C-dot inks MoU to supply local gears worth over Rs 2100 cr to railways

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) will provide locally-developed technology solutions worth over Rs 2,114 crore to Indian Railways to help the latter reduce dependence on foreign technology.

The Railways Ministry and C-DOT have signed a memorandum of understanding for replacing foreign technology gears being used in Indian Railways.

C-DOT Executive Director Dr RajKumar Upadhyay said that Union Minister for Railways, Communications and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked the organisation to work hard to accelerate the penetration of indigenous technology in the country as well as tap the export market.

He said that the partnership will not only reduce the dependency of Railways on foreign technologies but also mitigate security risks.

"We will be able to develop customized solutions as per Railways' specific requirements at an affordable cost.C-DOT is keen on aligning its indigenous Telecom R&D endeavours with the specific requirements of Indian Railways for meeting the overarching objectives of national development. This MoU will bring great synergy in meeting specific goals of modernizing & expanding nationwide Railways communication networks through C-DOTs indigenously designed technologies," Upadhyay said.

He said that under the arrangement C-DOT will bring its R&D expertise in designing indigenous technologies and Indian Railways has its vast network for deploying these solutions.

Railway Board additional member (telecom) Aruna Singh said that the synergy between C-DOT and Ministry of Railways will help Indian Railways meet the telecom requirement through C-DOTs indigenously designed and developed technologies.

"All this will strengthen the national networks and boost seamless connectivity which will bolster the foundation of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. C-DOT has developed indigenous solutions for LTE and we hope to utilize these solutions for rolling out services for the proposed 4G network for Indian Railways for high-speed mobile communication corridor," Singh said.