India’s first railway univ gets Union Cabinet nod

TNN | Dec 21, 2017, 

Existing land of the Railway Staff College will be used as university

Vadodara: The city is moving closer to house country's first railway university.

Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the Ministry of Railways' initiative to set up the first ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara to skill its human resources and build capacity.

"This innovative idea, inspired by PM, will be a catalyst for transformation of rail and transport sector towards new India," a release issued by Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.

The university will be set up as a "Deemed to Be University" under de novo category as per the University Grants Commission (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2016.

"Government is working towards completing all approvals by April 2018 and to launch the first academic program in July 2018," the PIB release said.

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

The company will provide financial and infrastructural support to the university and appoint chancellor and pro-chancellor of the university.

Board of management, comprising professionals and academics, shall be independent of the managing company with full autonomy to perform its academic and administrative responsibilities.

According to the release, existing land and infrastructure at the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara (earlier known as Railway Staff College) will be utilized and suitably modified for the university. In its full enrolment, it is expected to have 3,000 full time students. The ministry will fund the university.

It was in December 2015 that the railway ministry had declared its intention to set up the railway university. Later, union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha during his visit to NAIR had declared that the university will come up in Vadodara.