Even before the CRS report into the Odisha train accidents recommended steps to ensure that such a tragedy doesn’t occur again, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had already instructed the Railway Board to draw up a plan to overhaul the signalling system, as well as implement a practice that would avoid the need for “shortcuts” in maintenance works. Vaishnaw is learnt to have also instructed officers to consider technologies that would take care of age-old pain-points in maintenance. A novel block-chain system, as a result, is being considered, which officers say will be a game-changer.
Staying Put
Amid speculation over a possible reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, several senior NDA leaders and lawmakers are ensuring that they are present in the national capital. They also got a reason to make a trip to Delhi since chairpersons of at least five Parliamentary committees have called members of the respective panels for meetings. While the standing committees on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, Communications and Information Technology and Petroleum & Natural Gas, as well as the Lok Sabha panel on petitions, had meetings scheduled on Monday, the Finance committee is meeting on Tuesday. Interestingly, IT panel chairman Prataprao Jadhav, a Shiv Sena MP from the Eknath Shinde faction, is one of the probables who could be inducted into the government.
