The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu while presenting the Railway Budget 2016-17 in Parliament today announced to set up a R&D organization, a Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology & Holistic Advancement, ‘SRESTHA.’ RDSO will now focus only on day to day issues while SRESTHA would drive long term research. SRESTHA would be headed by an eminent scientist reporting directly to Chairman, Railway Board and would be staffed with scientists and a limited number of Railway experts. RDSO functioning will be made totally transparent with time bound results.

The Railway Minister also proposed the Aekikaran – Consolidation of Holding Companies of Railways. Shri Prabhu said that the companies owned by Indian Railway are its assets with immense future potential. We propose to examine the feasibility of bringing most of these companies under an umbrella of a holding company which would provide the necessary strength for leveraging the combined resources as also in providing the much needed flexibility in utilizing the strength of each of the subsidiaries

The Railway Minister added that for ensuring delivery of quality services to its customers, IR needs to be equipped with modern and cutting edge technology. Priority areas of IR, like High Speed Rail, heavy haul, rolling stock and signalling require us to collaborate with the best in the world. In the short term, we have partnered with some of the best railways to develop indigenous capability in these areas. To institutionalise and take forward such cooperation in key technology areas, the Government is working on a Foreign Rail Technology Cooperation Scheme (FRTCS).

Railway R&D reorganisation: create a specialised national R&D entity and assess holding company consolidation to leverage assets. Proposal to create SRESTHA, a specialised R&D body led by an eminent scientist reporting to the Railway Board, to drive long term research while RDSO focuses on operational issues; RDSO to adopt transparent, time bound functioning. Simultaneously, an Aekikaran study will assess consolidating most railway owned companies under a holding company to leverage combined resources and flexibility, and a Foreign Rail Technology Cooperation Scheme will institutionalise foreign partnerships for technology transfer and indigenous capability building.