NRTI in Gujarat renamed as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, gets central university tag

National Rail and Transportation Institute upgraded as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, the deemed to be university will be upgraded to a central university.

Gujarat: The Railway University in Gujarat's Vadodara has been granted central status by the Union Cabinet, Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. The university has been renamed as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to introduce a Bill in Parliament, namely, the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009 for setting up of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), Thakur said. 

The amendment would help in converting the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI), a deemed-to-be university into Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, a Central University, he added. Currently, the NRTI offers BSc in transportation technology, BBA in transportation management courses, and MSc in railway system engineering and integration.

Anurag Thakur said since the government has plans of pumping in Rs 100 lakh crore in projects related to rail, road and sea infrastructure, the varsity would provide the necessary research and skilled manpower. The infrastructure sector in the country is going in for a major expansion under the Narendra Modi government.

The Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya is envisioned to be a key enabler for expanding the transportation sector which is strategically critical for India's economic growth and development, he said. The sector requires a stable supply of highly trained personnel and state-of-the-art technology. The University will fill these gaps, he added.

The scope of the university will extend beyond the Railways to cover the entire transport sector to support its ambitious growth and modernisation, he asserted.

It will integrate and utilize the extensive network of training facilities owned by the Indian Railways and the institutes of other sectoral ministries like road transport and highways, civil aviation, ports, shipping and waterways, the minister said.