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BENGALURU: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the upgradation of the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI) to Gati Shakti University in Gujarat which would serve as a hub for education, training, skilling, and research in the transportation sector.
The cabinet committee of economic affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the upgradation of the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI) from a deemed-to-be-university to a Central University.
“The Cabinet has decided to establish Gati Shakti University", says Union Minister Anurag Thakur while briefing about the cabinet decisions.
Railway training centres and special laboratories will be utilised to impart training, said the government.
In December 2017, Union Cabinet approved a proposal of the railway ministry to set up the first-ever NRTU in Vadodara. Earlier in October 2016, the Prime Minister had announced the government’s intent to set up the university in Vadodara.
“Once it becomes a central university, it will enjoy greater autonomy," said an education ministry official.
As a deemed university, NRTU has to follow the deemed university's regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The institute is not allowed to affiliate any institution.
The University is named after the government's flagship ₹100 trillion PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity. It aims to build a holistic infrastructure in the country. It received its first-ever outlay of ₹20,000 crore in the budget of FY22-23.
The Gati Shakti Master Plan is essentially a digital platform bringing together 16 ministries, including roadways and railways for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects while providing seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods, and services from one mode of transport to another. It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry and land ports, UDAN, etc.