To set up the country’s first Railway University, the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) and the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, Gujarat are signing an MoU.
Railway probationary officers will soon be able to upgrade their professional qualifications, obtaining an MBA degree with specialisation in fields, such as finance, human resource management, production and operations management and marketing management.
In a step towards setting up the country’s first Railway University, the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) and the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, Gujarat are signing an MoU to award MBA degrees to rail employees in relevant fields.
NAIR, the apex training institute for imparting training to railway officers, has been selected for upgradation as a full-fledged Railway University as part of efforts to enhance the skills of railway officers.
With an aim to enhance professional management education of probationary officers in the railways, NAIR shall tie up with Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara for awarding MBA degrees in specific railways-related fields to Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) and Indian Railway Store Service (IRSS) officers.
Since the Maharaja Sayajirao University will also be able to select other students for MBA along with the railway officers, the initiative will also serve the requirements of railway-related infrastructural construction contractors, suppliers, metros and port railways. These students can also seek employment in railways, by appearing in an exam conducted by UPSC. The programme will begin with the first batch of IRSS joining NAIR in August, 2016.
As part of other steps for railway-related education and research as a railway budget initiative, four Centres of Railway Research (CRR) are to be set up in premier educational institutions of India. Memorandums of Understanding have since been signed between the Ministry of Railways and the University of Mumbai on 18 April, 2015 with the IITs of Kanpur, Madras and Roorkee on 22 December, 2015. One Centre for Railway Research is also in existence at IIT Kharagpur.