimated

that the total trips would rise to 280 lakh by the year 2021, including 257 lakh motorized

trips and 23 lakh non-motorized trips.daily.

Article


Limitations of road based systems

At the macro level, of long range public policy on planning of city transport, one must considerthe inherent contradictions between the expensive relief measures taken to improve mobility

on roads and their being overtaken in no time by manifold increase in vehicle population.

The obvious answer to city transport problems is moving away from predominantly road basedurban mobility to rail based systems.

This has already been demonstrated by the metro and this experience of rail based transit system in operationfor last five years has to be internalized while planning the future of transport for Delhi by meaningfullyreplicating it to other areas in keeping with their current and future needs in the form of –

� MRTS � Regional Rail/Suburban Systems

� Light metro � LRT

� Monorail � Modern trams

BRT on all new developments with earmarked ROW as feeders to rail based systems IncidentallyParis along side its most advanced metro system, is currently operating 6 tram lines and buildinga few more which compare favourably with LRTs in terms of operational efficiency and user convenience.

Perspective planning for expansion of suburban rail network

India’s emergence as a global power is clearly spelt out in the world population report whichindicates that of the first 100 most populated cities in the world India will have 12 such cities.

While one should really feel elated that rapid urbanization will totally transform the population distribution,it should at the same time make the civil society responsive to the massive task of keeping thesemultitudes comfortably mobile to attract all the commerce and industry which will sustain this population.

Summarized data placed below for select main line and suburban passenger terminals in mega citieson IR brings out significant qualitative differences in the commuting pattern between neighborhood suburbs and the major rail terminals serving the city center between Delhi on the one handand cities like Mumbai and Kolkata on the other.

Profile of Major Passenger terminals on IR

City Population Stations No of No of No of pass. Dealt(Mn) PFs Trains daily with(in lakh) daily

Mumbai 18.84 CCG 4 1127 15

CSTM 18 1331 (68 main line) 18.6

BCT 5 38 (main line) 0.57

Kolkata 14.57 HWH 21 672 (136 main line) 15.00

SDAH 20 620 (50 main line) 11.00

Delhi 16.00 NDLS 12 273 (EMU 65) 3.7

DLI 19 210 (EMU 60) 1.76

H. NZM 7 208 (EMU 38) 1.5

Chennai 4.30 CEN 14 108 (main line) 2

Moor MKT Complex 3 220(EMU) 3

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� Whereas, the number of passengers arriving by rail daily in Mumbai and Kolkata is of theorder of 34 lacs& 26 lacs respectively, for Delhi this number is as low as 6.8 lacs only.

� The city of Delhi having a predominantly road based city transport receives a small volumeof suburban passengers from Faridabad, Panipat and Aligarh directions by EMU trains andfrom Rewari side by conventional trains.

� From other radials like Saharanpur, Merrut, Hapur, Moradbad, Gaziabad, Bahadurgarh andsatellite towns of Noida, Gaziabad and Gurgaon it receives large volumes of suburban passengersfrom highways which enter into and go out of the main city causing enormous stress to theroad infrastructure.

� This is very different from the pattern obtaining in cities like Mumbai, and Kolkata wherebulk of the intercity and suburban passengers move by main line and EMU trains runninginto thousands (Mumbai 2380trains and Kolkata 1102trains ).

� Chennai has also enlarged its EMU operation with 220 EMU trains

� Delhi’s share of EMU trains remains stagnant at the level of 163 only.

� A long term solution to ever increasing traffic problems of Delhi leave no option but reaffirmationand prompt execution of The Integrated Rail-cum-Bus Transit (IRBT)System for Delhi

� The Integrated Rail-cum-Bus Transit (IRBT) system linking Delhi to the adjoining townshipsof neighbouring states of UP and Haryana( Gurgaon, Sahibabad, and Ghaziabad ) was formalisedand approved by Delhi Govt in 2002

� Expected to be implemented by 2006, closely following opening of Delhi Metro, it was designedto substantially improve suburban passenger mobility in the national capital region, bringingdown unmanageable vehicular congestion and very high incidence of fatal accidents on highwaysand other peripheral roads in and around Delhi, generating vehicular emissions of the mostunsustainable level.

� The IRBT project was also to integrate with the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS)andmain line railway at various points to ensure transfer of commuters from road to rail to effectmodal split in favour of rail based systems.

� The entire project was to be implemented by the Governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh andHaryana on the lines of the Metro rail project by floating a Special Purpose Vehicle like theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to ensure that the project is implemented within rigidtime frame ensuring adherence to quality standards.

� A significant aspect of this new project would have been common ticketing facility with thefeeder bus services and the MRTS, facilitating seamless modal integration.

� The project as formulated covered the following three routes-

1. Shahdara-Ghazibad-Sahibabad.

2. Trinagar-Bijwasan-Gurgaon

3. Sahibabad-Anand Vihar-Shivaji Bridge

� With a total length of 57 km, the cost of the project was estimated at Rs. 2,352 crores

(corridors 1,2,& 3 costing Rs. 725 crores, Rs 773 crores and Rs. 684 crores respectively)

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� While the two separate SPVs(for UP and Haryana ) were to raise Rs. 1,176 crore through

debt, a similar amount was to be earmarked in the form of equity contribution.

� Double line electrified tracks would be constructed for these routes and the project, taken

up on high priority, would have been operational by 2006, a year after the completion of

the first phase of Metro Rail project.

� Plans were also drawn up to provide feeder bus operation to ensure proper connectivity to

the road rail and metro passengers.

� IRBT project as conceptualised continues to be immensely relevant to bring in a semblance

of order in the internal movement of Delhi as this is the only effective option to sizeably

reduce entry of road vehicles into the clogged city roads.

Funding Pattern

One-third of the equity would be contributed by the Ministry of Railways, another one-third byUnion Urban Development Ministry and the balance by the concerned State Governments.

The SPVs would look after the commercial aspects including the train frequencies and schedules,fare structure, fare collection, inter-modal integration including feeder bus service and commercialexploitation of air space above the operational buildings, operation and maintenance being outsourcedto IR based on a Memorandum Of Understanding.

The funding pattern in the current scenario needs to include modern concepts like

� levy of a special transport cess (addressed separately vide. copy enclosed.)

� Public Private Participation in construction and operation of urban transport systems

� DLF is already constructing such a facility in Gurgaon

� Mumbai Metro is being built on BOT principle

� This need to induct private sector resources for bankable Urban Transport Project, becomes

all the more necessary as city of Delhi is poised to become the third largest and most populous

city in the world in 2020 as under-

� Largest cities and urban areas in 2020 (1 to 100)

Article

Rank City/Urban area Country Average annual Population ingrowth, 2006 2020(millions)to 2020, in %

1 Tokyo Japan 0.34 37.28

2 Mumbai (Bombay) India 2.32 25.97

3 Delhi India 3.48 25.83

4 Dhaka Bangladesh 3.79 22.04


While reviving the IRBT scheme it will be necessary to include the following additional streamsof traffic into the ambit of IRBT as these also are currently bringing large passenger volumesto the city-

� Narela � Meerut � Hapur

� Rewari � Khurja

Serious capacity limitations on IR main line sections, apathy to loss making commuter traffic andlack of determined pursuit of IRBT project despite consensus of all stake holders, have stifledgrowth of High Density Passenger Corridor on rail network converging into the city of Delhi.

As a result there has been phenomenal growth in the traffic density on the highways linking neighbouringtowns to Delhi which have witnessed unprecedented traffic growth.

With Per capita Trip Rate having increased to 1, the number of trips has risen to 180 lacs dailywith private vehicles carrying 30 % of the trips.

Although the ridership on Delhi metro has touched a record of above 8 lacs on week days(withcapacity of 1 million as witnessed during November08) unprecedented increase in traffic demandand use of personalised vehicles has kept its modal share constant at the level of 05 % only.

To sum up the investment priority in city transport should be as under -

� Regional rail /suburban system

� Third phase of Delhi Metro to be of the size of 150 kms toinclude Extension to:-

- Gaziabad - Faridabad

- Narela

� Direct link between Noida and Gurgaon via the airport

� A circle line positioned at a distance of about 5 kms from Rajiv Chowk creating additionalinterchange points to reduce travel distance and travel time for commuters and reduce avoidablecongestion on Rajiv Chwok.

� A parallel network to existing Line 2 which is bound to get fully saturated with PHPDT of60000 passengers–its designed capacity.

� Delhi’s need of a full fledged Suburban terminal (Churchgate type ) to handle EMU trainsfrom Aligarh, Faridabad and Panipat directions is long over due which should be an integralpart of IRBT scheme

� Instead of separate SPV for UP and Haryana, which will create problems of coordination,it is suggested that a unified structure will be more desirable.

� As an essential image building measure, of this single product enterprise dealing with commutersonly, the following marginal improvements are necessary.

� The organization should have a LOGO.

� IRBT trains should have unique colour scheme.

� IRBT staff should have proper uniforms

� Seating and standing arrangements should be different from IRs EMU trains.

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� Trains should have fire worthiness of modern rolling-stock

� Closure of train doors during movement should be one of the essential safety features.

� There should be total restriction on movement of vendors carrying milk cans etc during peakhours / or separate provision made to accommodate them.

� Trains must have radio communication with Operation Control Centre and stations

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)

All future developments in urban transport efficiency will mainly depend on induction of Electronicsand Information Technology to improve systems

The systems already in use in world class cities -

� are capable of optimal utilization of existing road/rail network and vehicle fleets

� Passenger information at stations /bus stands

� Automated ticket vending and common ticketing for all public transport modes

Re-defined /Recommended Right Of Way for city roads

Recommended and actual ROW of city roads in Delhi is summarized below-

Recommended Actual

National Highways 90mtrs 60mtrs

Arterial roads primary 80mtrs 60mtrs

Others 60 mtrs 45 mtrs

Primary collector 45 mtrs 30-40 mtrs

Secondary 30 mtrs 18-24 mtrs

It is imperative that for urban roads in all new developments recommended ROW is provided.

It is necessary to provide space for future MRTS/LRT on all such roads

City Government must guarantee availability of the entire road surface, exclusively for transport

functions by removing all impediments due to –

� Built encroachments � vending./hawking

� Cattle nuisance � vehicle parking

� human habitation –including sleeping

Parking Policy - Need for having a parking policy

� developing multi level parking at all mainline rail stations,metro stations air ports, marketplaces and important bus terminals to promote Park and Ride facility.

� Building Park and Ride stations with parking capacity of 10000-20 000 vehicles at starting

points of urban and regional lines

Safety - according to World Road Statistics (WRS) 2007

India has earned the dubious distinction of registering the second highest number of road accidents

Article


in a year, Based on data for 2005, the total number of people killed in road accidents in Indiawas 94,985, next only to China where 98,738 people were killed.

The number of deaths in road accidents in Delhi alone was 2,169,

Road Accidents in Delhi

2003 2004 2005*

Total Road Accidents 8864 9083 8270

Fatal Accidents 1771 1782 2005

Persons Killed 1841 1832 2169

On the other hand Delhi Metro during 5 years of revenue operation having carried 752 millioncommuters did not have a single fatality or injury in train related accidents

Concern for commuter safety has to be an essential element while comparing transportation optionsin mega cities.

Preventive measures to include

� Review of driving license policy and systems,

� effective arrangements for training of drivers

� Professional training institutes for training of

� Drivers, Maintenance Staff

� All roads should be made bicycle, pedestrian, and disabled friendly as a part of statutory obligation

Policing and Traffic Management

� Integrated Signaling Systems

� Pedestrian signals with zebra crossings at each signaled intersection

� Congestion pricing of private vehicles in busy areas during peak hours

Traffic Integration

Importance of transport integration in city transport cannot be over emphasized. The current state oftraffic integration presents a dismal picture ,indicating gross apathy to commuters‘ well being. Exceptfor Delhi Metro having taken a determined action to build intermodal transfer facilities –

o On Line 2 with multiple exits /entrances on both sides of the road, allowing safe exit/entry

to commuters

o On line 3, metro network positioned in the central verge of the road provides similar access

facilities to commuters on both sides of the road,allowing commuters to use grade separated road

crossing via the metro facility free of cost.

o On all lines the metro has made provision of parking facilities to the extent of land availability.

o It has specially built bus bays at select metro stations for modal integration.

Compared to this very little has been done by Delhi Transport Corporation to provide bus stands

close to metro stations by repositioning/additional provision to reduce walking lead to commuters.

Similar initiative needs to be taken by NDMC/PWD to provide safe access to passengers who are

required to cross lanes,on metro network positioned on one side of the road,necessitating commutersarriving from the other side of the road.

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As an illustration,on Line 1(positioned south of NH1) between Dilshad Garden and Seelampur,for peopleresiding north of this busy arterial road.non provision of safe,grade separated passage across the highwayconstitutes a serious hazard and a major impediment in accessing metro stations.This is not an isolatedexample but represents generality of situation coming in the way of transport integration.

Delhi: Pollution levels rising again

� In 2002, when the CNG programme was initiated in the capital, the annual average levels ofreparable suspended particulate matter (RSPM, or PM10) in residential areas stood at 143 microgramper cubic metre.

� They dropped to 115 microgram per cubic metre by 2005. An upward swing has been noticedsince 2006 when the annual average levels jumped back to 136 microgram per cubic metre.

� The monthly average levels of RSPM in the winter of 2006-07 were as high as 350 microgramper cubic metre. The evils can even be higher this winter. This year(2007), the daily levels ofeven finer particulates {smaller than 2.5-microns (PM2.5)}, have already reached 240 microgramper cubic metre in end-October.

� Studies in US show that an increase of only 10 microgram per cubic metre of PM2.5 is associatedwith significant increase in health risks. High exposure to PM2.5 is known to lead to increasedhospitalisation for asthma, lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and heart damage. Long-term exposurecan cause lung cancer. Levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) have been rising in the city to dangerouslevels, which is a clear sign of pollution from vehicles.

� Clearly, a massive initiative to improve public transport is needed along with steps to restrainthe growth of private vehicles. As out lined above.

� The future is in our hands. At this rate, every winter will turn back the pollution clock. Witheach passing year, asthma and other respiratory diseases will only increase. If Delhi does not wantto wheeze, choke and sneeze, it must act, immediately. Its experiment with CNG shows that itcan make a difference.

� Studies conducted by SNCF(French Rail) indicate the following reduction in the volume of pollutants

in tonnes by shifting 1 Billion Passenger kms from road to rail

CO 3720

CO2 106860

VOC 620

NOX 550

Particulate matters 55

Total 112350 tonnes

� Delhi Metro is poised to carry 2.5 million passengers daily on completion of its second

phase. Considering a lead of 13 km, the annual BPKM shall be 11.8. Therefore net

reduction in the load of pollutants will be 11.8x1,12,350 = 13,25,730 Tonnes annually.

� Establishment of a single authority responsible for Future Of Transport in Delhi is overdue.

To conclude, this is in fact the starting point of the whole exercise starting with setting up

of the organization, formulating appropriate plans, and executing the same in time to overreach

public expectations.

Article


Introduction

About a year ago, the Indian Railways (IR) announced its intention to start medical colleges, byleveraging on the existence of Railway hospitals across the country. No doubt, this well-intentionedmove will help to alleviate the demand-supply gap by producing solidly trained young doctors.Yet, a critical question is that of financial viability. Given certain constraints such as the sizeof presently functioning railway hospitals, especially the number of indoor patients, the desirabilityof an optimum faculty-student ratio and perhaps limited hostel accommodation, it appears thatthe beginning would have to be modest, before progressively scaling up activity. But, if a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model is assumed for a college with a 14% rate of return to the promoter,the corollary is as follows: admitting a small number of students initially and then gradually raisingenrollment implies that the early batches of students will have to bear the burden of very steepfees in the initial years. Therefore, the questions that are addressed in the paper are the following:

1. How much, approximately, would be fees payable by each student under a certain set of assumptions?

2. What can be a possible solution to attenuating a high level of fees?

The BOT model

The key features of a BOT model, widely preferred in infrastructure projects, are as follows:1. A private sponsor builds and operates the project for the duration of the Concession Period

and earns income.2. At the end of the Concession Period, the project is transferred to the local, state or national

government at a predetermined price.3. The periodic revenues and the terminal payment are so negotiated as to enable the promoter

to recoup the investment with a fair return.

Financial implications

For setting up a medical college by the IR, this paper makes certain assumptions as listed below.1. A certain divisional railway has decided to establish a medical college which will be supported

by its 400-bed hospital. The land needed for the college building, library, hostel and staffquarters is available.

2. Regulations of the Medical Council of India, or its successor institution, will not be a constraint.3. The intake of students will be at 50 for the first five years. Thereafter, 30 post-graduate

(PG) students are added.

4. The outlay on the medical college building, including a laboratory with basic equipment will

THE BOT MODEL FOR A MEDICAL COLLEGE

Surendra Sundararajan

This paper explores the financial viability of establishing medical colleges under the Build-Operate-Transfer model, in places where railway hospitals are located. With the use of a

hypothetical case, the financial implications are unraveled and an attempt is made to offera solution which could facilitate the intention of Indian Railways to establish such colleges.

Surendra Sundararajan is Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Management Studies, The M.S.University of Baroda. The authorgratefully acknowledges helpful inputs from Dr. Shrinivasan R. Iyengar.

Article


be Rs. 70 million.

5. The investments in equipment will cost Rs. 115 million.

6. Library building with books and internet facility will cost Rs. 20 million.

7. Outlay on the hostel building with 120 rooms: Rs. 50 million.

8. Outlay on staff quarters: Rs. 50 million.

9. Costs of running (salaries of teaching, non-teaching, nursing staff and overheads): Rs. 200million per annum.

10. The gestation period is one year, but investments are assumed to occur upfront.

11. The project will be transferred to Indian Railways at the end of ten years for Rs. 75 million,on which no taxes are payable by the sponsor.

12. The promoter requires a return of 14%; depreciation rates for income-tax computation under a singleshift are 10% and 14% for building and equipment respectively. The income tax rate applied is 31%.

The estimated investments and financial projections are presented in Exhibits 1 to 3 in the annexure.Exhibit 1 enumerates the assumed investments in terms of a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner,Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment, surgical theatres and others. A summary of thetotal outlay and the means of financing is also presented therein. Exhibit 2 presents the computedamounts of depreciation under the Written Down Value (WDV) method for building and equipmentas well as the totals. Exhibit 3 bears the calculation of the requisite amount of Operating CashFlow (OCF), which will help the promoter to achieve financial break-even. Working backwards,the revenues corresponding to the calculated OCF are computed from which the amount of feesthat admitted students will need to bear are derived.

Conclusions and recommendations

The computations presented in the annexure, under the aforesaid set of assumptions, reveal thatthe burden of grindingly high fees will fall on the initial few batches of students, before stabilizingto about Rs. 8 lakhs per annum, by the eighth year, which compares with what private medicalcolleges are typically charging currently, for the MBBS degree.

Therefore, a possible solution is to start a nursing school alongside the medical college. The expectedsurplus from the nursing school will help to offset the substantial running expenses of the medicalcollege and would enable the promoter to mitigate the burden of high fees.

It is acknowledged in the medical profession that some IR hospitals have attained pre-eminenceby pioneering complicated surgeries in India and providing an environment to medical professionalsin which their skill development has made impressive strides. Therefore, the initiative of IR tolaunch medical colleges is commendable and should proceed full-steam ahead, given the acute paucityof medical professionals in India.

Other initiatives that could be considered in due course are the setting up of Catheterization Labsand establishing centres of excellence at different hospitals for surgery, neurology, ophthalmologyand others, instead of concentrating specialized care in each hospital. Such a move could helpobtain recognition/accreditation for the Diplomate of National Board qualification.

REFERENCES

Websites : http://www.natboard.edu.in/

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Exhibit 1: Outlay and Means of Financing

Equipments Rs. million1 CT Scan 202 MRI 303 10-bed Medical ICU* 104 Surgical ICU 105 Pediatric ICU 106 Surgical Theatres (a to e) 20 a. Gynecology b. Surgery c. Orthopedic d. Opthalmology e. Neurology7 Sonography and imaging equipment 15

115 (say,120)

Outlay Rs. mill Means ofFinancing Rs. mill

College Building 70 Promoter’s 310

Library 20 contribution

Hostels 50

Staff quarters 50

Equipment 120

310 310

* Intensive Care Unit

Exhibit 2: Computation ofdepreciation by the Written DownValue (WDV) method

Depreciation Schedule for buildings(Rs. million)

Year Open. WDV EndingBV* @10% BV

1 190 19 171

2 17.1 153.9

3 15.39 138.51

4 13.851 124.659

5 12.4659 112.1931

6 11.21931 100.9738

7 10.09738 90.87641

8 9.087641 81.78877

9 8.178877 73.60989

10 7.360989 66.2489

Depreciation schedule for equipments(Rs. million)

Year Open. WDV EndingBV* @14% BV

1 120 16.8 103.2

2 14.448 88.752

3 12.42528 76.326724 10.68574 65.64098

5 9.189737 56.45124

6 7.903174 48.54807

7 6.79673 41.75134

8 5.845187 35.90615

9 5.026861 30.87929

10 4.323101 26.55619

Total WDVdepreciation(Rs. million)

1. 35.8

2 31.548

3 27.81528

4 24.53674

5 21.65564

6 19.12248

7 16.89411

8 14.93283

9 13.20574

10 11.68409

* Opening Book Value

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Article


INFRASTRUCTURE PPPs - GUIDING

PRINCIPLES FOR THE PUBLIC MANAGERS

Dr. Kalpana Dube*

The field of study for the public sector manager in the area of Public Private Partnerships for

creation of infrastructure is growing at an exponential rate. While the issues involved for drawing

up of the PPP contract agreement between the public sector agency on the one hand and the

private sector partner on the other, are contentious enough, perhaps the more important principles

are often lost sight of in the effort of counting the trees while missing the woods.

This brief article highlights some of the important guiding principles which need adequate attention

while negotiating PPP agreements. The presupposition being that the spirit and ethos of the PPP

agreement, in the final analysis, must pass the litmus test of serving ( as its primary motive) the

public Interest while assuring ( as a complement), reasonable returns to the private partner.

The presence of these principles may not be tangible but their absence may impact the legitimacy

of the PPP agreement.

Over the last couple of years, the rate of unfolding of PPP projects in the infrastructure sector

in India has gathered speed like never before. Promises are being made by the Ministers in charge

of priority sectors, and dream project plans being unveiled for National Highways, Railways, Airports

and the like. Would this model succeed and give comfort to the Government and citizens alike,

is something which will take time to show up as a number of projects are still in the design

and inception stage.

For India the PPP road map is steadily unfolding and PPP guidelines and frameworks are still

fresh and some are as yet untested. PPP- as a panacea, for bridging the infrastructure gap in the

country has attracted cheerleaders and naysayers-almost in equal proportions. Critics argue that

PPP roadmaps being laid out are over ambitious and over optimistic about the results and outcomes

predicted. In any case, the PPP model as an alternative to the public procurement systems for

providing superior, quality infrastructure to the public is here to stay While the momentum builds

up for speedy execution of projects, it may be worthwhile to assess the situation and pay attention

to a few critical principles while undertaking these projects lest the PPP agreements spin out of

control and take an undesirable trajectory of their own.

Taken at its best face value, PPP is not a magic mantra which can provide immediate relief to

the harried citizens of this country-facing long commuting hours, traffic chaos, erratic water supply

and crumbling urban transport systems. More than infrastructure deficit, some argue it is more

a policy deficit which has kept decent infrastructure amenities out of reach for the citizens of India-

both rural and urban.

* Senior Professor, Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management, Lucknow

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Country’s infrastructure woes are far from over and the dismal scenario of the crumbling Indian

infrastructure brought out in the now much quoted Business Week article ‘The Trouble with

India”’ has not changed substantially from the time the article was published almost 3 years ago.

Speed of execution of infra projects is the need of the hour along with spending the infrastructure

funds wisely. While the government of India has stepped up the efforts to promote funding of

infrastructure projects through VGF (Viability Gap Funding) schemes, setting up of IIFCL (Indian

Infrastructure Finance Company Limited) and permitting 100% FDI in the core sectors, caution

needs to be exercised by the public managers while rolling out projects to be taken up for execution

by the private consortium of firms. Some of these areas where due diligence would be required

by the public managers are brought out here-

1. DOING RIGOROUS GROUNDWORK BEFORE BIDDING OUT A PROJECT;

Sometimes undue haste and the desire to speedily dole out PPP contracts has created a situation

which has either led to runaway profits for the concessionaire - or the contract performance yardsticks

are so ill-designed that poor execution and oversight is leading to poor results. These flaws are

seen in some PPP projects done at the State government level. In the Delhi Noida toll bridge

concession due to faulty contractual conditions the length of the agreement now stretches to 70

years as opposed to the envisaged original duration of 30 years! It must be remembered that the

pain of drawing up a rigorous project feasibility report and a detailed project report is truly worth

the effort as later on, many problems can be avoided at the contract signing stage. .In the absence

of a formal Regulatory Authority for oversight of such projects in certain sectors such as Railways

and even the nascent AERA (Airport Economic Regulatory Authority) for the aviation sector, this

issue assumes critical significance. Detailed outcomes have to be meticulously thought out and

incorporated in the agreement. Similarly, after the construction stage, regular monitoring of the

newly created asset and facilities have to be co-related to the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

The collapse of the now famous PPP project of London Metronet, though overzealously championed

by Gordon Brown, led to the Government guaranteeing 95% of the 3.8 billion pound loan of

the Metronet consortia of firms and subsequently after the collapse of consortium, the Government

had no choice but to settle the debt with the banks and pay off the liability .Poor contract management

skills have been pinpointed as one of the causes of the failure of this high profile infrastructure

project.

2. Wear the PPP Hat while initiating PPP projects

This is critical. It is important to unlearn the old way of doing government contracts and to don

the PPP hat while developing the project. The two are distinct and would require substantially

different treatment both at the inception and later on at the execution stage. Reading the model

documents for granting concessions, understanding different stakeholder’s perspectives, and

understanding the language of the commercial lender all require patient handling and insights into

the private and public processes. Public managers must learn to don public and private hats, at

the appropriate time. It is also advisable to get separate agencies to analyze and design the project,

another agency to evaluate and an effective contract administering agency so that issues are cross

examined objectively. California state has a very good tradition of hard nosed oversight agencies

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for public utility projects.

3. Public goods and services must translate into public benefit and convenience

This primary objective of doing public private partnerships must never be lost sight of. Remember

an easy thumb rule -public preceeds private in the term PPP. It is the entity which is first among

equals .Some of the PPP agreements in the labyrinthic processes of negotiation and financing often

lose sight of public benefits For e.g. in a toll road if the traffic projections exceed a particular

level then room has to be kept for a revenue sharing tariff arrangement or reducing the length

of the concession or graded reduction in tolls. Public managers should not hesitate to renegotiate

the contract if ground conditions deviate substantially from the contract conditions or where the

public interests are harmed. This would become the true test of the efficacy of PPP agreements

in the days to come. In a Bolivian Water supply concession agreement with a private firm, water

costs rose several times and poor families were unable to pay the increased water cess. The programme

was called off after violent protests by the consumers. In an example closer home, AERA (Airport

Economic Regularity Authority) is contemplating withdrawal of the UDF (User Development Fee)

one year ahead of schedule in view of the private consortium of DIAL (Delhi International Airport

Limited) managing to get higher commercial receipts for bidding out commercial space in the newly

created facilities for Phase One of the project as against a lower estimate provided for in the

agreement.

4. How Green is my PPP project?

Environment friendliness of major infrastructure projects must be tagged and analyzed during the

design and execution phase. How many trees felled, how many water bodies affected, whether

provision for rain water harvesting has been made -all these have to be inbuilt into the contract

and brownie points awarded for compliance. These ecofriendly initiatives must be engineered into

the agreement and duly flagged. A number of MCA’s (model concession agreement) currently in

operation have given negligible attention to this aspect.

TWO WATCHWORDS-TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY

Keep a clear intent and absolute transparency in your dealings with the private concessionaire

and expect the same from him with absolute resoluteness. Remember and re-remember that your

concessionaire is your partner in progress and not your rival .In areas which throw up conflict

of interests, try negotiations and consultations to the maximum extent possible but remember that

it is a Public project along with being a commercial venture. Optimising the two end goals would

require trust, understanding and transparency between the negotiating partners. Experience shows

that PPP projects failed elsewhere as they were flawed to begin with, as these vital components

were neglected during the process.

OUTPERFORMING THE CONCESSIONNAIRE THROUGH THE PUBLIC SECTOR

COMPARATOR ROUTE.

How about engineering a similar project within the Government domain and pushing it through

with the years of solid experience in building public infrastructure and giving economic value to

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PPP projects? Government must also continue to deliver good infrastructure projects which are

value for money (VfM).We need to build up our own India specific Public Sector Comparator

indices to evaluate and benchmark progress vis a vis PPP projects.

Incidentally, the Delhi Metro project was a state government initiative and is reflective of truly

world class infrastructure with transparency and speed of execution as its key hallmarks. Urban

Rail metros now coming up in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad in the PPP format would need to

benchmark their own execution and delivery skills and to match or even better the standards already

set by Delhi Metro.

SPEED IS IMPORTANT

Remember the mantra- Plan small, scale fast and out perform your own targets. Speed is important.

Results or outcome even more .Public satisfaction surveys hold the mirror to these accomplishments.

So plan and implement your project carefully, have regular oversight mechanisms and deliver early,

very visible results to the public. This will be the best advertisement profile for your dream PPP

project. Showcasing early success is important. In Chile, road concession programmes succeeded

because bidding started with smaller projects and the process was focused on transparency and

creating public awareness for toll roads.

GREY AREAS IN THE PPP AGREEMENT TO BE FILTERED OUT AND TACKLED

UPFRONT

In a Buenos Aeres Water PPP agreement, water rates which were to be reduced by 27% actually

rose by 20% adversely impacting the urban poor. Environmental concerns were thrown to the winds

and untreated water dumped into rivers. In another case in Budapest, although there was competitive

bidding, the company getting the bid was one which quoted maximum entry price and not the

lowest service price for the consumers. A number of PPP projects world wide have suffered because

the feasibility studies were done poorly, overestimating revenues and unrealistic traffic forecasts.

Willingness to pay by the public has to be studied carefully before incorporating user fee revenue

models into the Contract. An unusually high User Development Fee levied for Greenfield airports

of Bangalore and Hyderabad is still fresh in the minds of the people.

While each PPP contract follows its own course and throws up different issues in its learning

curve as the project unfolds, yet the principles described need to be given adequate attention by

the public managers. Though the tasks and the mindsets required to accomplish the PPP contract

agreements appear daunting yet we have to push ahead for tiding over the country” s infrastructure

woes and as the saying goes A country has to pay for its roads, whether it has them or not. It pays

more for the roads it does not have…… The dice has already been cast in favour of the PPP route

for creating basic infrastructure in the country and all that is required is a healthy mindset based

on sound principles to design and deliver these public projects.

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‘DEMOCRACY - A RESPONSE TO AND AN

EQUILIBRIUM POINT BETWEEN SOCIAL

OSSIFICATION AND ANARCHY’

‘Democracy is a device, the best so far invented for diminishing as much as possible the interferenceof governments with liberty.’

Kalyani Sethuraman

History tells us repeatedly that any kind of extreme position obtains a backlash that is the extremeat the other end of the spectrum! And so civilizations move from one end to another in an oscillationthat is never ending. Sometimes the movement is slow and rhythmic and at other times violentand sharp! Is this due to the capriciousness of the human race? Is it because of man’s thirst forchange? Alternately is it because no extreme position can afford satisfaction to the majority ofthe players involved? Possibly the last alternative is more true than the others even though onecannot wish away the caprice or the mischief that exists in men and the fickleness in their minds!This is true of social orders, political systems and even frivolous fashion!

We have only to momentarily reflect on the events of not so long ago-‘the French Revolution’,‘Imperialism’ or ‘the English Revolution’.

The French revolution was brought about because of the extreme position taken by the clergyand the nobility. It was not as though the people of France did not want a monarch; the revolutionhappened because of the repressive practices of and the corruption that surrounded the elite includingthe clergy. The revolution, which was a bloody war, overthrew the monarchy and brought in people’srule after a fashion. This was a period of anarchy and chaos, which was once again followedby monarchy as the people tired of the second extreme position. Imperialism, which was in fashionin the 18th century, gave way to wars of independence all over the world in the 19th and the20th century. Today with the linking of the world and the convergence of markets ‘new imperialism’is rearing its ugly head. Are we headed back-perhaps we are in a way, in a way full of subtletyand sophistry. The English revolution which resulted in the dethroning of Charles I and the victoryof Cromwell led to an assertion of Parliament only to once again lead to rule by the ‘king’ aftera period of unrest.

This is true of social orders too. The Women’s Liberation movement –a popular enough movementwhich developed as a severe reaction to the so called suppression of women by men has todaydied a quiet death. It no longer makes news today. If we were to consider the ‘non-brahmin,’movement headed by ‘Periyar’ in Tamilnadu- it was a reaction to the stifling caste system andBrahmin superiority. The movement led to a period of intense and focussed anti brahminism, whichalso saw the birth of the ‘dravida’ movement and the formation of the political Dravida Kazhagamparty. However we have not in either of these cases gone back to the old extreme. Perhaps wehave settled somewhere in between considering that Tamilnadu had a Brahmin chief ministerbelonging to the AIADMK!

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Similarly one could in a moment of frivolity reflect on this fact that even the movements offashion follow this back and forth motion.

Does all of this indicate that men are forever in search of a balance and equilibrium and wheneverthat happens the constant oscillation in search of stability ends?

Let us now consider the institution of democracy. Democracy is rule through people’sparticipation-where the will of the majority prevails either directly or indirectly through representativeselected for this purpose. There is some element of rule binding and some of autonomy in thissystem as it is one of mutual rights and duties. In other words democracy is a system whereinresidual autonomy and authority are married as it were through the instrument of the ‘vote’. Wewould also immediately notice in the light of what we have said before that democracy, as a systemof government is fairly stable. Our own country is one such example. Despite the numerous fissiparoustendencies in India democracy has survived for as long as 50 years. Much before this we havea history of monarchy and absolute rule, which resulted in continuous strife that helped in seizureof power by Colonial England –another extreme and repressive rule that culminated in the movementfor independence. So if we may then conclude that democracy is some kind of balancing pointor equilibrium position between two positions that are extreme in nature what are these?

It follows that one extreme position is that system where there is too much reverence for traditionand custom and hence there is absolute authority and hence repression of the subjects; the secondone is that wherein there obtains absolute freedom; there are no rules and no demands of responsibilityon the citizen- in short too much order or too much chaos. We have seen that history is indeedan endless oscillation between social ossification –as in –too much authority, and the categoryof anarchy. Sometimes when either by accident or design a moderate system that carries somefeatures of both systems is adopted then the endless back and forth movement dies out and anequilibrium position is attained. This position is occupied by the system of democracy.

Let us now trace the growth of democracy in the ancient city-state of Athens as a proof of thepostulate advocated above.

The Greek civilization was that crucible which generated great art, architecture, science andphilosophy. All of these were achieved surprisingly against a backdrop of war and conquest. TheGreek empire grew to vast dimensions and became a colossus straddling the world. In short theGreek civilization was one that changed the world in many different ways.

As early as in the 5th century B.C there happened in Athens a city-state in ancient Greece a citizen’srevolution. Possibly this was one of the very first movements of the people against the tyrannyof its rulers. As always the Greeks had to lead and show the way!

This is the story of how it happened:

Athens was a city dominated by the aristocracy who were the ruling class. The commoners livedin a state of serfdom under the rule of the aristocratic elite. The life expectancy of people wasas low as 15 years, there was no equality and life was nasty, brutish and short. GeographicallyGreece was the place for the growth of a great civilization as it was a fragmented inhospitablemountainous country of heterogeneous city-states that were hostile to each other. But Greece hadsomething else –a culture of celebrating heroism, power and authority. The Greek epics-the Iliadand the Odyssey that told the tale of the mythical heroes –Aeneas and Ulysses who achieved

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victory with the help of the Gods despite odds and numerous travails were valiant yet ethicalcharacters that were kept alive in the minds of people by traveling bards who traveled from placeto place. Pursuit of victory therefore became the Greek ideal. Inbuilt in this ideal was a reverencefor the Greek Gods.

It was against this backdrop that we must examine the rise of an aristocrat called Pisistratus. Hewas a member of the ruling elite who was at once clever, ambitious and opportunistic. He playedupon the reverence of the people for the Gods and marched into Athens with an exceptionallytall and goddess like woman whom he declared to be the patron goddess Athena of the city. Thisploy won him the acceptance of the people and he became the ruler of Athens. This was aninstance of how social ossification prevented the people from questioning the legitimacy of his

claim. But this king was an intelligent man who realized that to consolidate his rule he neededto be benevolent. Pisistratus recognized that the aim of the political head should be to make thelives of individuals as good as possible. Now what did ‘good’ mean? Good was not for all mento be alike. It was according to Pisistratus a share for all citizens in the prosperity of the country.And so the man introduced taxes and loans and offered people the opportunity to secure economicprosperity. It was in his time that the seeds of agrarianism were sown. Trade and commerce flourished.Shipbuilding became an important activity and led to the emergence of the city-state as a navalpower. It was at this time that Greek pottery (that came to be celebrated later on for its beautyand perfection and has been immortalized by the poet Keats in his ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’) whichwas confined to the common artisans, the lowest of the low developed a style, a freshness andbeauty. Pisistratus was thus a capable, intelligent tyrant who promoted the good of his people.His tyranny was not resented as the people had economic prosperity. History repeatedly provesthat people do not revolt if they are ensured reasonable economic comfort. Revolutions happenwhen the ruling elite does not grant even this minimum.

In the year before Cleisthenes was born the most influential man in the city had been Solonan unselfish and model aristocratic reformer who had become known as one of the seven wisemen of Greece. Solon had sought to limit the excessive powers of the nobility and restore Athensto a state of good order. To achieve this he had created a council of four hundred men whosewhose job was to represent the population as a whole and encouraged the people especially thearistocrats to be responsible for their city and not themselves. Solon’s ideas were far ahead oftime and people still had little real influence. Their main role was to act as supporters of theiraristocratic leaders. The delegation although symbolic, led to the sowing of the seeds of the spiritof participative governance. Pisistratus through his benevolent rule followed in the path shownby Solon. The concept of ‘ government or rule for the good of the people’ must therefore havebeen strengthened during his time.

Pisistratus was succeeded by his son Hippias who continued his father’s rule for a while. Howeverthe murder of his brother turned him into a bitter, cruel and suspicious tyrant. He turned againstthe people, stripped them of their freedom and focussed only on self-preservation. His cruel bloodyreign was destined to be short. Cleisthenes another aristocrat and a brother-in-law of Pisistratuswho had grown up to manhood under the benevolent rule of the latter assembled a conspiracyto overthrow Hippias. He succeeded and Hippias was driven out of the city. However Cleistheneswas soon challenged by Isagoras, another aristocrat. To muster support and win people over tohis side Cleisthenes promised the citizens a host of far reaching reforms as and when he came

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to power.

In the meantime Greek society was changing. The spirit of heroism that drove the aristocracywas permeating the commoners. The ancient Greek games of Olympia recognized the equality ofall men as the participation in the games was open to one and all and merit and excellence wereaccorded recognition over class. This spirit of equality began to slowly awaken in the minds andthe hearts of the people.

Cleisthenes was overthrown by Isagoras who seized power with help from Sparta who lent himher troops. He then proceeded to cast out all other aristocrats. However Isagoras was not a benevolentruler. He proceeded to disband the council of four hundred. The Council was only symbolic butwas perceived as a gesture intended to strip the people of their right to participate in governance.

The discontent that had been simmering in the citizens now reached explosive levels leadingto an extraordinary event. The people of Athens rose as one in revolt against the king and theSpartans who could not withstand their fury. This was an instance of how complete tyranny ledto revolt and anarchy. This was the first time the people had turned on their rulers-another instanceof how people turn against absolute rule only when it becomes impossibly repressive. Cleistheneswas sent for and asked to assume power. He as mentioned before had grown up under the benevolentrule of Pisisthretis and had seen how Athens had changed in economic power because of hispolicies. He had also seen how all the goodwill that the father had acquired because of his promotionof the good of the citizens had been squandered by the son is his obsession for self-preservation.Lastly he had seen the revolt of the people when they were continuously pushed to the wall.

Cleisthenes was alive to the need for carrying the citizens along with him. He recognized the necessityto secure the participation of the people. He introduced a system of participation in decision makingby the people. Thus was born democracy-the governance of those who were until then governedover. In his time the citizens would assemble in meeting place to decide by vote-a white pebblefor a ‘yes’ and a black for a ‘no’ on all issues including taxes and war. Thus governance beganbeing decided not by the sword but by vote. The system of ‘us’ and ‘them’ died and the systemof ‘we the citizens’ was born. The idea that one could be ordinary as opposed to aristocraticand yet be a hero gained credence. Thus there happened a transformation of the city-state ofAthens that would in days to come, foster and unleash the tremendous potentials within humansocieties.

The institution of democracy rests on two things as defined by Russell-property and power. Thesetwo things are of great importance to the happiness of man. Without property man has no freedom,no security for the necessities of a tolerable life. Similarly men must have a sufficient share ofpower to be able to exercise initiative as regards the course and conditions of their life and environment.The essence of good acceptable government is the use of force in accordance with law (vote)to secure certain ends, which the holders of power consider desirable. The Greek story is prooffor this theorem. Pisisthretis was tolerated even though his rule was absolute as he ensured economicgrowth for the citizens. He was tyrant but a benevolent one. His successors were selfish tyrantswho cared not for their subjects. As a result social ossification assumed humungous proportions

and the people rose in revolt. This was followed by a period of chaos and anarchy that

is at the other extreme. The introduction of participative democracy where the ruler was a chosenrepresentative and not an absolute ruler brought the oscillating pendulum of governance to rest

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Delhi division has continuously served the nation for the last 157 years and has played a vital

role in the overall development of the country and also for national integration. It is moving large

number of passengers and freight traffic. At present, it is running 296 mail express, 260 passengers

and 250 goods train per day. Revenue loading has improved to Rs. 4437.28 crore upto 10th March

2010 against 4023.28 crore in the corresponding period of last year i.e. an increase of 10.3 percent.

Revenue loading increased to 1.79 million tonne (MT) as compared to 1.52 million tonnes in the

corresponding month of last year, thus registering an increase of 17.7 percent.

Evolution of Delhi division

North western railway was partitioned along with partition of India in 1947. Delhi division was

in India and was grouped with Northern railway which came into existence on 14th April 1952;

it was inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Jawaharlal Nehru.

Five divisions were part of Pakistan Western railway. Delhi division was bifurcated into Delhi

and Ambala division on 1.7.1987. Khanalampura-Dhandari Kalan, Ambala Kalka, Shimla, Rajpura

Bhatinda, and Sirhind Nangaldam became part of Ambala division. The division was reorganized

on 1.4.2003 by excluding Rohtak-Bhiwani section and including Delhi Cantt-Khalispur and Tughlakabad-

Palwal section.

Delhi division was connected with the state and Darbar line Railways as under:

Junction with branch line

EXPLORING DELHI DIVISION: NORTHERN RAILWAY

V. S. Ghai*

Section Date of Opening

1. Rajpur-Bhatinda 01.11.1884

2. Delhi-Rewari 14.02.1873

3. Patiala-Bhatindra 13.10.1889

4. Delhi-Ambala–Kalka Rly. 01.03.1891

5. Delhi-Bhatinda 10.11.1897

6. Narwana-Kaithal 01.02.1899

7. Ludhiana-Duri Jakhal 10.04.1901

8. Suratgarh-Bhatinda 09.09.1902

9. Kalka-Shimla NG section 09.11.1903

10. Kurkhetra-Kaithal 01.12.1910

Section Date of Opening

11. Jind-Panipat 11.09.1913

12. Sirhind-Ropar 26.02.1928

13. Sadalpur RE Section 01.03.1941

14. Delhi-Ghaziabad 01.08.1864

15. Chola-Ghaziabad 01.08.1864

16. Gajrola-Ghaziabad 25.11.1900

17. Sahadra-Shamli 07.05.1907

18. Shamli-Saharanpur 15.10.1907

19. Meerut City-Ambala 01.01.1869

20. Ghaziabad-Moradabad 15.11.1904

21. Hapur-Meerutcity 1879

Growth of North Western Railway: 1855 onward

Sir Henry Edward Frere was appointed commissioner of Sind in 1847. In 1855, he recommended

* Senior Fellow, Asian Institute of Transport Development

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intermodal port at Karachi (Pakistan). The survey to extend the rail line from Karachi to Kotri

was started in 1858 and Multan to Amritsar in 1859. First railway line between Karachi city to

Kotri was opened for traffic on 13th May 1861.

The four companies under the name of Scinde Railway, Indus flotilla Company, Punjab Railway

and Delhi Railway were having separate entities. The Scinde Railway companies were entrusted

in 1863 with the task to extend the line upto Delhi. Subsequently, the Indus Flotilla Company

was closed on account of being unrenumerative and remaining three companies were amalgamated

into a Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Company.

In 1885, the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway were purchased by the Secretary of State for India.

On 1st January 1886, this line was integrated with other lines and North Western state Railway

was formed; it was later renamed as North Western Railway. While Delhi was divisional head quarter,

Lahor (Pakistan) became a zonal Head Quarter.

Strategic Importance of Railways

North western railway was constructed as a strategic rail link for military use and to control unrest

in Sind and Punjab. The strategic importance of these lines was recognized even by the major

General L.N. Soboleff of the Russian General Staff. Although this line was not built for commercial

reasons, yet in the beginning, it was financed out of funds for the ordinary Railway programme.

North Western Railway had to bear the cost of maintenance and working in addition to the interest

charged on capital.

Control in Britain

The Boards of Directors of the railway company were in Britain. They exercised a detailed control

over the railways. The ultimate control lay with the Secretary of State for India upto 1921 when

the Government of India Act 1919, came into force. In 1924, the Railway Budget was separated

from the General Budget under the separation convention.

Zonal Administrative System 01.01.1886

The administrative system in Railway was based on the practices in Britain where these were in

vogue since the start of railways. The head of Scinde-Punjab and Delhi company was designated

as Director, Head of each railway administration was designated as agent. However, on the

recommendation of Acworth Committee Report, the designation was changed to that of General

Manager.

Acworth Committee Report

Acworth committee was appointed in November 1920 under the chairmanship of Sir William Acworth.

It consisted of ten members including three Indians. The recommendations of the committee were comprehensive

and left a deep impression on railway policies. The main recommendations were as follows:

• The agent was made incharge of railway and all the departments i.e. traffic, engineering, mechanical,

carriage and wagon, and stores were under his control but under the overall controls of central

government.

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• Divisionalisation of zones; it was implemented on 1st October 1924.

• Creation of new departments of communication, personnel and accounts.

• Formation of an operating branch

• Separation of mechanical and carriage wagon department and operating and commercial branch

• Divisional superintended was to be more powerful and was directly responsible to the agent.

Delhi District 01.01.1886

North western railway was formed on 1.1.1886. It consisted of seven districts including Delhi

district. In the district, the head of each department was called district officer who was responsible

to agent, the chief at the head quarters. During World War I, the proposal for formation of a

separate commercial branch was considered. In 1903, a separate section known as Delhi area was

constituted and a senior post of Superintendent, Delhi area was sanctioned. In 1911 Delhi division

handled one hundred special trains from all over India, run in connection with the Delhi coronation

Darbar. Number of passengers carried during Darbar were 2,17,000.

Delhi Division: 1st October 1924

Acworth committee report recommended introduction of a divisional system. After detailed investigation

it was decided to introduce the divisional system on larger line. North-western railway, the largest

zonal railway and Delhi division the biggest division were the first to accept and implemented

the report and Delhi district became the full fledged Delhi division on 1st October 1924. The important

feature of the divisional system was the establishment of full fledged branch dealing with all personnel

matters. The divisional superintendent of administrative rank was appointed with wide powers;

he was under the direct control of the agent. In 1947, various railway system worked on regional,

divisional or district system. The divisional system was the preferred one, to provide a single point

unified control for all corporate functions. By 1969 all the railways were brought completely to

the Divisional System.

Administrative Buildings

The survey offices of north western railway were housed in Anarkali Tomb Lahore (Pakistan) in

1858. On the opening of the rail line to Multan in 1859, the offices of the agent and chief engineer

were shifted to the station building Lahore which was built at a cost of five lakhs and was like

a fort. Obviously, the underlying objective was that it could be easily defended in times of danger.

The first administrative offices of Delhi Division were situated at the present CAO (construction

office) building at Kashmere Gate. The heritage bungalow was constructed by William Frasher,

Deputy Resident of Delhi in 1803. It was also used as Royal Mugal Court. The British occupied

it in the early 19th century and utilized it as railway district office.

The foundation stone of present DRM office on Chelmsford Road was laid by Lady Russell on

17th March 1937. Agent Lt. Col. C.F. Carson and DRM Delhi AC Criffin attended the foundation

ceremony.

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Baroda House

Baroda house the zonal HQ of northern railway was constructed by Sir Sobha Singh a civil contractor

along with Viceroys House (now Rashtrapati Bhawan) North Block, South Block and Cannaught

Place in 1911 when Lord hardings the viceroy of India announced the plan to move the British

capital to Delhi from Kolkata and also to held the British Darbar for king George V and Queen

marry.

Passenger service in Punjab

The line was declared open on 1st March 1962. The regular one train passenger service was started

between Lahore (Pakistan) and Amritsar on 10th April 1862. From 1st May 1862, two trains operated

on a daily basis. The opening of the line coincided with Basakhi festival on 13th April 1862. During

the first ten days the two trains carried 3,000 passengers daily.

The fares were fixed at three rupees/two rupees and four annas for the first, second, and third

classes respectively and four annas. In August 1862, the third class fare was raised to 6 annas.

Fare and Passenger Amenities

North western railway pioneered the steam passenger railway. To start with, the railway had only

three classes I, II & III. The third class had wooden boards; there were neither benches nor toilet.

In course of time, wooden boards were replaced with benches. However, there were no lavatories

till 1891. The first and second classes coaches were of two and four berths compartment and

toilet. Later on inter class was added. The then base of fares are tabulated below:

Year I II Inter III

1882 15 9 - 3

1886 18 9 - 3

NWR 12 (I leg) 6(I leg) 4(I leg) 3(I leg)

15 (II leg) 8 (II leg) 5.4 (II leg) 2.25 (II leg)

The practice of charging telescope fares viz charging lesser fare as the distance increase was followed

by East Indian Railway. North western railway charged more with increase in distance. In 1917,

the fares were enhanced as a war measure to discourage passenger traffic. The fares were enhanced

subsequently on account of World War II. After independence, the fares were increased many times.

However, since 2004 onward, there has been no increase in the cares.

Relationship between main/express fare and the various classes

After independence, different types of coaches were added and fares were rationalized as indicated

below keeping relationship between the fares of second class mail/express as the base:

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Type of coach Multiplication factor

1. Sleeper class 1.55

2. AC chair car 3

3. AC 3 tier 4.5

4. 1st class 5.25

5. AC 2 tier 7.2

6. AC 1st class 14.4

Goods Traffic

The general classification of goods traffic was introduced from 1st July 1910. There were only

five classes in it with an additional class for explosives and dangerous goods. The rates were as

under:

Class Basic freight rate

Per mound per mile

1 0.333 pie

2 0.500 pie

3 0.666 pie

4 0.833 pie

5 1.000 pie

Explosive 1.5000 pie

As a result of the general rise in prices and the wages, following World War II, a surcharge was

levied on the basic freight rates. There was further imposition of surcharge by government of India

in 1917 and 1921. The classifications were later revised in 1922, raising the classes to ten. In

1936, the classes were increased to 16. After World War II the government again imposed surcharge

on increased rates to meet high operational cost of railways.

In 1981 the Railway decided to end piecemeal traffic and accept mostly train load. The tariff

was later revised from fiscal year 2004-05. The minimum weight conditions were also scrapped

and railway decided to charge according to the load wagon can carry.

In 2003-04, the freight structure of base class was rationalized. Anomalies were also removed

which resulted in marginal adjustment of freight and distance. The members of classes were reduced

from 59 to 32.

As on 1.4.2010, good sheds in Delhi area are at Sakurbasti, Adarsh Nagar, Delhi Kishanganj, Patel

Nagar, Tughlakabad and Ghaziabad, and container depots at Tughlakabad, Ballabhgarh, Garhi Harsaru,

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Patli, Noli, Payal, Samalka and Asoti.

The railway unions

A union called the north western railway association was formed on Delhi division in December

1919. Soon, another union known as North Western Subordinate Union came into existence. Both

these unions were merged on 1st February 1921. In 1924, another union was formed. All these

unions were having political affiliation. NFIR was associated with Indian national congress and

AIRF with communist party of India. At the time of independence, there were two unions on

Delhi division but from 2007 onward, each division will have only one union. The union with

the maximum number of members only will be given recognisation.

Task Ahead

Delhi division is presently having four coaching terminals and these are handling about six and

a half lakh passenger per day. The railway has been constantly improving the technology to meet

the rising traffic demand. There is over crowding at the platforms which is not an ideal situation.

To avoid stampede like situations, more coaching terminals and redevelopment of Anand Vihar

Railway Station as a world class station in under process.

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BAR-CODE BASED FILE TRACKING SYSTEM

H.K.Sahu, IRAS, Ramshray Pandey, IRSEHansraj Sharma,IRSE Renu Sharma, IRPSSanjay Bajpai, IRTS S.C.Chaudhry, IRSME

INTRODUCTION:

Indian Railway being a very vast organization is also unique in many other ways. There are about

14 to 15 departments within the basic set-up; be it at the Divisional level, HQ or even Board

level. All major activities including train operations, freight management, track maintenance,

HRD etc. are inter departmental. Within each department, there are different tiers/levels of management.

The distribution of works at ground level is independent to each employee as also connected

with the series of chain operations which take place vertically as well as horizontally.

All these activities get captured in some document or file. Thus, file becomes the central

tool of most of our operations, be it policy formulation or execution of the same in various

spheres. Whether it is an employee’s recruitment or his career progression, whether it is a procurement

of a loco or maintenance of a coach, the ubiquitous file becomes the mover and shaker

of activities within Railway and for that matter in any bureaucratic set up.

Looked from another angle, file is the common thread that runs through our Railway working.

And the file is perhaps the only object in a bureaucratic set up which has an unhindered entry

and exit across all boundaries. This characteristic of the file is both its strength and its weakness.

Just as it can move seamlessly from one desk to another, it too has the ability to remain stuck

on someone’s table or in a shelf till someone takes the effort to trace it out. It is mobile

but its mobility depends upon the person who seeks to move it. It contains the future of an employee

or his downfall, but all depends upon the speed and accuracy with which the file moves from

table to table. The file, thus is the ground on which the edifice of Government working is

set up or its demise is buried. The success

or failure of a working of an office, largely

depend upon how fast and accurately the

files move and are dealt with.

Unfortunately, even though files play such

crucial roles, especially the movement of

files from one table to another, its movement

has remained fossilized in the meanly peon

book or a file movement register. As a

result, the position of a file remains a

prisoner to a clerk’s register or a peon’s

efficiency. This leads to the inevitable

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confusion and chaos to trace a file resulting in loss of valuable time. This can affect an

employee’s future or a project’s success.

Hence there is a need to look at the ways and means to make file’s movements visible

and transparent to all those concerned with the file.

SYSTEM IN VOGUE:

Presently in a typical Railway System, files move from Section to Section or table to table without

the information about the movement being strictly recorded. Many files have a predictable movement.

Therefore, their movements are not captured in any records, more because of smug belief that

the movement is known and often in order to avoid the labour required to capture such movement.

Only when the file moves from one officer to another or from one department to another, it

is recorded either in a file movement register or in a ‘peon book’ while transferring it from

one department to another. Mostly, the stenos or P.A attached to an officer maintains a register

to record the entry or exit of a file.

Thus, vertical movement of files, normally does not get recorded on grounds of predictability

or simply due to hierarchical protocol attached to the files’ normal progression. Only when an

officer has a small office attached to him, does a file gets recorded. Otherwise, in case of Jr.Scale

and Sr. Scale officers, there is virtually no system of receipt and dispatch of files being

recorded. Thus, if a file gets lost or misplaced, the staff often have a convenient excuse

of having sent it to an officer’s chamber.

There are umpteen cases of files moving from one officer to another or from one officer to

a staff by hand, on account of urgency or due to sheer practice. Such cases often lead to

misplacement of files either knowingly or unknowingly.

Another menace of the existing system is the deliberate loss of files from the Record Room.

Normally, settlement files and Court Case files are kept in the Record Room. Whenever files

are required from the Record Room, normally an entry is made in the Register and files are handed

over. Many often such entry registers are either tempered with or are lost in order to ensure

that files gone out are not traced. For instance, during pay revision, most of the settlement

files and service records move from Accounts Record Room to Personnel Deptt. or other executive

departments dealing with revision of pay or pension. Such files are supposed to come back

to the Record Room after some time. However, sometimes interested employees make sure

that some of these files do not come back to the Record Room and then they file cases in

the Court of having not got some of their legitimate claims from the Railways. Often Railways

lose such Court cases and pay huge compensation/claims as they find it difficult to establish

the facts in the absence of service records.

Movement of Tender files also presently take place purely on the oral communication between

two or more officers. Mostly files are directly handed over to an officer without any acknowledgement.

At times the officer’s staff attached to his office acknowledge receipt of such files. But the fact

is there is no established procedure to track such important files.

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Customer grievance files often move from one department to another department, co-ordinated

by Commercial Department. Since the file ultimately finds fault with some department and seeks

remedial or/and deterrent actions, there is a tendency to get such files misplaced. This leads

to failure to resolve the customer grievance and bad publicity for Railway.

An objective analysis of present system of file movement would throw up many interesting

points and features.

i. There are Sections which mostly send files and receive less, such as Administration

Section, These Sections are the Originating Sections, where files are originated and goes out

and finally return to the Section completing the entire Cycle.

ii. There are Sections where files comes and equal no. of files goes out, such as Finance

Section of Accounts deptt or Adjudication Section of Personnel Deptt. These Sections

have the job of agreeing or disagreeing with the proposal or expenditure planned. These

Section, rarely originate any file. However, they have often the notorious reputation of

sitting over files, either on account of indecision or purely to kill the proposal.

iii. There are certain other Section such as Record Section, present almost in all departments,

where incoming of files are many times more than the files that go out of the Section.

These Sections are normally not in the limelight of day-to-day functioning. However,

they play crucial role during critical stages in times of crisis such as Court Case, Pay

Revision, Audit cases, Vigilance investigations, RTI applications etc. Since Record Room

do not play much role in day to day working, normally the records of incoming and outgoing

files are not maintained meticulously and often whatever is maintained remains susceptible

to manipulation and loss. Therefore, the need to ensure capturing the correct and accurate

information is all the more in the case of Record Rooms.

iv. There are files which move mostly from officers to officers such as Tender files or

Selection Proceeding files. Cases of Tender files getting lost may be rare but not unusual.

In such cases, the embarrassment to Railway would be huge besides the attendant complications.

In the case of Selection Proceeding files, the secrecy is exposed in case of loss or misplacement.

Therefore, there is a need to have a fool-proof system in respect of such high-profile

files with regard to their movement.

v. Another category of files which are rather unique in government offices is the Service

Records of employees or officers. These files capture the details of an employee’s service

since his entry into service till his retirement and this file is preserved permanently even

after the retirement of an employee. These files are dynamic in nature and they do not

come to an end or close like many other files. These files grow along with the employees

as they grow or fall in their career. However, these files move from office to office very

often. Though the Personnel Deptt. is the custodian of such files, it goes to the Branch

Officers of executive deptt. goes to Accounts and also move from one Unit to another

as the employee gets transferred. Unfortunately, these critical files too, do not get any special

attention in the existing system and their movements go through the same process of unreliable

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movement records as any other files. As a result, cases of reconstruction of files are rampant

in the system. It leads to lot of inconvenience for the department apart from causing

hardship to the employees concerned.

NEED FOR CHANGE:

As can be seen from the previous chapter, the financial repercussion of files getting delayed

or lost is huge. Therefore, there is a need to put in place a system in which file movements are

not only recorded, the records lead to generation of management information that could prevent

loss of such files and delays can be prevented. The existing system does not provide any

protection either against loss/ misplacement or delay. However, in the entire architecture of

government functioning, although this is the most crucial link, this is given the least importance.

It is one of those things which is taken for granted. It is considered a peripheral activity, best

left to the intelligence and willingness of stenos, PAs and peons, forgetting that all our initiatives

or decisions and hard works captured in the files are held hostage by the inefficiencies of

these staff. Metaphorically speaking, the best of projects of a govt. office which are executed

in the field are conceived and nurtured in the wombs of govt. files. If such important carriers

of govt. dreams are left unattended or unmonitored by the lowest rungs of bureaucracy, the

fate of such dream projects can only be doomed.

The coming into effect of RTI Act, has made the need for keeping track of files all the

more important. Most of the RTI applications are for information about action on cases

where the applicant uses the RTI Act as a tool to expedite cases. Since under RTI Act replies

are to be given within one month’s time, there is an urgent need to keep track of files

on a real time basis. As we all are aware, one month time is rather very short time for

reply in a vast bureaucratic set up, where information is available only in the relevant files,

if the position or location of files is not known, there is real danger of defaulting in replying

to RTI applications. Default in RTI cases has a direct financial penalty on the PIO concerned.

Thus, this new environment under RTI Act makes it all the more urgent to have a system

where in file position and location can be ascertained on a real time basis.

Therefore, there is a need for ushering in a change in the existing system of file monitoring.

PROPOSED NEW SYSTEM

The new System proposed for replacing the existing manual system of file movement is based

on bar-code based computer application. The proposed system would rely on the latest and increasingly

popular technological tool called bar-coding, to capture all the details of a file and then trace

its movement by capturing any subsequent changes in its status and position.

It is a simple to use technology, easy to adopt and easy to implement.

Bar-coding as a concept is now being used widely in commercial and official establishments

where details of an object- be it a file or an equipment or a commodity or any other material,

is captured through Bar-coding and then subsequently identified through a Bar-code reader

in order to make changes or updating any of the features of the ‘object’ in any subsequent

development. Bar-coding is helps in handling large no. of ‘objects’ with ease and accuracy.

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It is a big hit in retail sectors where rates, specifications, volume etc. of a commodity are

captured in a bar-code and then can be easily read when it is sold or ejected out in the system.

The concept makes it eminently suitable for use in capturing all details of a file when it

is originated and then update its further movement or changes by first reading the details

through a bar-code reader and then simply inputting the changes.

It would be appropriate to elaborate the barcode technology a little more here to make the concept

more clear.

A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows certain data on

certain products. Bar coded data is represented in parallel lines. They also come in patterns of

squares, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns. Barcodes are read by optical scanners called

barcode readers, or scanned from an image by special software.

TECHNICAL INTRODUCTION TO CODING PROCEDURE:

The use of barcode technology in an industrial setting can be traced back as far as the 1960s,

with some early implementations to identify railroad cars. Common barcodes began appearing

on grocery store shelves in the early 1970s as the UPC code to automate the process of

identifying grocery items. Today, barcodes are just about everywhere and are used for

identification in almost all areas of business. When barcodes are implemented in business processes,

procedures can be automated to reduce human error and increase productivity. Bar-coding should

be considered whenever there is a need to accurately identify or track something.

The convenience and ease of bar-coding for identifying an object along with a host of

its characteristics makes is an effective tool for developing the File Tracking System. Normally

in a database application such as salary payment, PF maintenance etc. unique no. is given

to an employee and all information relating to the employee is kept around that unique no.

In such a system, the employees progress in salary or PF accumulation can be updated by

linking all new developments to the unique no. However, in the case of an object like

a file, similar to a grocery item, the progress of the item takes place physically, i.e. a file moves

from one desk to another, just as a grocery moves from shelf to the customer. In such a case

every time the object changes if a unique no has to be keyed in in order to capture the

details, not only it would be cumbersome, it would be time consuming as well. For such cases,

where changes occurs in the physical position of an object, bar-coding application is the most

effective. Here the bar-code reader reads instantaneously all details about the object as captured

earlier in the bar-code and brings it on the screen for the user to key in only the latest change.

This makes it fast, easier and convenient.

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The requirements for implementation is few.

i. Computers in a networking environment.

ii. Database software like Oracle, SQL Server etc.

iii. Bar-code printers

iv. Bar-code readers

v. An appropriate application program developed to capture the details of a file and offices

and other details associated with the file.

The advantages of the application are many.

i. Movement of files would be captured when it leaves a table, a section or an officer’s chamber.

This would eliminate the maintenance of registers or peon book.

ii. The MIS menu or Report menu of the software would enable to locate exactly where

the file presently is.

iii. The MIS/ Report menu would give an idea of the average time taken for clearance of

a file in certain cases such as a finance proposal or a briefing note vetting, or a Works

Programme file processing etc.

iv. Records rooms would greatly benefit from the bar-coding of the files that go in or

go out. Supposing personal files are taken by Personnel Deptt. for pay revision and pension

revision of retirement cases after 1.1.2006, it would be possible how many files have been

taken and when. When files are returned, we would be able to know how many revision cases

have been completed and how many are pending or outstanding.

v. Based on the movement records of these files gone from Record Room, it would be possible

to tell how many are pending with Accounts Deptt. How many are pending with Staff

Section and how many are pending with Pension Section of Personnel Deptt. for revision

of pension.

vi. The MIS/ Report menu would also be helpful greatly in important files such as Tender

files, Court cases.

vii. For Engineering Deptt. Measurement Books are very important in all tender/contract cases.

However, these Books move from IOW or PWI office to AEN office and then DEN

office. These Books also periodically goes to Accounts Deptt. for verification. Therefore,

once it moves after being bar-coded, its present position and the position of all Measurement

Books in circulation would be instantly known.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY:

The implementation strategy involves

i. Identifying the office where it would be taken up as a pilot project to develop an

appropriate application that would be meeting all the requirements of deriving maximum

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benefits from the application.

ii. Identifying the points where bar-coding would be done and bar-codes printed out and

pasted on the files. Not all points need to have bar-code printers. All points, however, would

have bar code readers. A few important offices/sections and officers’ attached section/

secretariat should have bar-code printer to print bar codes strips on the files. At all other

places only bar-code readers would be given to update the position of the files when they

receive or send out files. However, if any file is initiated in such sections, they can go

to the nearest point with bar-code printer to generate the bar code strip for their new

file and fix the same.

iii. The implementation should be a two-pronged strategy. The first would involve launching

the programme with files on hand without waiting for all the old files in circulation to

be bar-coded. This strategy presumes that in due course all files in circulation would

at some point or other come in contact with the system and get recorded.

iv. The other strategy is to capture all existing files in the system and then go live on the

system at a particular day. This strategy would involve completing the capturing the details

of all existing files as expeditiously as possible either through departmental staff or through

out-sourcing and then

switch over to the system.

v. Hands-on training would be

given to the staff for one

day to familiarize them with

the method of working on

the programme.

vi. An AMC for the software

would be put in place for

ensuring that the software

remains in tact and any

modifications arising out of

users-feedback are also

incorporated. For instance

auto generating reminders

to section/officers where a

file is stuck for more than

two working weeks would be

great rel ief to offices

hassled by the unusual

delays occurring in a few

sections or a few officers.

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PROGRAM DESIGN

The design of the program would be made user-friendly and menu driven. When the file

is created for the first time, or an existing file is bar-coded for the first time, some of the

important features or data relating to the file would be captured. These features/ parameters

would be mainly as under

To facilitate easy data entry, many of the menu would have drop-down menu based on Masters

created before hand, such as Designation of the officer. Once Designation is given, the official

CUG Mobile No. Rly phone no. and email address would get entered automatically from the Master

database. Name of the Section would also be picked up from drop-down menu in order to

avoid mistakes in spelling leading to confusion. Thus, once an exhaustive Master database

is created data entry would be very easy and only a few data would be entered, rest would

be picked up from drop down menu. After completing the data entry, once the data is saved,

bar code no. is generated automatically and then the bar code print out can be taken out and

pasted on the file.

When the file reaches a new office, the bar code is read by the bar code reader and instantly

the details of the file is flashed on the screen with few more boxes appearing to capture

the new office where the file has reached. It may be the same deptt. or another deptt. once

same deptt. is picked up, the section or officer to whom the file has reached would have to

be captured. Here too the many details of the new office or section can be captured from

existing Master database. This would continue as the file goes from one desk to another.

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The menu of the software for the

bar-code program would have the

following few items to guide the users.

Similarly, a file generated on 23.12.2009 and closed on 28.01.2010 would look like the snapshot

of a menu as given below:

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A Section or an officer, in the system known as a particular user can know all the files that

he had dealt with at any point of time. The position can be seen on the screen as under.

An user can also search the files he had dealt with by using filters such as Department or

dates or combinations of a few such parameters in order to quickly find out the position of

a file that had come to him.

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COST SAVINGS

The cost savings would be both explicit and implicit. The no. of clerk hours that would

be saved can be utilized productively for other works. Though elaborate computing of the

value of the savings has not been worked out, the savings are very clear to any discerning

eye. More than financial savings, the paradigm shift that it would lead would be both immense

and it can trigger further computerization. RFID tags would be the next possible frontier of

computerization in this sphere. Bar-coding would lead to this inevitable change in due course

and the staff already acclimatized with this process would be able to adopt to RFID technology

faster and better.

OTHER BENEFITS

Bar-coding of files would lead to

i. More transparency in the system as the position/location of all files of an office being available

at the click of the mouse.

ii. Faster movement of files from one section to another, from one office to another.

iii. Eliminate all the present ills arising out of lack of information about where the files

are.

iv. Identifying offices where delays in file movement is taking place, which would help administrative

action to deal with the problem

FUTURE PROSPECTS:

The successful implementation of the file tracking system can slowly be expanded to tracking

letters, documents and other papers right from the stage of being received. It would lead to

eliminating large no. of manual work of repetitive nature- all file details are entered again

and again at every receiving clerk’s table every time a file reaches or leaves.

To sum up, file, which is the most ubiquitous object in officialdom would find a digital

course in the corridors of power leading to speed, transparency and efficiency in all spheres.

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DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES THROUGH

TRAININGSmt Yatri Dave Vitekar Dy.CPO/HRD/WR

Shri S.K. Jain Dy.CSTE/C/NRShri A.K.Srivastav Material Controller/DLW

Shri B.T.Lalge SMM/WRShri S.K. Maharana DME/CKP/SER

Shri T.G. Ramesh SEE/RWF/SBC

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this project is to develop employees through training.

In this project we have developed a Training module on customer service — FROM CUSTOMER

SERVICE TO CUSTOMER FOCUS

This training module will consist of:—

1. Actual training Power point presentation

2. Trainer’s Guide

3. Schedule of training

4. Case study

The Focus groups of this training module are the service providers dealing with internal and external

customers.

Examples of those providing customer services to Internal customers would be – accounts, personnel

and almost all dept’ in different situations such as stores in case of material procurement, electrical

and civil engineering in case of repair of railway quarters.

Examples of those providing customer services to External customers are obvious eg – Ticket

Checking staff, station managers, enquiry and booking clerks etc

The Objective of this training module is to understand

1. Importance of customer service

2. Types and strategies of customer service

3. What is quality customer service

4. Action plan to achieve quality customer service

Among the most famous theories of management about what drives employees is Mc Douglas’

Theory X and theory Y. These are Self full filling theories. Thus if the employee is treated as

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per theory X ie he is believed to be lazy, lacking in initiative, interest or any desire for self development,

the employee actually starts to behave in that fashion. Similarly, when theory Y is applied that

employee actually likes to work and is interested and capable of performing to the best of his

capabilities, again the employee starts to play that role.

In Railways, Theory X characterized by DAR, general lack of trust, fear psychosis etc. appears

to be predominant. Theory Y is limited to awards, verbal appreciation, and personal recognition

without any monetary or other benefit.

The result of all this is that there is hardly any Human Resource Development in railways. However,

Human Resource is not only the most critical but also most expensive resource. In fact, 55%

of our expenditure is on wage bill. Therefore, it becomes critical to utilize our human resources

optimally. As Field Marshall Manek Shaw has said, “it is not the machine, but the men behind

the machines, who run the show” .

And to develop the human resources, training is a very significant input that is needed.

However, ADULT LEARNING is very different from school learning as it has its own unique

characteristics such as:-

� Liquid and crystallized intelligence

� Memory constraints

� Different kind of motivation

Moreover, adult learning is Self-directed learning. Self-directed

learning exists in every person in learning situation and does not take place in isolation. Also,

Self-directed learners appear able to transfer learning to another situation.

Adult learning involves various activities viz self-guided reading, internship, reflective writing, case

studies and of course extensive discussion.

Keeping the above points in mind, the training module on customer service has been developed.

The module also includes clear instructions for the trainer to deliver training effectively.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service is much in focus as the railways as an organisation emphasises its role as an

excellent service provider. Moreover, with the liberalisation of economy and globalisation, the

expectations of customers are also undergoing a vast change.

Within the railways too, there is increasing thrust on improving customer service as this is the

factor that determines how the organization is viewed. Thus, even if the safety record and punctuality

record is good; poor customer service can mar the entire image building exercise.

Internally also, the customer service given to internal customer leaves much to be desired. The

service provider dept’ like accounts and personnel are often perceived as lacking in sensitivity,

concern, knowledge, courtesy etc.

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This module of training is designed for both the above type of service providers. Thus, it is as

much relevant to the Ticket Checker dealing with the passengers as it is to the Section Officer/

Office Superintendent of the accounts or Personnel dept.

The role of employees across departments is that of service providers to each other. And how

this service is delivered determines the synergy in the organization as a whole. Thus it has become

imperative to understand and improve CUSTOMER SERVICE

With the training module given below, we wish to achieve the following Objectives:-

To develop a clear understanding of :-

1. Importance of customer service

2. Types and strategies of customer service

3. What is quality customer service

4. Action plan to achieve quality customer service

Expectations from customer service are at an all time high in today’s era. Thus when we go

to a Restaurant, we expect more than a meal. When we book a Hotel, we want more than a

room. Why? Because, increasingly, customers want more than a service or a product, — he/ she

wants to be treated well. Now, they also want an experience.

Unless there is clarity in the employee’s mind regarding his role as the provider of a service, either

to the external or to the internal customer, it is almost impossible to impress upon him/ her the

importance of customer service.

There are broadly two types of customer service

1) PROCEDURAL

2) PERSONAL

While, procedural is the mechanical type of customer service, personal customer service emphasizes

on the personal touch.

As per modern theories, there are basically 4 approaches to customer service:-

1. Freezer– we don’t care

In this approach, customer service is marked by an out and out cold response with nil sensitivity.

2. Factory approach

In the factory approach, procedure is supreme. Its like the service provider is emphasizing

to the customer that he/she is just a number for him.

3. Friendly zoo

In this approach, the behavior is friendly/warm, but due to unclear instructions and role definition/

training, the customer is left with very unclear directions

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4. Quality customer service

This is the best, most scientific and effective customer service approach. Its moto is – we

care and we deliver. The service provider is well trained and possesses excellent knowledge

about the organisation and his role.

The effect that the service provider has on his/her customers is profound, whether it is Positive

or Negative. Research has shown that it takes 12 positive experiences to compensate/make

up for a bad one.

There are two broad strategies of customer service:-

1. Verbal

In customer service, it is imperative to Communicate positively, with NO negative communication.

The 6 c of communication must be followed i.e. – clear, concise, correct, complete, concrete, courteous

2. NON-verbal

A lot in the service is left unsaid in the form of non verbal cues such as:-

Ø Tone of voice

Ø Attentiveness

Ø Sensitivity

Ø Knowledge

Ø Tact

Ø guidance

An effective Customer service personnel will have complete and updated knowledge about :-

1. Organization

2. Product/ service

3. Customer’s needs, concerns and even the client’s personality

A QUALITY CUTOMER SERVICE will have the characteristics of Reliability, Assurance, Tangible

and Empathy.

In CONCLUSION, while thinking about CUSTOMER SERVICE, there is a need to pose the following

questions:-

� Does our role define us?

� Is our role because of us or are we because of it…?

There should not be any Chicken and egg kind of analogy here about whether primacy is to be given

to the individual or his/her role. The organisation culture must encourage role clarity and definition.

There is no end to improvement when it comes to customer service, but a clear goal and clear

benchmarking will go a long way to ensure that customer service takes the organisation to its

ultimate goal of customer loyalty, intimacy and bliss.

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1. Introduction

In order to appreciate the context, we will have a look at the coach maintenance infrastructure of

Northern Railway, for which details have been collected. Other railways are having similar infrastructure.

The proposed MIS can, therefore, be used on any Railway and on all-Indian Railways as well.

1.1 Maintenance Infrastructure

Northern Railway (NR) is having a fleet of 4432 coaches with 731 AC, 3426 non-AC and 275

OCVs (Other coaching Vehicles such as Parcel Vans). The coaches are organised in the form of

rakes and are based for their primary maintenance at nominated coaching depots. N.Rly. has 3-

6 Coaching depots on each of the five divisions – DLI, FZR, LKO, MB and UMB.

Details of the number of rakes based in each of the Coaching depots and the corresponding bare

requirement of coaches, both air brake and vacuum brake, is given in the Rake link booklet issued

by the Operating department on the Railway. Also, the coaches being of different types such as

AC1st, AC2nd, AC 3Tier, Sleeper, General Second, Luggage Vans and Generator cars etc., the bare

requirement and the spares requirement has to be maintained category wise.

Besides primary maintenance given after every round trip, the coaching depots undertake the ‘A’

schedule at a monthly interval, ‘B’ schedule after 3 months and ‘C’ schedule (after 6 months)

for non-Rajdhani coaches. Rajdhani coaches, instead of ‘C’ schedule, are given Intermediate Overhaul

or IOH after 9 months or 2,00,000 kms, whichever is earlier.

The coaches are given Periodic Overhaul or POH at the nominated workshops i.e. Jagadhari Workshop

(JUDW) and C&W Workshop, Alambagh, Lucknow (AMV). While non-Rajdhani coaches are given

POH after 12 months, Rajdhani coaches are given POH after 18 months or 4,00,000 kms, whichever

is earlier. The POH targets for the two workshops are as under:-

S.No. Workshop Target (no. of coaches per month)

AC Non-AC Total

1. JUDW 17 118 135

2. AMV(M) 22 108 130

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FOR COACH MAINTENANCE

ON INDIAN RAILWAYSAli Imam Dy.CWM/Hubli W/shop, SWR

Anil Vij Dy.CME/Chg./NR

Sukhbir Singh Sr.DPO, IZN, NER

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In order to ensure the availability of coaches as per the traffic requirements, certain ineffective

percentages are prescribed. These are as under: -

� Divisions 2.6%.

� For Workshops (on way) 1.0%.

� In Workshops (undergoing POH) 6.7%.

Total 10.3%.

The prescribed ineffective percentage for the AC and non-AC coaches is 12.0% and 10.0% respectively.

1.2 Infrastructure for material supply

There are about 3000 items required for maintenance of coaches in the Open Line/workshops.

The divisions and the workshops draw the stock items from the nominated Stores Depots – Jagadhari/

Alambagh for coach specific items and Shakurbasti depot for general purpose items.

Each of the divisions has fixed AACs for all the items based on their experience and past trends

and draw the material accordingly.

1.3 Training infrastructure

For giving regular (refresher) training to the technical staff (Group ‘C’ as well as ‘D’), N.Rly. has

one training school in each of the 5 divisions as per the following details. The period of training

is 2 weeks to be given after every three years.

S.No. Division Location of C&W

Training school

1. DLI GZB

2. FZR ASR

3. MB MB

4. LKO LKO

5. UMB UMB

The supervisors are given refresher training after every three years for a period of three weeks

at the Systems Training School at Charbagh, Lucknow.

2. Present coach management system

In order to devise an MIS for coach maintenance, it is essential to understand the present coach

management system including the documentation and the management reports generated.

Railways follow a very elaborate system of record keeping of the maintenance activities at the Coaching

depot as well as the Workshop level. A number of management reports are also generated for

performance monitoring and for decision-making at the Divisional/Hqrs. Level. These are discussed

below.

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2.1 Coaching Depot

At the Coaching Depot, the important documents maintained are as under:-

� Coach history-cum-Job card

This is a very important document maintained at the Depot level and gives details of the

built date, class of coach, record of schedules and details of the major components changed

etc. It also gives the details of the rake in which the coach has been running and the DVS

status (sick marking) of the coach. The formats for the record are enclosed as Annexure -

1.

� Daily diary

This gives the details of the maintenance work carried out on the washing lines. The employee

wise distribution of work and the time from which each rake was maintained are recorded.

The formats for the record are enclosed as Annexure - 2.

� Daily Deficiency Register (DDR)

The DDR is a record of the repairs carried out in each of the coaches during maintenance

such as the mechanical work, carpentry work, trimming work, pipe work, painting work etc.

The formats for the record are enclosed as Annexure - 3.

� Other records pertaining to maintenance of coaches

Besides, a number of records pertaining to maintenance work carried out in the washing line/

sick line are maintained. These include records pertaining to Air/vacuum brake testing, pest

control treatment etc. The accompanying TXR in the Rajdani/Shatabdi trains also keep records

of the passenger amenity fittings besides the observations in respect of presence of cockroaches/

rodents in coaches etc.

� Coach availability position

Records pertaining to availability of coaches are the daily availability of coaches including

fit stock, coaches in workshops and DVS on Mech/Elec. account etc. Kilometre position for

individual coaches is also maintained for determining arising of POH/IOH on km basis. The

individual numbers of coaches running in the various rakes are also maintained so that N.Rly.

based coaches getting detached in foreign Railways can be traced out.

� Manpower position and training records

The coaching depots also keep records of the sanctioned strength and the on-roll position

for different categories of staff. Details of the training given to staff/supervisor are also recorded.

� Materials related records

The coaching depot keeps records of the material received from the attached Stores depots

and of the issues on a daily basis. The records are kept manually in the form of registers.

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2.2 Workshop

In the workshop also, coach wise records are maintained pertaining to the maintenance work carried

out during POH. This includes routine maintenance jobs, major repairs such as corrosion repairs,

improvements carried out as also the items fitted on trial. Some illustrative examples are forms

448A to 448F and NS 1023 for the repairs carried out to the body and in form NS 975 for the

activities carried out on the bogie. For the drawing and buffing gear, records are maintained in

form NS1026.

Materials are also categorised as high value/safety/passenger amenity/must change items. These

categories are monitored very closely. Representative lists of the above categories along with their

current prices (based on details obtained from Lower Parel workshop, W.Rly.) may be perused

at Annexures – 4 to 7.

Besides, the workshop maintains data in respect of the human resources. These are in the form

of Service sheet and personal folder of all the staff. This also contains the educational qualification

of the staff and the details of the trainings undergone by them.

2.3 Reports at the Divisional/Headquarters level

At the Divisional/Headquarters level, a number of daily reports are generated based on the information

received from the Divisions/workshops. These are as under: -

� Daily punctuality position giving details of loss of punctuality cases both direct and indirect

on C&W account.

� Ineffective percentage of coaches – open line/workshop account.

� Daily coaching position including coaches in workshops and DVS/DVP/DVN etc.

� Cause wise details of coaches detached during primary maintenance.

� Detachment of coaches during secondary attention.

� Coaches detached within 100 days of POH.

3. Problems with the present system

3.1 Data available but not information

Presently, all the records are kept manually and there is no aggregation and analysis of the records

so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn. Hence, lot of data is available but not converted

to information (though some of the records may be kept on the computers).

For instance, in the coaching depots, a large amount of failure related data is being maintained

but it is not analysed properly as a result of which no concerted action is possible to identify

the causes and take corrective action so as to reduce the incidence of failures.

3.2 Lack of data sharing between the open line and the workshops

Both the open line and the workshops generate a large volume of data that is maintained manually

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and processing of this data is very cumbersome in the absence of computerization. This also acts

as a constraint in sharing of the data between the divisions and the workshop as a result of which

proper feedback is not available to the workshop for taking corrective action and reliability, therefore,

suffers.

3.3 Inaccurate assessment of AACs of components

The present system (discussed in para 2.1 above) has certain inherent lacunae. The calculation

of AAC suffers from a lot of subjectivity in the absence of reliable information. Also, because

of the unwieldy nature of the data, the executive does not have sufficient time to be able to

go into the calculation of the AAC. This is evident from the frequent stockouts/excess inventories.

3.4 Absence of monitoring mechanism for material consumption

In Coaching depots, presently, there is no real time monitoring of the availability position in the

coaching depot vis-à-vis the requirement and recoupment of materials is generally done on a monthly

basis. This results in advance warning signals not being available to the management resulting in

critical components not being available giving rise to passenger complaints and affecting reliability.

Similarly, on the workshop side, material consumption is not monitored closely. Since, material

costs account for 45% of the total cost of POH of a coach, it is essential that material consumption,

particularly for the high value items, be monitored, if the POH cost is to be reduced. In the

present system, overstocking / understocking takes place resulting in problems of excess inventory

/ stockout. Both the situations are not desirable as excess inventory will lead to higher cost of

maintenance while stockout will lead to poor reliability/passenger complaints.

3.5 Non-availability of vendor wise performance analysis

Presently, there is no reliable system for maintaining vendor wise performance for even the critical

and safety items. As a result, during the tendering process, it becomes difficult to place orders

as per the past performance of the firms. For instance, if a vendor is known to have supplied

bad quality material in the past, it is often difficult to pass over its offer in the absence of any

documentary evidence. This contributes to poor reliability.

3.6 Lack of planning support for scheduled maintenance

In the present system, the planning for scheduled maintenance is on an ad hoc basis and more

on the judgement of the individual officials in the depots. Further, there is no coordination among

the officers of the various divisions due to which sometimes there is bunching of the coaches

in the workshops while at other times, workshops starve for load. The present system is not responsive

enough to orders for starting/stopping of coach feed to the workshops and there is always a possibility

of overfeed/underfeed to shops.

3.7 Non-availability of reliable database for planning training needs

At present, the depots simply record the details of the training given to the staff/supervisors at

Project Report


the various training centres. There is no effort to find out whether all the staff have undergone

the prescribed training or not. There is also no system of identifying the areas in which training

is required to be given.

4. Proposed System

The system proposed is a comprehensive computers-based Management Information System (MIS)

for coach maintenance.

In phase 1 (proposed for implementation immediately), the system shall consist of stand-alone software

programs for the Coaching depots, workshops and Divisional/Zonal Hqrs. The software will have

a number of modules specific to the requirement of these units.

While it is not proposed to give an exhaustive list of the proposed modules, certain basic modules

are discussed. These are modules on reliability, maintenance scheduling, material control, vendor

performance, training etc. The proposed modules shall be simple programs based on an RDBMS

platform such as MS Access. The system is proposed to be developed in a modular form so that

additional modules can be added as and when the need arises.

MS Access has been proposed for adoption as it provides convenient user-friendly GUI (Graphical

User Interface) based interface for data input through forms. It also facilitates generation of Reports

and Queries for the appreciation of the management. The Report generation feature facilitates regular

reports while Queries feature caters for analysis of an ad hoc nature.

The software can be developed departmentally or outsourced. The inputs to the MIS shall be at

the Coaching depot end as well as at the Workshops’ end. In the initial phase, the exchange of

information between the Coaching depots, Workshops, Divisional/Zonal Hqrs. offices can be through

e-mail over the railnet/internet.

In the second phase (proposed for implementation at a later stage), it is envisaged that the individual

computers at the Coaching Depot/Workshop/Divisional/Zonal Hqrs. offices shall be networked

over a Wide Area Network (WAN) through railnet/other channels of communication. Terminals

could then be provided to the Production Units, ICF, Chennai and RCF, Kapurthala and also to

RDSO and Railway Board. All users shall then be able to access the system through the centrally

maintained coaching depot maintenance website. In fact, the system could take the shape of an

Enterprise Information Portal.

Keeping in view the criteria of quick implementability, in this report, we shall be focussing on

the phase 1 of the proposed MIS reserving discussions on phase 2 in the section on Future Possibilities.

4.1 Modules for the proposed MIS

The details of the modules planned under the proposed MIS (phase 1) are as under:-

4.1.1 Module on reliability.

Reliability of coaches is mainly determined by two factors:-

� Quality of workmanship in Coaching depots and Workshops.

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� Quality of materials – trade/shop manufactured.

The inputs for the reliability module shall be the various statements which are prepared even

today such as the detachments of coaches within 100 days of POH, detachments during secondary

maintenance etc.

However, with the proposed system, a large number of regular as well as adhoc reports van

be generated which will enable deeper analysis and corrective action to be taken. Some examples

are as under:-

� Overall month wise figures for detachments – This will help in identifying the overall trend

whether the detachments are increasing or decreasing.

� Cause wise break up of detachments – This will help in identifying the main reasons for

detachment of coaches and also study the trend over the months as also a comparison with

the performance in the previous years. The key areas for improvement can then be identified

and corrective action initiated. This analysis will also help identify the main workshops/coaching

depots which are featuring more often for a particular type of defect.

� Supervisor / Artisan wise analysis

The input data for the maintenance work carried out shall also include the name of the supervisor

/ artisan who did the specific job. This will facilitate identification of supervisor / artisan

who are repeatedly figuring in the failures due to bad workmanship. Correlating this with the

training record (part of the manpower module discussed subsequently) will enable identification

of training needs of the identified staff as also updating of the training inputs. This will

also provide necessary inputs for a proper managerial control system incorporating appropriate

motivational mechanism as well as performance appraisal system.

The module on reliability shall also make the system amenable to the use of techniques such

as SQC and Benchmarking, which would go a long way in improving the quality of coach

maintenance.

� Use of Statistical Quality Control (SQC) techniques

Compilation of various data such as monthwise failures, output of critical machines etc. will

facilitate use of Statistical Quality Control (SQC) tools such as Control Charts, Fish bone

diagram, Pareto analysis etc. This will help in determining whether the processes are under

control and also help in cause-effect analysis, major failure contributors etc.

� Benchmarking

Once, sufficient data is generated, benchmarking is possible among the various depots of the

same division/Railway and ultimately moving towards benchmarking on an all-India basis. Similarly,

benchmarking between the various workshops can also become a reality. Workshops/depots

which are weak in a particular area can then be asked to study the maintenance practices

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at the workshops/depots which are better in that area.

4.1.2 Material planning module

For the Material planning module, the inputs shall be the consumption of all items, periods

for which they remained out of stock, lot wise purchase price, names of suppliers. For the

high value items such as wheelsets, Distributor Valves, slack adjusters etc., coach wise replacement

details shall be maintained.

The outputs generated by the above module shall be as under:-

� The depot wise consumption of the items as also the period for which the items remained

out of stock shall enable accurate calculation of the AACs of the main items.

� For the high value items, the average life of the components shall be ascertained enabling

carrying out of need-based replacement. For instance, if the average life of the slack adjuster

comes to three years, it need not be opened up in every POH (carried out after 12/18 months).

� Similarly, vendor wise analysis of the performance of the important components can be carried

out so that the unreliable vendor scan be weeded out.

4.1.3 Module on scheduling of maintenance

The inputs to the module on maintenance scheduling shall be the depotwise typewise holding,

history of maintenance schedules, prescribed periodicity of schedules for the various categories

of coaches and kms earned.

The output of this module shall be the date wise calling-in programme for the ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’

schedules as well as for IOH and POH. This will enable the traffic department to plan for the

replacement of coaching stock so that there is no disruption in services. This will also enable

monitoring of the coaches running on other railways so that they can be recalled for scheduled

maintenance.

4.1.4 Training module

The inputs for the training module shall be the personal data of the staff including age, educational/

professional qualifications, training undergone. This will enable mapping of the age profile/skill

profile of the available workforce vis-à-vis the existing/future skill sets required in the particular

establishment. This shall form the basis for a need-based training instead of the time based training

undertaken at present.

Outputs from the reliability module discussed above shall also provide an input for planning for

training infrastructure besides helping in upgrading the curriculum of the training.

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The following figure gives a schematic representation of the proposed MIS.

MIS for coach maintenance

4.1.5 Other Issues

There are certain other issues to be kept in view while designing an effective MIS for coach maintenance,

These are as under:-

� Data consistency and data integrity.

In the manual system, the same data is entered at a number of points leading to duplication

of efforts and possibility of errors. In designing an MIS based on RDBMS, an important requirement

while designing the tables is that of normalization.

In relational database design, normalization is the process of organizing data to minimize

redundancy. Normalization usually involves dividing a database into two or more tables and

defining relationships between the tables. The objective is to isolate data so that additions,

deletions, and modifications of a field can be made in just one table and then propagated

through the rest of the database via the defined relationships.

� Security features

The system has to be designed for adequate security wherein personnel are authorized at various

levels for certain tasks and control is through passwords.

5. Implementation plan

In phase 1 of MIS implementation, one PC shall be provided to each coaching depot to start

with. Similarly, each shop will require 2 computers, one for the progress section for feeding data

pertaining to material consumption and the other in the computer cell for feeding data pertaining

to coach history, repairs carried out, modifications/improvements etc. In phase 2, when the number

of computers is increased and they are networked together, data can be entered through different

Project Report


terminals provided to the staff at their place of working.

No additional staff shall be provided as the same personnel who are maintaining records manually

such as the coach history, daily diary, issue of materials, staff position etc. shall enter the data

through suitably designed forms on the computer screen. Staff would, however, be needed to be

trained for making use of the software packages.

Cost of implementation

The cost for implementation for phase 1 for Northern Railway is expected to be about Rs. 20

lakhs as per the following break-up.

Hardware cost – PCs – 24 nos. (one each for 20 coaching depots and 2 each for each of the

2 POH workshops) – Rs. 12.0 lakhs (@ Rs. 50,000 per PC including fax, modem, printer etc.)

Software cost (for depots, workshops and Divisonal and Zonal Hqrs. Offices) – Rs. 4 lakhs.

Training costs – Rs. 2 lakhs.

Miscellaneous/contingency costs – Rs. 2 lakhs.

6. Benefits from the proposed system

In an MIS system, it is not easy to quantify the potential benefits in terms of the money saved.

In fact, there is immense saving potential depending on the extent to which the system is made

use of in the decision making process. Hence, a formal cost-benefit analysis in financial terms

has not been attempted. Also, the cost of phase 1 is quite low as much of the proposed hardware

may already be available or may need some minor augmentation/upgradation.

In qualitative terms, the potential benefits of the proposed MIS for coach maintenance are as

under:-

� Improved failure investigation and remedial preventive and corrective action leading to better

reliability.

� Reduced consumption of materials.

� Higher availability of material.

� Better forecasting and planning of schedules resulting in better availability of coaching stock.

� Proper monitoring of vendor performance.

� Reduced cycle time of maintenance of coaches based on scientific analysis of POH leading

to higher availability of coaches and hence more earnings.

� Benefits of ISO 9000 can be reaped in real terms with effective utilization of data available.

� Optimum utilization of human resources.· Objective performance appraisal of staff.

7. Future Possibilities

Unified coach maintenance management system for Indian Railways

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In phase 2, the proposed MIS shall be an integrated system for the entire Indian Railways. Since,

coaches do travel over foreign railways and sometimes result in punctuality loss/detatchments etc.,

it is perhaps inescapable that the MIS should cover the entire Indian Railways for proper coach

maintenance management. RDSO and the two Production Units, ICF and RCF can then also be

brought onto the network for enhanced value addition. The system will then take the shape of

an Enterprise Information Portal and all the users of the system shall be able to access it through

a common website.

With the linking of the entire Indian Railways, a number of benefits can be derived.

Better fleet management on an all-India basis

It shall be possible to have an integrated database of the typewise holding of coaches at any

given moment. Today, there is no certainty about the number of coaches in the system and some

coaches are categorized as “missing coaches”. In fact, a cardex system is maintained at railway

headquarters/nominated workshops which is dependent on monthly statements from the divisions/

workshops. Since, coaches run all over the Indian Railways and do get disturbed from the nominated

links, it becomes difficult to trace them in a manual system. Sometimes, coaches are involved

in accidents and are condemned over some other railway but they continue to be on the rolls

of the homing railway. This makes it difficult to plan for the input of new coaches for the required

passenger services.

The higher utilization of coaches will result in lesser requirement of coaches as well as the maintenance

facilities. This itself shall pay for the cost of the system.

Document management

The proposed MIS shall enable ready access to the maintenance manuals and plethora of maintenance

instructions/modifications issued by RDSO, Railway Board as well as the Production Units from

time to time.

Knowledge management

Indian Railways, like many other organizations suffers from a lack of organizational memory, particularly

in the Open Line and the Workshops. Knowledge becomes individual-specific and is lost once

the individual moves out. The proposed MIS will enable documentation of the best practices as

also the improvements/innovations carried out which can then be shared by various units across

the Indian Railways.

Support for decision-making

In due course, once sufficient data is generated, the system would evolve to a so-called Decision

Support System, which would enable the management to take informed decisions. Tools such

as Data warehousing and Data miningData Warehouse, Data Mining & Decision Support

would enable new patterns to be discovered in the coach maintenance data. Development/ improvements

in the standard Data Mining algorithms shall be a continual exercise and a part of the proposed

MIS. It is expected that enough data for proper analysis would be available within 2-3 years of

operation. The full-fledged Decision Support System would then be brought on-line.

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E-mailE-mail and Threaded discussionsThreaded discussions

The proposed MIS would also support a reliable email mechanism with access that shall be user-

configurable as also a mechanism for online technical discussions. This will enable the users to

be in touch with each other and share their experiences on the maintenance problems faced by

them.

Interface with other computer-based information systems

The proposed MIS shall have facility for an interface with some other computer-based information

systems being implemented by other departments on the Indian Railways. For instance, the operating

department is implementing the Coach Information Operations System for fleet management and

the Stores department has already computerized their Material management in the Stores Depots.

8. Conclusion

With increasing competition from other transport sectors such as the airlines and the roadways,

Indian Railways need to strive continuously to improve passenger services. Coaching maintenance

is an integral part of the endeavour of Railways to provide a safe and comfortable journey to

the travelling public.

While an elaborate system for monitoring the maintenance and operations of coaching stock already

exists on Indian Railways, it suffers from some inherent shortcomings. First and foremost, the manual

system of storing data makes it difficult for timely retrieval and processing and therefore hinders

the effective use of information.

The proposed Management Information System for the maintenance of coaches on IR is the right

solution and the need of the hour as it has the potential of significantly improving the utilization

of resources, reducing costs as well as increasing the effectiveness of human capital. It is, therefore,

recommended that the system be implemented on Indian Railways without further delay.

9. Bibliography

� Maintenance Manual for BG Coaches of ICF Design (2001) issued by RDSO, Lucknow.

� IRCA Conference Rules Part IV issued by Ministry of Railways.

� Rake links, normal composition, marshalling order, permissible loads and maintenance station

etc. of mail/express and passenger trains, 2004 issued by Operating Department, Northern

Railway.

� Laudon, Kenneth, C. and Jane P. Laudon, Management Information Systems - Managing the

Digital Firm (2004), Pearson India.

� Natarajan, Ganesh and Sandhya Shekhar, Knowledge Management – Enabling Business Growth

(2000), Tata McGrawHill, New Delhi.

� Cassell, Paul and Pam Palmer, Microsoft Access 2000 (1999), Techmedia, New Delhi.

Project Report


COMPOSITE CONTRACT FOR TRACK WORKS

EXECUTION WITH PROVISION OF TRACK

FITTINGSB. S. MEENA Dy. CE(C) HQ / JBP

S. C. SAGAR Dy. CE(C) HQ / CSTM

H. NARAIN Dy. FA&CAO(C) / GKP

R.BHASKARAN Dy. CSTE /DRG/CN/MAS

1. INTRODUCTION

Indian Railways is carrying out lot of construction projects involving track works such as new

lines, gauge conversion, doubling, yard remodeling, panel interlocking works under SRSF etc and

also track renewal works in open line. These require rails, sleepers, switches, crossings and small

P.Way fittings such as Elastic rail clips, GR pads, liners fishplates & bolts etc. While Railway

Board is arranging procurement of rails and main line sleepers, other materials are procured at

HQ level.

The procurement of track material in construction HQ is looked after by a track procurement

cell (consisting of a team of one SAG officer, one Dy. CE(C) Stores and one SS level officer

assisted by 4 to 6 ministerial staff), based on the indents sent by field units and distributed to

all the field units as per their requirements. However, it has been observed in the practice that

when works are being executed, there always have been interruptions to the work progress due

to non-availability of one or the other P.Way fittings. As a result there has been delays in the

project completion leading to disputes between Railways and contractors.

Since, due to long lead involved for stores items there is always has been considerable time lag

between the time of requirement and time when the supply reaches field units. This leads to the

problems of slow progress of construction projects & track renewal works as well as contractual

problems. Hence, the need arises to evolve an alternate method in order to ensure the uninterrupted

supply of various track-fitting items for ensuring timely completion of construction projects &

track renewals works as well as safe running of trains.

In order to minimize the delay on account of non-availability of P.Way material, it is being suggested

that instead of procurement arrangement of P.Way fittings being made at HQ, supply and installation

of P.Way fittings can be included in the works tenders for P.Way linking, as a step forward.

In this project work, an attempt has been made to prove that inclusion of supply and installation

of P.Way fittings in the works tenders results in early completion of the project/works, thus eliminating

a factor of time over run along with various other allied benefits, which can be adopted across

in all Railways.

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2. OBJECT OF STUDY

To evolve an effective mechanism of ensuring un-interrupted supply of track fittings for P.way

works at an economical cost, early completion of projects and ensuring safe running of trains.

3. METHODOLOGY

1. Study of present system.

2. Study of the shortcomings of present system

3. Developing the proposed system

Earlier, in works contract for structural works, cement and steel used to be issued to the contractor

by the railway. For this, the railway was procuring cement and steel. However, there were problems

like that either cement or steel was not available at the time of execution. If steel was available,

then cement was not available and by the time cement arrived, the steel started getting rusted.

Similarly, if cement was available, then steel was not available and by the time steel arrived, the

cement has deteriorated or set. Sometimes, cement being transported in railway wagons in monsoon

got deteriorated in the wagons only. This delayed the execution of the work causing time over

run as well as complaint from the contractor or even arbitration cases. Hence, decision was taken

that to include contractor’s cement and steel in the works contract. This has reduced the inventory,

sheds and manpower, cement. At the same time, time over run on this account has reduced.

On the same analogy, it has been proposed that in track linking works, small P.Way fittings can

also be included in the works contract.

4. PRESENT SYSTEM

As per procedure in vogue in Railway, for execution of any project, involving track linking, first,

the quantities of P.Way materials are assessed based on the approved drawings. Then, indents for

each and every item for the assessed quantities taking into account some margin say 5 to 10%

extra, are prepared and sent to associate finance for vetting. After finance vetting with/ without

changes, indents are sent to HQ for procurement action. HQ invites tenders for each and every

item. Then after finalisation of these tenders Purchase Orders are placed on the firms along with

the consignee instructions. The firms then dispatch these materials as per the schedule and priorities.

Due to long lead involvement, this whole process takes about 1 year on an average from the time

of preparation of indents till dispatch of material to the consignee.

In construction HQ, procurement of track material is looked after by a track procurement cell

consisting of a team of one SAG officer, one Dy. CE(C) Stores and one SS level officer assisted

by 4 to 6 ministerial staff, based on the indents sent by field units and distributed to all the

field units as per their requirements.

HQ invites tenders for each and every item. Then after finalisation of these tenders Purchase Orders

are placed on the firms along with the consignee instructions. The firms then dispatch these materials

as per the schedule and priorities.

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But due to long lead involved for stores items there is always a considerable time lag between

the time of requirement and time when supply reaches to field units. The whole process takes

about one year on arranging track material. This leads to the problems of slow progress of construction

projects & track renewals works as well as contractual problems.

5. DATA COLLECTION

1. Various items of schedule of track linking in vogue in C.Rly & WC.Rly.

2. Various Purchase Orders for track fittings along with their rates of supply in C.Rly & WC.Rly.

6. ANALYSIS OF DATA

1. Rate of linking of track with 52kg rails on 60kg MBC sleepers with a density of 1540 per

km with Railway’s fittings per metre of track length =Rs. 79.67 (As per NS item given in

annexure-I)

2. Rate of linking of track with 52kg rails on 60kg MBC sleepers with a density of 1540 per

km with contractor’s fittings per metre of track length =Rs. 447.44 (As per NS item given

in annexure-II)

7. DEFECIENCIES IN PRESENT SYSTEM

1. After assessment of quantities of P-WAY materials by executive, indents are sent for associate

finance vetting. Finance takes a considerable time.

2. Then after receipt of vetted indent from field units, indents are sent to HQ. In HQ, demands

of each field unit are compiled and separate tenders are invited for each item. If any units

delays demands /requirements, the whole procedure is get delayed. Hence, supply of material

is delayed.

3. It so happens many times that one or two items are abnormally delayed, thus delaying the

whole chain. Hence, the project gets delays on this account.

4. The whole of procurement takes about one year on an average, thereby resulting in slow

progress of works, contractual problems etc.

5. Sometimes some items are overlooked, being less important. But the same item becomes critical

at later stage e.g.. ERC “J” type

6. Whenever there is a change in the incumbent, the tender finalization time for the tenders

pertaining to the concerning officer has increased abnormally.

7. If there is a technological advance, the old things get obsolete and surplus.

8. There is a tendency of holding the materials by the supervisors, which is not needed in the

near future, some times never utilized, resulting in serious audit objections.

8. PROPOSED SYSTEM :-

Keeping in view of the above deficiencies/ problems in the present system, it is proposed that

Project Report


in construction projects as well as track renewal works contractor’s fittings should be included

in the scope of concerned work tender. Contractors shall procure the track fittings from the RDSO

approved firms only. Contractor shall also submit the necessary certificate.

9. ADVANTAGES OF PROPOSED SYSTEM: -

The advantages of inclusion of P.Way fittings in works tender are as under –

1. Delay in execution of track works due to non-availability of one or the other fittings such

as ERCs, liners, pads etc. will be eliminated altogether. Targets are likely to be met.

2. Also consequently, the time over run of the completion of work will be lesser and as such

cost over run due to escalation will also be reduced.

3. Complaint from the user deptt. will be lesser.

4. Complaint from the contractor side will be lesser.

5. Since, contractor will execute the required quantity of track fittings, no extra 5% or 10%

fittings over actual requirement will be needed. As such, only the required quantity of track

fittings will be paid by railway. As such, there will be saving to Railway in terms of money.

6. Inventory will be drastically reduced. As such, railway is not blocking their money at the

time of procurement. Railway will pay at the time of actual execution at site. Thus, there

will be saving to Railway in terms of money.

7. Departmental depots/ sheds will be lesser and smaller. This will, ultimately, result in reduction

in manpower.

8. No chasing will be required with headquarter for P.Way fittings.

9. No chasing will be required with the supplier firms for P.Way fittings.

10. Audit objections for blocked capitals may not arise.

10. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES: -

Inclusion of other P.Way materials like switches (including derailing switches), CMS crossings, SEJs

and Glued Joints etc in Works tenders as a second step.

11. IMPLEMENTATION

It is proposed to implement the above proposal in the construction organization of Central Railway.

N.E Railway and West central Railway. It is also proposed to implement for Southern Railway

S & T sole work projects.

12. CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, it is concluded that inclusion of track fittings in the scope of work

will not only expedite project work but will also result in reduction in manpower, inventory and

shed and depot. Thus there will be saving to railway in terms of money.

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A LEGEND CALLED - PRITHVI RAJ KAPOOR

- Ravinder Kumar *

When you write Prithviraj Kapoor on Google’s Search engine, you will get as many as 1.36 lakhentries and, when you type out this name on Yahoo’s Search engine you will get almost 3 lakhentries. This is the stuff legends are made of. Indeed, Shri Prithvi Raj Kapoor was a legendin his life time and will forever remain so.

He was born on 3rd November, 1906 at Samundri Lyallpur, Faislabad, now in Pakistan. His father,Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor was Sub-Inspector of Police. Prithvi Raj Kapoor was very muchattached to his grand father, Dewan Keshavmal. While in Police, his father was posted in Peshawar.Prithvi Raj Kapoor was educated in Edward College, the renowned college of Peshawar. He notonly passed his graduation (BA), but was also educated in law – a feat few could match amongthe descendants of Kapoors. The credit goes to Professor Jai Dayal, a faculty Member of thecollege to polish the acting skills of Prithvi Raj Kapoor. As was customary during those days,Prithvi Raj Kapoor all of 18 years was married to a 15-year old Ramsarni Rama Mehra.

After borrowing money from his aunt, Prithvi Raj Kapoor ventured to Bombay in 1928. He actedas extra in his first film but was in lead role in his very third film – ‘Cinema Girl’ in 1929. Inall, he acted in 9 silent films. Few know that he acted in ‘Alam Ara’, the first talkie film ofIndia in 1931. His performance in ‘Vidyapati’ – 1937 was much appreciated. His best knownperformance was as Alexander the Great in Sohrab Modi’s ‘Sikandar’ – 1941. Few would knowthat he acted in a Kannada film Sakshatkara in 1971 and that Prithviraj Kapoor’s father DewanBashswarnath Kapoor too did a cameo in ‘Awara’. He had joined English theatrical Company ‘J.Grant Anderson’. Later, he established Prithvi theatre in 1944. He was the first man to use theconcept of Modern Professional urban theatre in Hindustan. Till now, the theatre was essentiallyeither folk or Parsi. In a span of 16 years, Prithvi theatre, under Prithvi Raj Kapoor did 2662shows and, yes, Prithvi Raj Kapoor was the lead actor in all of them.

He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademy Fellowship in 1954. Government of India conferred uponhim Padma Bhushan in 1969. He was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1971. If one isasked what is common between Dr. Zakir Hussain and Shri Prithvi Raj Kapoor, one will findit difficult to answer, off hand. The fact is both were Members of First Rajya Sabha of independentIndia in the years 1952-60. In 1995 Government of India commemorated 50 years of PrithviTheatre by releasing a stamp in his honour and, yes, stamp bears his portrait, no name for whois there, who cannot recognize this doyen of film industry.

In all, he worked in plays and films with unmatched dedication. He succumbed to cancer on 29th

May, 1972; followed closely by his wife, who died on June, 14, 1972.

Actors may come, Actors may go, but the legends are for ever and the Kapoor clan will continueto enthrall both the classes and the masses through celluloid for several centuries to come.

Amen!

* Author belongs to Indian Railway Personnel Service and is presently working as Chief Personnel officer (A), Central Railway

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IDIOTS GUIDE TO CORRUPTION —

101 WAYS

Ravinder Kumar *

(Corruption is described as a world wide phenomenon, to foreign hand to cancer of our society;needless to say, we have yet to find a remedy to cure cancer... so till then Que sera sera)

A fable, I came across in my childhood — Certain prime minister of certain king was honest and

hardworking. There was prosperity all over the kingdom. As was not unusual those days as much

as in these days, neighbouring king sent an emissary to go in disguise, find out the secret of their

prosperity. This man went to minister, who was seeing some official files at his residence in candle

light. When this man (our emissary) sought a tête-à-tête, minister blew off the candle and lit another.

Puzzled, our man asked the reason for this change of candle. Prime Minister replied earlier it

was official work so official candle was burning; now while I talk to you it is non-official, so

I have lit my personal candle. This folk tale proves that such ‘disoriented’ people existed in our

society in each era.

If this story is a litmus test of one’s honesty, perhaps, honest men could be counted on one hand’s

fingers. No? Let us see, as fever has many degrees varying from mild temperature i.e. 990F to

1080F on thermometer, corruption among ‘we the people of India i.e. Bharat....’ is also found in

innumerable hues and shades.

1. How about this one— a senior official, let us call him Mr. Bharat, who while on tour

asks his juniors for an insignificant cup of tea enroute for self and family. Later he will refuse

to return the tea set on the pretext that “Mrs liked it so much”. Needless to say, that he

had a fabulous variety of tea sets in his dining room.

2. One Mr. Bharat I knew would simply ask for a non-descript bottle of whisky from a certain

shop. A bagful of such bottles collected during the arduous dealings of complicated cases,

he would carry in the evening to that shop, return all bottles and collect refund under a

predetermined arrangement.

3. Mr. Bharat would give to any one, who wanted an important file to be cleared or some crucial

approval on a case, the list of six of his fictitious relatives— Mr. & Mrs. Ram Lal, Mr &

Mrs. Shaymlal, Mr. &Mrs Jhanda Singh, to book train tickets and collect refund by evening.

Needless to say, that these tickets were always of AC class and from the city where Bharat

ji was currently posted to the farthest corner of India where railhead could go.

4. Shri Bharat ji when on whirlwind tour to the Area Offices under him, a week before his

retirement, giving farewell speeches and collecting gifts gave a tear jerking speech, expressed

* Chief Personnel Officer (A) Central Railway H.Q. CSTM Mumbai

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his last desire to be of service to human race in general and his employees in particular.

An employee who was facing serious charges of embezzlement. ‘Moved’ by this demagogue

approached Shri Bharat for help. Shri Bharat was as calm as sea before a storm. He gave

‘patient’ hearing without listening a word of what the delinquent said. Shri Bharat assured

him that needful will be done, employee was visibly cheerful, just then Mr. Bharat asked him

for a minor memento, a statue of Maha Rana Pratap, the great warrior. Being Rajasthan and

city of Maha Rana Pratap, it was no big deal. He promised to bring one, by evening. Just

when he started walking towards the door Mr. Bharat reminded him that since Maha Rana

Pratap was a valiant fighter and an ace horseman, better the statue is complete with him

riding the horse. Our employee reassured ‘Sir, no problem’. Mostly all the statues depict Maha

Rana Pratap Mounted on his favourite horse— Chetak. No sooner this employee was about

to exit, he was called by the boss “and yes it better be 24 carat Gold not 18”.

5. Government thought it has dealt a fatal blow to corruption prevalent in Toll tax check posts

by abolishing ‘toll’ tax. Corrupts proved to be more creative than Government would credit

them for. They launched a massive hunt for those imaginary smuggling goods and its smugglers

leading to complete and thorough examination of buses, trucks, and tempos. In short anything

moving into the city. Interrogating and insisting to check the contents of suitcases and parcels

created such a ‘Jam’ that everyone gave them what they called ‘goodwill’ money to drive

past the toll check post.

6. In case you are a non-vegetarian, you know you have to keep a strict vigil on the man chopping

the mutton in mutton shop. As the guy may just ‘throw’ the good pieces along with bad

ones in the name of ‘cleaning’ only to be retrieved later by him.

7. When a person like Mr. Bharat, was asked why he chose to be a dentist. He replied, one,

teeth are 32, two, nobody dies of toothache, three. Nobody ever gets cured. It is root canal

or bridge, plaque or filling or braces, finally the denture. During our childhood we believed

that bicycle mechanic while looking for puncture on the wheel tube would prick a couple

of more punctures through the needle skilfully hidden in the ring on his finger. Similarly, if

you once visit a dentist he will drill and strike his instruments in such a way that you wonder,

you went for one tooth, but returned with few more ‘shaken not stirred’.

8. The new recruits when go for medical fitness examination, often find themselves in desperate

situations, reason Dr. or X - ray technician or pathologist’s palm was not greased. They confided

in me, they will not ask the ‘examinee’ (new candidate) when to hold breath resulting in

the blurred X-ray which is used later to tell him that he has serious lung problems shattering

the castles of the poor would - be employee. Once the desired money changes hands, hold

your breath, everything is hunky-dory. Same formula gives same results every time, every

where, be it other pathological tests or eye tests. This is what I call Science, Science of

corruption. It is no more an abstract Art.

9. While being on the subject of medical check ups, how about this one, Doctor giving local

or general anaesthesia for some imaginary ailment making a superficial cut on body and stitching

it in return for a hefty fees? Don’t believe it. Believe it, for a medico himself told me this.

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Check this one- The parents-to-be go to those sonography centres to find out the sex of the

foetus. They are informed; it is a girl and they will fix (MTP) it, for lowest fees in shortest

time. Believe me! As in most other such cases, it was a boy. (Again nursing home doctor

gave this away) Sonography per say is just an allurement for bigger and more expensive things

which follow e.g. MTP, related complications and medication thereof. There are other countless

minor cases like advising to go for ‘caesarean’ despite there being no likelihood of any trouble

whatsoever. Reason- Caesarean’s fee is several times higher than the fees for normal delivery.

10. The winner, hands down, in Medical practice of corruption is, doctor rushing out of OT

and informing the next of kin of patient that there is only one lung and the other one is

missing. If you say so, I will replace and install a brand new pair of lungs. Now that the

chest is already open, it will be a lot cheaper and lot less complicated.

11. Lastly, the trophy goes to the doctor who advised the sons of a critically ill businessman

lying in ICU where none could see him “life is flickering, one last ray of hope is an injection

from Germany, but I wanted your consent as this injection would cost a couple of lakhs.

It is the latest in the series of life saving drugs, hence, rare”. Sons gladly agreed. A ward

boy, who was making bed there overhead the conversation, took the son aside and said “I

can help U save your lakhs of rupees, if you give me just twenty thousand”. Son of the

businessman, a businessman himself, promptly promised Rs.20, 000 to that ward boy. Ward

boy finished his shift, waived at the son, collected his Rs.20, 000 and disclosed “your dad

died last night itself now they are just trying to extort whatever they can as their last opportunity”.

12. How true is biblical saying “the meek shall inherit the earth” for it is with this last man

in the rung that moral values and ethical innocence is safely preserved. It is that so called

educated and rich class which is the greatest menace to society’s moral fabric for those are

the ones who are so very willing and ever ready to make those frightening compromises.

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KALIYUGA- A RELIGIOUS FANTASY AND

NOTHING ELSE

SHEKHAR KUMAR CHAUDHARY*

Kaliyuga, according to Hindu mythology is last of the four distinct ages which the world would

encounter before being engulfed by a gigantic flood (Pralaya) leading to sudden break in the heartbeats

of many lifeforms engaged in different colourful and interdependent acts upon it.

But the million dollar question is, Do really such a Kaliyuga exist? Let us argue it out.

Before that, a word of caution to all of you reading in the form of a famous saying “ Neem

Hakim Khatraaye Jaan”. Ok, let me make it more clear, here Hakim refers to me who is not a

religious expert (Infact, How can I be an expert of anything???) and its your life (Jaan) in danger.

So, I would not mind if it hurts your religious sentiments.

First of all why four and that too the last one, the answer is obvious, making it last would

help them who created this myth in the form of limited brainstorming. It was predicted that all

the sins of people will accumulate in an earthen pot termed as “ Paap Ka Ghara” and a person

(Kalki) sitting on a flying horse with a bow and arrow will come to destroy it. Now place yourselves

in the present context, somebody having a bow and arrow fighting with kaliyuga people who have

the luxury of throwing nuclear missiles every now & then to entertain each other. How will this

poor fellow(Kalki) sustain??? Answer is simple, his arrows need to be Brahmastras!!!! It clearly

bring out the mental limitations of those fiction story writers. Obviously how can they imagine

of F-18s and Sukhois at that time.

We also have the concept of soul, yes it is that soul which starts wandering when you

fall asleep and the acts done by it come to you as dreams through a feedback system. Fortunately,

we have the demographic statistics of past few centuries with us which clearly brings out the

fact that world population is increasing with an alarming rate. That means souls are also increasing

but wait how is this number increasing?? Let me suggest, it might be due to soul division or soul

multiplication similar in the way cell divides. But again we are confronted with a serious problem

as our old champs have said soul is indestructible. This question remains unanswered.

Let us explore some other dimension. It is Kaliyuga right, so there should have been vigorous

gender inequality but the scenario is totally opposite. Infact the present era is an example of women

empowerment and all throughout the globe women are emerging superior to their male counterparts.

Now you would argue that Indian women were the most respected in the world, the point is,

merely giving respect is nothing when you confine them in the four walls of family & society

and dictate terms to work in a skewed fashion. Infact it was Satyayuga or Tretayuga (Whatever

I am not sure) which has the history of male dominance in it. The example is from the famous

IRSSE(P)-2008 BATCH COURSE- AFP/11/09.

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epic “Ramayana”. You all must have remembered what happened to Sita when Rama threw her

out of his palace to wander in deep jungles based on a mere suspicion for which she had already

gone through Agni Pariksha. The “Chirharan” episode of Mahabharata is another example of it.

I am confused which one to be termed as Kaliyuga.

It was previous yugas when education and innovation was limited to only few selected persons

through Varna System. Unfortunately this led to limited economic, social and scientific growth of

this country. We even have ambiguity in achieving heaven or hell. I still wonder how a person’s

achieving heaven or hell (if there exist any) after death depends on his/her place of birth. A person

born in Arabian Peninsula will be buried underground for achieving Jannat while the same need

to be burnt if he finds himself balanced on mom’s hand whose legs are earthed to Indian subcontinent.

I find myself fortunate to be breathing the Kaliyuga air where I can share my feelings with

near & dear ones separated by large distance through the act of dancing fingers on a small device

called mobile phone. I even have the bliss to choose my own candidate for governance in a democratic

way unlike the previous ages. These are only few opulences of this materialistic world to be mentioned.

I am sure even Indra would be planning to shift his base from Swarga(Indralok) to Mrityulok.

I am tempted to confirm this Kaliyuga a class apart with the concepts of liberty, equality,

fraternity and in total all converging to modernity.

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AmO ^r O~ `mXm| _|,

Vwåhmar ~mV hmoVr h¡,

V~ gmar-gmar amV,

~g ~agmV hmoVr h¡.

{Xb H$m XX© Am±Im| go,

Am±gy ~Z ~hVm h¡,

ha nb _wPo Vwåhmam,

B§VOma ahVm h¡.

{_bZo Ho$ ~mX {dN>moh hmoJm,

o _¢Zo H$hm§ gmoMm Wm,

gmoMVm hÿ§ {H$ Vwåh| OmZo go,

_¢Zo Š`m| Zht amoH$m Wm.

AmO hmWm| _| {g\©$ Yyb hr ~Mr h¡,

ào_ Zo Eogr H¡$gr {d{Y aMr h¡,

ObVm hÿ§ ha dº$ ào_m{¾ _|,

öX` _| nb-nb hbMb _Mr h¡.

Vw_ {Og OhmZ _| hmo,

_¢ dhm§ erK« AmD§$Jm,

~hþV {XZ Vwåhmao {~Zm,

_¢ Or Z nmD$§Jm.

{\$a h_ EH$ hm|Jo,

AmË_m EH$ hmoJr

Bggo ~ohVa Am¡a Š`m A~,

na_mË_m H$r |Q> hm|Jr.

gm§gm| H$m Z ~§YZ hmoJm,

Z _moh Z _m`m,

{g\©$ h_ Am¡a Vw_ hm|Jo,

Am¡a ào_ dfm© !

ào_-dfm©A{_V Hw$_ma qgh*

EH$ {VZH$m ^r AJa h¡ Am±Im| _|,

nbH$ PwH$mZo na ^r XX© CR>Vm h¡ Ÿ&

A~ O~ Am±Imo _| h¢ Am±Io,

Vmo ZrX H$m gdmb hr H$hm§ CR>Vm h¡ ?

Am±Ig§Xrn lrdmñVd

Vividh


MUSINGS ON LIFE

BVL Narayana

In the universe, man is considered to be the pinnacle of creation. Of all the living organisms

residing on earth, man is the only one who has an intellect which allows him a certain degree

of control on life and the forces which influence his life process. However, despite his intellect,

man is still beset with the problem of uncertainty in life. Despite all his application of intellect,

leading to considerable advances in science and technology and his understanding of forces shaping

life in this universe, the ultimate truth is that every human being is but only a visitor on this

universe. This visit of every human being has a start and an end in a time frame over which

nobody has any control.

In this universe there are certain eternal truths ie: certainties which are facts and instances on

which there are no doubts.

1. First among these eternal truths is the fact that there is a time scale or “Kal” which grinds

its way continuously and eternally at the same speed irrespective of the changes the universe

has undergone and would continue to undergo. Time is eternal , despite the fact that humans

have recorded time only from the instance of the start of the universe and time would continue

to get recorded till the creation of this universe ceases and everything dissolves back into

the primordial stage.

2. Man has only a brief existence on the earth and the birth and death of any organism is another

of the eternal truths. When this cycle of birth and death ceases, creation / evolution in this

universe ceases.

3. The third eternal truth is the fact that there is still some force/ some thing which still exists

in the primordial stage , continues to exist during the time period of the evolution of this

universe, and still remains even after the dissolution / cessation of this universe. What is

this entity and how is it relevant to the life and times of every human being is a matter

of conjecture.

4. The final eternal truth is to be deciphered yet but the facts as it stand today do predispose

towards it. What are the laws or principles on which the whole universe stands created/

evolves/ and one day may cease to exist. It is to the credit/ discredit or limitation of human

intellect that he feels that laws and principles must exist which govern all natural processes.

Evolution, being the highest of the natural processes , human mind insists that laws/ principles

must exist which govern this process of evolution and he has given it the name “Karma”.

The moot question is that does any force exist which follows some basic laws/ principles

and which lords over the evolution process of this universe. Can this occur spontaneously

without any purpose or all this activity is a result of purpose and reason?.

During the human evolution, nature is all powerful and to a certain degree, all pervasive and

unlimited in its bounties. In the initial phases of evolution of human beings, when humans decided

to settle down and form societies and civilizations, for him nature was plentiful, an unlimited

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resource and all powerful. It was a force to be watched in awe, wonderstruck at its magnificent

presentations , the repository of knowledge and a force to be afraid of due to its uncertainties

of presentations and therefore to be worshipped, prayed to for all its benevolence it showered

on them and may be someday understood and subjugated .

At some stage in the life of evolution of man , certain enlightened men decided to decipher

the enigmas and mysteries of nature and through it the entire process of the cosmic evolution,

based on the realization of the four eternal truths as expounded in the beginning of the essay.

This realization dawned on them because the uncertainties of life associated with these eternal

truths created such a turbulence and dissonance in their mind that it created an agitation in

their life. To ensure resolution of this agitation/ conflict and to get some degree of certainty

in life, such an intellectual exercise which would unravel the mysteries of life was necessary. They

also realized that when enlightened men could experience such dissonance and conflict / agitation

in their minds over the uncertainties of life, then ordinary mortals will be terrified at the prospects

of such a dissonance.

Thus arose the concepts of “soul” and “body” and the concept of birth—rebirth and salvation

cycle. Linked to this was the concept of “ karma” and the concept of duty and of doing

work to sustain life.

Based on the eternal truth of existence and death ie: non existence , there is the creation of

identity which is correlated to the principle of existence. Therefore death/ non existence leads

to a loss of this identity of any human being.

As long as man is existent in this world and he is living, arises from his identity is the concept

of “ego” or “I” . The intellect of the humans makes him special and therefore gives rise to

the “I” or ego in him. Fear arises when he realizes that this identity gets lost when he dies.

Further uncertainty prevails because he does not know what happens to him or this identity

of his after death or cessation of existence.

To retain this identity and thus bring in certainty in life ,the concept of “body” and “soul”

was created and linked to the concept of cycles of birth – rebirth and salvation.

Death was defined as the cessation of the “body” and the identity of “I” or “ego” was linked

to the soul and therefore the soul was indestructible and transferred to another body. However,

realization of the fact that any creation is finite and has to cease at some point of time , the

cycle of birth—rebirth was linked to salvation and merging of the soul into the ultimate force

which was ever existent and which ran the creation ie: “ brahman” or “ paramatma”.

How is this salvation to be achieved?. The explanation and mechanism of this was linked to

the concept of “karma” or work and duty and from this arose the concept of action, reaction

and cause and effect of every action. Thus all actions of human beings could be divided into

2 categories. Those which fostered and promoted the evolution of the universe and human beings

and those which did not do so. A balance of account of such actions decided the time frame

at which salvation could be achieved.

Such concepts allowed enlightened human beings , instill in ordinary humans a sense of community

participation, adherence to certain basic principles / values which allowed the harmonious evolution

of life on this earth and universe and facilitated harmony among humans themselves. This also

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allowed explanations to the problems of life and death and gave a focus/ objective for humans

to go for actions which propagated and facilitated the harmonious evolution of human beings.

On this evolutionary path of human intellect, which sought answers to the existence of eternal

truths , also evolved the concept of “god”. This humanization of the “ ultimate force” or “brahman”

as we put it earlier, was necessary for this concept to be brought to the average intellects understanding.

This also allowed him to establish this “god” in its “ humanistic form” as the instrument of

cause and effect of every human action and these actions of humans were linked to results of

actions of humans across the time frame of birth—rebirth and salvation . From this arose the

concept of “ fate “ or “ destiny”.

During the constant evolution of human intellect it was noticed that the “ego” or “I” , which

arose from the identity concept of the human intellect, created a problem of requirements or needs.

These were the needs to satisfy his requirements—materialistic, emotional and spiritual. The

predominance of materialistic and emotional needs in the average human being led to attachments

to fellow humans , materialistic possessions and pleasure seeking. Such human beings would have

undergone tremendous dissonance and conflict at the time of approaching of death.

To mitigate this, the concepts of detachment, shedding of ego, renouncing , meditation and prayer

were evolved. All these concepts were basically helping humans to deidentify themselves slowly

and prepare them for the eventual loss of identity or death. This loss of identity was also linked

to prayers which allowed their intellect to focus on “god”—who never loses his identity.

The creation of emotional and materialistic needs in the human life led to the predominance

of emotions and the spectrum of emotions so expressed, gave to the concept of opposites.

Ultimately there is a limit to the flight of imagination of human intellect. This flight is limited

by the extent of knowledge of every human being and also its collective extent. This cumulative

knowledge body is circumscribed by the nature around us.

Nature is the ultimate repository of knowledge and man gets his ideas by observing it. These

concepts which he generated in the process of seeking answers to the eternal truths about evolution

of the universe are also a result of this observational interactions with nature or “prakriti”. This

thirst for knowledge among human beings is a continuous quest to ensure a greater degree of

certainty in his life, control the forces which influence his life and subjugate them to his will,

so that he is certain of the outcomes of the interactions of his actions and forces of evolution/

nature. In extreme cases it also creates an urge to dominate all life

This thirst for knowledge and fear of death also creates the need for togetherness, formation of

groups/ societies. It also creates the scientific temper in humans and the need for research.

Having understood all that this, we can now come to the concepts of religion and development.

The concept of religion is directly linked to the man’s so perceived “other world” or all factors

linked to his “identity after death” . It is his quest to understand what happens to him after

death. Therefore religion can be defined as an instrument of knowledge which allows every human

being to correlate his present existence to the perceived existence after death. Therefore religion

is essentially a highly individualistic concept , since all human beings have to find this instrument

of knowledge.

Vividh


This instrument of knowledge has to be firmly established in his mind/ intellect and get integrated

into his thought process and this will result in it being manifested as physical actions of prayers,

meditation , yoga, bhakti and puja in his daily events of life.

Why should actions perceived to be linked to actions influencing “ human life after death” impinge

very deeply into activities of the present physical life. This is so because , all the conflict and

dissonance occurring in the mind of humans ,out of the problem of loss of identity after death,

in the present physical life requires a means of redressal and religion is a means to address it.

There is no escape from this. The need to reduce this conflict / dissonance is felt as continued

existence of this conflict leads to persistent stress and physical effects reducing the life of an

individual. Which no human would like to see.

“Development” is linked to the present physical life of man and it covers – physical, emotional

and spiritual aspects. In the Hindu philosophy, considerable importance has been given this

aspect of development in a humans life. All activities of the individual , at every stage of life,

have been so formulated that over time the individual gets the requisite physical, emotional and

spiritual development. The quantum of each aspect of these three components of development

vary with passage of time in a humans life. Maximum physical development is seen in the initial

years and maximum spiritual development is seen in the later years.

It goes to the credit of the farsighted perpetuators of Hindu philosophy that many years prior

to the advancement of science and technology , they had the intellect to grasp these concepts

, understand their importance, and apply them to human life for its betterment. They also understood

the fact that the intensity of human intellect varied with individuals and they therefore evolved

these concepts to suit the varied intensities of human intellect so as to cover the entire spectrum

of human beings.

Such knowledge , today resides as the Vedas and Gita for the highest evolved individuals, as the

Upanishads and the Vedanta for the medium level of intellectuals and as epics and Puranas for

the average intellect human being.

They also integrated all this knowledge and linked it to various activities commonly carried by

every individual. They understood the fact that , for ultimate betterment of all human beings,

such knowledge had to be integrated into everyday actions of life and perpetuated as “dogmas”

or “ wisdom of elders” so that benefits can be reaped in posterity also. Thus Hindu religion evolved

from a religion to “ a way of life” .This integration of religion and its associated knowledge

into every day actions of every individual who follows it is the highest evolution of intellect and

knowledge.

The only question is to be seen whether evolution of knowledge and actions of human beings

can further evolve beyond this.?.

To sum up, as Adi Shankaracharya succinctly put it.

A ray of devotion is knowledge. Intelligence which lodges firmly in the mind is wisdom or

“Gnana”. When wisdom integrates fully into life and issues out as action it is called “Bhakti”.

Fully mature knowledge is “Bhakti”.

This in sum total summarizes the quest of every human to understand his existence and life after

death.

Vividh


THE MAN WITHIN

Ranvijai Pratap Saxena

Now that the time has flown with uncanny haste

revealing victory for others, my share being a waste.

Witnessing how a brawny cape adorned the fragile

downcasted I wondered how could I be so docile??

Overcasted with a sickness that seemed so very quirky

watching fate bestowing bounties upon the ‘unworthy’.

Men of honor ought to have stopped this injustice made

yet, helpless they all stood and deemed it to be the fate.

Soon enough the odious sickness escalated my misery.

Reminding me of all the back stabbing and treachery

and of how my trusty allies turned into deceitful foes

and of how all the hopes turned into unsuccored woes.

The irksome sickness had quickly taken its due toll

It had my conscience shaken, my ethics on a roll.

It had jolted my acumen and doubted my pedigree

but the man within spoke the panacea and set me free:

“today this sickness may no wonder seem scathing

but do remember this one crucial little thing :

that, you are a scintillating scion of a legacy

and will soon shrug off this pestering malady!

Vividh


Letter to Editor

Vividh

From the Desk of Executive Editor 1

Article

(i) A STRATEGY FOR URBAN TRANSPORT

DEVELOPMENT IN DELH

Govind Ballabh 2

(ii) THE BOT MODEL FOR A MEDICAL COLLEGE

Surendra Sundararajan 11

(iii) INFRASTRUCTURE PPPs - GUIDING

PRINCIPLES FOR THE PUBLIC MANAGERS

Dr. Kalpana Dube 15

(iv) ‘DEMOCRACY - A RESPONSE TO AND AN

EQUILIBRIUM POINT BETWEEN SOCIAL

OSSIFICATION AND ANARCHY’

Kalyani Sethuraman 19

(v) EXPLORING DELHI DIVISION: NORTHERN RAILWAY

V. S. Ghai 23

Project Report

(i) BAR-CODE BASED FILE TRACKING SYSTEM

H.K.Sahu Ramshray Pandey

Hansraj Sharma Renu Sharma

Sanjay Bajpai S.C.Chaudhry 29

(iii) DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES THROUGH TRAINING

Smt Yatri Dave Vitekar Shri S.K. Jain

Shri A.K.Srivastav Shri B.T.Lalge

Shri S.K. Maharana Shri T.G. Ramesh 42

AZwH«$_UrH$m

CONTENTS

ABHIVYAKTI • VOLUME 20 • NO. 2 • JULY-DECEMBER 2009

ABHIVYAKTI • VOLUME 20 • NO. 2 • JULY-DECEMBER 2009

(iv) MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FOR COACH MAINTENANCE ON INDIAN RAILWAYS

Ali Imam Anil Vij

Sukhbir Singh 46

(v) COMPOSITE CONTRACT FOR TRACK WORKS

EXECUTION WITH PROVISION OF TRACK FITTINGS

B. S. Meena, S. C. Sagar

H. Narain, R.Bhaskaran 58

Vividh

(i) A LEGEND CALLED - PRITHVI RAJ KAPOOR

Ravinder Kumar 65

(ii) IDIOTS GUIDE TO CORRUPTION - 101 WAYS

Ravinder Kumar 67

(iii) KALIYUGA-A RELIGIOUS FANTASY AND NOTHING ELSE

Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary 72

(iv) ào_-dfm©

A{_V Hw$_ma qgh 72

(v) Am±I

g§Xrn lrdmñVd 72

(vi) MUSINGS ON LIFE

BVL Narayana 73

(vii) THE MAN WITHIN

Ranvijai Pratap Saxena 72

(viii) LETTER TO EDITOR 78

Documents

Editorial Board From the desk of Chairperson Executive ... 10.pdf · Editorial Board Chairperson Niraj Kumar : DG ... Executive Editor, Abhivyakti, ... Kolkata 14.57 HWH 21 672 (136