22nd National Rail Seminar on leveraging Railways for Stranger and Vibrant Economy was organized by CTRAM (Centre for transportation Research and Management) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre 29.04.2022 at New Delhi.

On this occasion the Seminar was inaugurated by Sh. S.K. Mohanty, member operation and business Development Railway Board, Smt. Jaya Verma Sinha, Additional Member/Traffic Railway board and Sh. Rakesh Tandon, ED/CTRAM and Sh. Sri Prakash former Member/Traffic Railway Board was also present on this occasion. The Senior officer and IRTS probationer were also present at this seminar. The key note Speech was delivered by Sh. S. K. Mohanty, Member OBD, Railway Board and address the large gathering of Senior Speakers, Delegates, participants from Industry, Members of Press and Media. Indian Railways is the life line of the Nation and Indian economy, as it facilitates and Economic development by transporting material such as Coal, Iron ore, Fertilizers, and food grains.

Sh. S. K. Mohanty said that it touches the lives of people in both tiny villages and urban Metropolises and assists the evolution of Social forces like urbanization and inclusive development. In the year 2021-22 as well as landmark policies like Gati Shakti Cargo terminal policy which has replaced private siding and private freight terminal policy and allows the use of Railway land for Construction of Freight Terminal have been issued. Indian Railways started the year 2021-22 on a very positive note it was felt that worst of the pandemic had passed, but the second wave was looming around the corner and when it stuck, India was faced with a New Challenge, there was huge requirement for liquid Medical Oxygen to be supplied to the hospitals to aid the patients suffering from Delta Varient. The Production Centres were concertrated in few locations in the country and the challenge was to transport the LMO to every Nook and corner of the country. Indian Railway is fully committed to being a customer centric organisation and is investing in creating an enabling environment for transforming the Logistical scene of the Country through capacity, agility and innovation and this is the right time for the trade and industry to firm up their plans for leveraging this infrastructure and synergies it with their growth plans.

Participant of the Session-I are as under:-

1. Sri Prakash, Former Member/Traffic Railway Board, chair the session-I of Seminar
2. Smiriti Sharma, Head Public Policy from Amazon
3. Mukund Kumar Sinha, Transport Specialist, South Asia, ADB
4. Joanna Cymbalista, Quality and Sustainability Compliance Manager, South Asia from IKEA India
5. Digvijay Sulj and Head Policy & New Initiatives from Delivery Logistics
6. Ali AsgarBawa, GM, Logistics from Asian Paints.

Session-II

Session-II was chaired by Smt. Jaya Varma Sinha, Additional member/Traffic Rly. Board. The main speakers in the 2^nd session of the seminar were:

Session-II

1. Rajeev Mehta, Sr. President, Chief Logistics officers of Ultratech Cement.
2. Rakesh Sen, Vice President, Mahindra and Mahindra & Co-Chairman of SIAM Logistics
3. Ajay Tripathi, Head Railway Logistics, India
4. SubratTripathi, C.E.O./Adani Ports
5. Ankan Mitra, Head Regulatory Affairs, TATA Steal

After Covid, the country’s export has increased by 23%. During the last two years, it will increase by 30% by 2030. Railways play a very vital roll in country’s economy. Hence, they demanded that they meet the challanges of the industries. Railways has to grow at the same pace, at which the industry is growing.