New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) The government will set up a Centre for Railway Research at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Wednesday while promising to strengthen research ties with the IITs and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
“A Centre for Railway Research is proposed to be set up in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for research in key areas of railway technology and to give a thrust to indigenisation (sic),” the minister said while presenting the railway budget for 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha.

The agreement with IIT Kharagpur was signed Feb 13.

“Railways will establish strong research partnership with premier institutes like IITs, NITs (National Institutes of Technology), CSIR (Council for Science and Industrial Research) and DRDO.”

Banerjee said the railways’ ambitious vision of expansion and modernisation requires for its fulfilment a strong emphasis on developing indigenous research and development capabilities.

“I am not happy with the functioning of RDSO (Research Design and Standards Organisation). I have therefore decided to revamp it and bring it in line with modern research organisations,” she added.

Based in Lucknow, the RDSO is a nodal research body under the railway ministry.