Take a look astatine the indispensable events, concepts, terms, quotes, oregon phenomena each time and brushwood up your knowledge. Here’s your cognition nugget for today.
Subject: Infrastructure and Technology
(Relevance: Technology-related topics, peculiarly those concerning infrastructure, person go progressively important. The UPSC has asked questions astir technologies that person laid the groundwork for important advancements successful connection and different sectors. For instance, successful the UPSC CSE prelims 2022, a question was asked astir short-range devices and technologies.)
Why successful the news?
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) held railway presumption unit and officials astatine the divisional and zonal levels accountable for the collision betwixt the Kanchanjunga Express and a goods bid successful West Bengal this June. The CRS described the incidental arsenic an “accident-in-waiting” owed to “lapses astatine aggregate levels” successful managing bid operations successful the lawsuit of “automatic awesome failures” and could person been avoided. The railway information assemblage besides called for the implementation of the automatic train-protection system—KAVACH—on apical priority.
Key Takeaways :
1. Kavach is India’s precise ain precocious Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation successful collaboration with the Indian manufacture to forestall bid collisions by automatically activating the braking strategy of the train.
2. This exertion features an physics instrumentality linked with vigor frequence recognition systems positioned astatine stations, trains and tracks. If a loco aviator inadvertently skips a reddish signal, Kavach automatically activates and controls the train’s braking systems. Additionally, the strategy detects immoderate trains approaching the aforesaid tracks, taking indispensable actions to avert collisions and alerting the loco pilot.
3. Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) oregon Kavach includes the cardinal elements from already existing, and tried and tested systems similar the European Train Protection and Warning System, and the indigenous Anti Collison Device.
4. Basic Features of KAVACH are:
(i) Allows trains to run astatine permissible speeds.
(ii) Assists loco pilots successful preventing Signal Passing astatine Danger (SPAD).
(iii) Provides continuous velocity supervision.
(iv) Displays awesome aspects and question authorization successful the loco pilot’s cab.
(v) Offers extortion against imaginable collisions.
5. In October 2022 and December 2023, 4 contracts were awarded for the installation of Kavach connected 789 kilometers of way and 90 locomotives, with a completion play of 24 months. So far, palmy trials with locomotives person been completed connected 405 kilometers of the full track. The people for the FY 2024-25 is to screen 735 kilometers.
6. A sum of Rs 1,112.57 crore has been allocated for the installation of the Kavach successful the fiscal twelvemonth of 2024-25.
BEYOND THE NUGGET: Recommendations of Debroy committee connected Railway Reforms
7. Debroy committee was constituted connected September 22, 2014 and submitted its last study successful June 2015. The committee dealt with a scope of issues related to the Indian Railways from decision-making structure, accounting system, quality assets absorption & worker costs, multiplicity of antithetic channels of introduction into the IR, precocious gross expenditure and debased superior expenditure, fiscal presumption to mounting up an Independent Regulator etc.
8. The committee had made a full of 40 recommendations, retired of which, 19 were afloat accepted, 7 were partially accepted and 14 recommendations were rejected.
9. At the apical of the proposal was liberalisation of Indian Railways. While clarifying that by the word “liberalisation”, it does not mean “privatization”, the committee said that the introduction of caller operators into railways volition beryllium a viable enactment for encouraging maturation and improving services. The committee besides said that a regulatory mechanics to beforehand a steadfast contention and to support the involvement of each stakeholders is an indispensable prerequisite.
10. While immoderate of the recommendations person been taken connected board: including the phasing retired of the abstracted Rail Budget, the redesignation of the Chairman of Railway Board arsenic Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a program to accord much powers to General Managers (GMs) and Divisional General Managers (DRMs) to instrumentality decisions “independently”, the overarching proposal connected “liberalisation” of Indian Railways has not been taken connected committee yet.
11. It was the Debroy adept sheet which recommended that the president of the Railway Board beryllium re-designated arsenic CEO to expedite determination making. It was accepted by the authorities and the archetypal Chairman and CEO of Railway committee was appointed successful September 2020 aft the authorities reconstituted the committee successful caller form.
12. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology, told The Indian Express that the authorities has taken the study earnestly and implemented astir of the important recommendations, particularly the empowering of officers. The authorities besides partially acted upon the proposal for decentralisation to the part level of the mega organisation, the attraction of divisions arsenic autarkic concern units and DRMs being empowered to grip each types of tenders of the division.
(Sources: Kanchanjunga Express collision was ‘accident-in-waiting’: Probe report, Debroy committee charted the Railways’ way towards viability & competitiveness)
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