BULLET TRAINSSPEEDING UP INDIA’S JOURNEY INTO THE FUTURE

Vijay Kumar Dutt

High speed in Indian Railways is at present lim-ited to 150 KMPH. However, in many other

countries the speed of Railways is of the order of200 KM per hour (KMPH). In France, Japan,Germany, China, Spain and South Korea highspeed traction above 280 KMPH has been intro-duced. India and Japan have signed a memoran-dum of understanding (MoU) on 12th December,2015 on cooperation and assistance in theMumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (HSR)Project referred to by many as ‘Bullet TrainProject’. Japan has offered an assistance of overRs. 79,000 crore for the project. The loan is for aperiod of 50 years with a moratorium of 15 years,at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent. The project is a508-kilometre Railway line costing a total of Rs97,636 crore, to be implemented in a period ofseven years. It has been agreed that for theMumbai – Ahmedabad HSR Project. Japan’sShinkansen Technology, known for its speets relia-bility and safety, will be adopted. Transfer of tech-nology and “Make in India” will be essential part ofthis assistance package. Japan will also assistIndia in training of personnel for HSR.’ The twocountries have also entered into two comprehen-sive technological cooperation agreements on 11thDecmber 2015, for modernization and upgradationof Indian railways. These agreements have been

signed during the official visit to India of HisExcellency Mr. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister ofJapan, during December 11-13, 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister MrNarendra Modi said the decision to introduce High

Speed Rail on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sectorthrough the Japan’s Shinkansen is no less historic.He said “We greatly appreciate Prime MinisterAbe's extraordinary package of approximately 12billion U.S. dollars and technical assistance, onvery easy terms, for this project.This enterprise willlaunch a revolution in Indian railways and speed upIndia’s journey into the future. It will become anengine of economic transformation in India.”

With this significant development, the stage is all

set for acceleration of commissioning of IndianHigh Speed Rail Project which has been in variousstages of planning during the last one decade.Indian Railways Vs Road Transport

Indian Railways is an energy efficient mode ofTransportation in our country. Energy consumed byrailways is one sixth of corresponding energy con-sumed by road transport. At the same time Railways in India now run Primarily on elec-tricity which can be derived from modes other than oil including New and Renewable energysources like wind and solar. Keeping in view the global oil crisis, and India’s dependence on imports for crude oil, Indian Railways is an ideal means of transportation.

Railways use one third of the ‘Right of Way’as compared to the Road. This is another useful factor for our populous country where landscarcity will always be an issue.

The Rail Coefficient ( percentage of use of Rail)of passengers as well as freight which stands atabout 10 percent and 35 percentat present isdeclining as less capacity has been added to theRail Sector. Increasing Rail Coefficient by expand-ing capacity is in wider national interest.

Indian Railways is the third largest railway net-work in the world with 7,083 railway stations,

Continued on page 39

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CAREER IN BORDER ROADS ORGANIZATION

Border Roads Organization is a multifaceted, modernconstruction Organisation committed to meeting the

strategic needs of the armed forces. Its role is to developand maintain the operational road infrastructure in borderareas and it also contributes to the socio-economic devel-opment of the border states. It was raised in 1960 tocarve roads through difficult Himalayas in North-Westernand North-Eastern border areas of the country. Thoughfor basic purpose it is a road constructing civil engineer-ing organization –task-func-tion-wise similar to Centraland or State PWDs -- yet inoverall effect its role is akin tothat of Corps of Engineers ofthe Indian Army. It constructsand maintains roads in virginareas where other civil engi-neering works-executingagencies are unable to oper-ate. The officers, supervisorsand men required for main-taining this Force are drawnpartly from the Armed Forces,especially Corps of Engineers,and partly enrolled/enlisted from open market exclusivelyfor this Force. A few officers, especially doctors, aredrawn from Indian Air Force and the Navy also. Thetroops enrolled exclusively for manning functions of thisorganization are collectively known as General ReserveEngineer Force, or ‘GREF’. The personnel drawn fromother defence forces are considered on normal militaryduty. In other words while the phrase ‘Border RoadsOrganization’ stands for the department as a whole,‘GREF’ is the name of the collective body of the former’swhole-time regular employees, recruited,maintained anddeployed , exclusively on execution of BRO’s projects /

works only. The technical head of the organization, locat-ed at New Delhi, named as Director General BorderRoads, is a Lt. General from Corps of Engineers. Theorganization is a potential employer not only for techni-cally qualified/ trained professionals but also for semi-skilled and unskilled youths having aptitude for outdoorlife.Setup of Units The lower most independent working unit in BRO is called

Road Construction Company,or ‘RCC’. Like a Division of theprovincial PWD, an RCC iscommanded by an officer ofthe rank of Executive Engineeror Major. It comprises of func-tional platoons like ‘FormationCutting Platoon’ for cutting newroads; ‘Permanent WorksPlatoon’ for construction of cul-verts, retaining and breastwalls, drains and parapets,etc.; ‘Surfacing Platoon’ formetalling the driveway and‘Road Maintenance Platoon’

for keeping the finished roads in good repairs. These pla-toons are placed under the charge of a Platoon Officer ofthe rank of Assistant Executive Engineer or a Captain,who reports to the Officer Commanding RCC for all exec-utives, administrative and financial matters. A few RCCsmake a Border Roads Task Force, or ‘BRTF’, which is likea Circle of the provincial PWD or an Engineer Regimentof the Army. Earlier Task Force(s) used to be command-ed by a Superintending Engineer or a Colonel of Corps ofEngrs. A few BRTFs put together form a BRO Project. AProject is commanded by a Chief Engineer of GREF or a

Continued on page 40facebook.com/director.employmentnews

K.L. Noatay

VOL. XL NO. 40 PAGES 40 NEW DELHI 02- 08 JANUARY 2016 ` 8.00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

NTPC Ltd. requires 177 EngineeringExecutive Trainees through GATE-2016Last Date : 29.01.2016 (pg 4)

NTPC

Central Ordnance Depot, Agrarequires 113 Material Assistant,Tradesman Mate, Fireman etc.Last Date : 21 Days after thepublication (pg 9)

COD

Military Engineer Services invitesapplications for recruitment of 480Group ‘C’ posts. Last Date : 13.02.2016 (pg 27-31)

MES

JOB HIGHLIGHTS

Turn over the pages for other vacanciesin Banks, Armed Forces, Railways,PSUs and other Govt. Deptts.

40 www.employmentnews.gov.in Employment News 2 - 8 January 2016

DELHI POSTAL REGD. NO. DL-SW-1/4101/2015-17U(C)-108/2015-17 Licensed to Post without prepayment RNI 28728/76 N.D.P.S.O. New Delhi 1/2.01.2016 Date of Publishing : 28.12.2015 (` 8.00)

Air Surcharge 20p for Srinagar, Leh, Kalimpong, Imphal, Dimapur, Agartala, Duliajan, Karimganj, Chabua, Diphu, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Haillakandi, Mariani, Jorhat, Shillong, Digboi, Silchar, Port Blair

Brigadier of the Corps of Engrs. Toassist the RCCs and BRTFs produceoptimum results, the organization,has certain common service units like‘Engineer Stores Supply & TransportCompany’ or for procurement, stor-age, issuance and transport of con-struction stores; ‘Field Workshop’ or‘Field Workshop Platoon’ for mainte-nance and repairs of the departmen-tal vehicles and assorted hill cutting/road building/maintaining machineryand Base Depots’ for holding bufferstocks of stores and equipment. Theorganization in addition holds‘GREFPioneer Companies,each havingsome 400 Pioneers, who are theorganization’s foot soldiers. Theyhandle all kinds of manual tasks,which otherwise can’t be got execut-ed through locally mustered / import-ed casual daily wagers. BRO alsoborrows a complement of ArmyPioneers, who are authorized andalso hold fire arms for security dutieswith movement of cash, sensitivedocuments and or VIPs. These com-mon service units are manned by offi-cers having expertise in specificfields. Non-technical administrativeofficers command the GREF pioneercompanies, who form bulk of theforce. The Medical Staging Sectionsand Medical Inspection Rooms takecare of the sick and suffering troops,while Dental officer and his teammove from camp to camp for check-ing and improving the denture of theroad building troops deployed in for-ward areas. While every BRO Projecthas one Signals Officer for manningthe wireless communications net-work, a Postal Unit is there to lookafter movement of official daak as

well as the private mail of the troops.Provost unit is one more setup in aProject for taking care of the internalas well as external security in theorganization.Governing RegulationsThe GREF officers and men aresimultaneously governed under twoseparate sets of rules. For the pur-pose of recruitment, leave, pay andallowances and retirement or dis-charge etc., they are governed underCentral Civil Services Regulations.Forthe purpose of discipline, however,they are / can also be simultaneouslygoverned under the provisions ofArmy Act, 1950, with certain essentialmodifications,specially dove-tailed forGREF.The application of the Army Actentitles the GREF personnel, to anumber of privileges like those enti-tled to the personnel of other wings ofthe Armed Forces.Cadres of GREF OfficersBulk of GREF officers are CivilEngineers, followed by the Electrical &Mechanical Engineers. Both thesegroups are constituted into BorderRoads Engineering Service, or‘BRES’. Next numerically lesser stronggroups are GREF AdministrativeOfficers and Medical Officers.Categories of Tradesmen The bulk of working strength ofGREF comprises of the troopsdeployed on construction of roadsand buildings. They are Pioneers,Masons, Drillers, Dozer Operators,Compressor Drivers, Mechanics,Electricians, Carpenters, Mates,Leading Hands,Overseers, etc. Theaforesaid road making troops aresupported by clerks, nursing assis-tants, wireless operators, safaiwalas,cooks,etc., who are responsible forrunning the administration in officesand camps.

Recruitment The recruitment of GREF officers isconducted by Union Public ServiceCommission based on the require-ment projected by the head of theorganization. The BRES officers are recruited by the Union PublicService Commission through an allIndia Engineering ServicesCompetitive Examination. Officers ofthe other cadres are recruited by theUPSC through interview only. In addi-tion, a good number of officers risefrom and out of organisation’s serv-ing lower ranks through departmentalpromotions.The recruitment of various categoriesof GREF subordinates is done cen-trally by the Commandant, GREFCentre and Records, located at Punein Maharashtra. While the advertisingof the vacancies in officers cadres isdone by UPSC through leadingnewspapers of the country, that forthe subordinates is done by GREFRecords by inserting advertisementin the newspapers. Pay and Allowances In the matter of pay and allowances,while services officers and personnelretain their respective original termsand conditions of the defence serv-ice, the GREF troops are governedby Central Govt.’s scales of pay. All benefits of service available toCentral Govt. servants are also appli-cable to GREF personnel also.Therefore, the benefits like ChildrenEducation Allowance, Leave TravelConcession Central Govt.Employees Group InsuranceScheme, General Provident Fund,House Rent Allowance, allotment ofGovt. Accommodation, gratuity etc.all are applicable to GREF nearly atpar with other Central Govt. employ-

ees. Rather the BRO’s field of workbeing in remote areas, the troopswhile deployed in those hard areasare entitled at a good number ofplaces of work to remote localityallowance or special compensatoryallowance at variable rates accordingto the pay scale and the place ofwork. Those posted to Anadamans&Nicobar and or North-EasternRegion, Ladakh etc. get an addition-al allowance.In addition to above benefits ofCentral Govt. Service, the GREF per-sonnel also enjoy free rations andCanteen facilities.Promotional ProspectsBRO being a defence oriented civilengineering organization, the civilengineer officers stand fairly goodchances of promotion. A direct entryAEE (Civil) can rise upto the post ofAdditional DGBR. An Electrical andMechanical Engineer Officer whojoins organization as Asstt. ExecutiveEngineer can hope to rise up to thelevel of Chief Engineer. The MedicalOfficers can rise up to Deputy ChiefMedical Officer (SG) andAdministrative Officers to the post ofDirector (Adm). The subordinateshaving lesser promotional prospectsget time bound higher pay scales.For an industrious individual who haszeal for outdoor work, spirit of patri-otism and craving to serve the moth-er land, who sees pride in belongingto a uniformed/disciplined setup,Border Roads Organization is thebest choice for realizing ones cher-ished career dreams.The author is Former Director,(Legal & Grievances) BorderRoads Organisation.Email: klnoatay@yahoo.com

CAREER IN BRO ... Continued from page 1

Printed & Published by Dr. Sadhana Rout, Additional Director General, on behalf of Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, New Delhi and Printed at Amar Ujala Publication Ltd., C-21 & 22,Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published from Employment News (Ministry of I. & B.) East Block-IV, Level-5, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066. Senior Editor - Hasan Zia

Parliament has passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill,2015 for trying juveniles as adults. The bill was first passed in Lok Sabha in May,2015 and later in Rajya Sabha in December, 2015. Under the legislation, the juve-nile age has now been lowered from 18 to 16 years for heinous crimes like mur-der, rape, acid attack and kidnapping followed by murder. No juvenile will be sentto jail directly. Juvenile Justice Boards, and Child Welfare Committees will be con-stituted in each district. The Juvenile Justice Board has been given the option totransfer cases of heinous offences by such children to a Children’s Court after con-ducting preliminary assessment. The provisions provide for placing children in a‘place of safety’ both during and after the trial till they attain the age of 21 yearsafter which an evaluation of the child shall be conducted by the Children’s Court.After the evaluation, the child will be either released on probation and if the child isnot reformed then the child will be sent to a jail for remaining term.

Union Cabinet has approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A. It will beimplemented by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation and will cost Rs 6,928 crore.The metro train will ply between Chowdhary Charan Singh Airport to Munshi Pulia.It will cover a length of around 23 kilometer with 22 stations.

In another important decision, Union Cabinet has given its nod to the ModelAgreement on exemption from visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic andofficial passports. The decision will expand the envelope of visa-free travel forholders of diplomatic and official passports to more than 130 countries. So far, visafree agreements have been signed with 69 countries.The Union Cabinet has also given its approval for reconstruction and completionof Salma Dam Project in Afghanistan at the revised cost around Rs 1776 crore.The project is scheduled to be completed by June next year and will address theenergy requirements and irrigation needs of Afghanistan.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its nod for implementation of anumbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries. Thescheme will be implemented at an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore for a period of fiveyears. It will be implemented in all the States including North East States and UnionTerritories.

Union Ministry of Defence has launched a new Make in India websitewww.makeinindiadefence.com to make defence acquisition process simpler and toprovide an interface with industry. The website would make defence acquisitionprocess simpler and transparent. It provides information related to all proceduraland policy issues relevant for defence manufacturing industry in the country. It willact as an enabler for the industry to get the latest news and notification regardingvarious aspects of the defence production

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the demonstration of the first prototypeof a diesel bus converted into a battery operated electric bus at a function in

Parliament recently. It is hoped that the initiative will usher in a new era of pollutionfree mass transport in the country. These Retrofit Electric buses run on chargedbatteries. Their per km travel cost is almost half in comparison to diesel buses andthey are less hard on environment. Cost of electric retrofit in an existing bus wouldbe around Rs 60 lakh because of imported lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries but in longterm they are cheaper. The buses are so efficient that the electricity it generates isused again and again. The road and transport ministry has earmarked about Rs.10crore for electric buses technology in India and for converting 12 existing dieselbuses into electric. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are likely to get these busesin the next 3-4 months. The Prime Minister has called upon the youth to come for-ward to make cost-effective, long lasting batteries to promote the making of moresuch electric buses which can be incorporated in public transport system of thecountry.Nepal government has decided to amend the new Constitution to address two keydemands of agitating Medhesis regarding proportional representation and con-stituency delimitation. The decision was taken at an emergency Cabinet meetingwhich also agreed to set up a political mechanism to recommend solutions to dis-putes. The decisions include amendments to the Constitution on participation inthe state organs on the basis of proportionate inclusiveness and delineation ofelectoral constituencies on the basis of population. The demarcation of provincesis also to be addressed through an appropriate arrangement in the Constitutionsubsequently. Medhesis have been agitating for the past many months againstsome of the provisions of the Constitution that they believe were discriminatory.India has welcomed these decisions of Nepal government.

The US lawmakers have passed a USD 1.8 trillion spending package which amongother things introduced a hefty USD 4,000 on H-1B visas for Indian IT companiesand imposed stringent condition on America's aid to Pakistan. The bill includes aUSD 1.1 trillion spending bill that funds the government until September 30, 2016,as well as a USD 680 billion tax package. US President has signed the bill intolaw. With this, the Indian IT companies would have to pay millions of dollars whileapplying for H-1B visas, as they heavily rely on this work visa for highly skilled ITworkers to get their work done in the US.

Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter and European football chief Michel Platinihave been banned from all football-related activities for eight years by the EthicsCommittee of football's global governing body. Blatter and Platini have also beenfined USD 40,000 and 80,000 respectively. Both men, however denied anywrongdoing. The ethics inquiry began in the wake of the Swiss attorney general'sdecision to open criminal proceedings against Blatter over the payment to Platini.The office is also investigating the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals toRussia and Qatar.

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