69th Foundation Day of National Academy of Indian Railways celebrated in the academy campus

CMD Air
India and Former CRB, Ashwini Lohani Director IIM-Ahmedabad, Errol-d’ Souza
Chief Guest on the occasion

The 69th
Foundation Day of National Academy of Indian Railways was celebrated in the
academy campus in picturesque setting of the ‘Raja Baug’ opposite the iconic
‘Pratap Vilas Palace’, which forms the focal point of the Academy. The occasion
was marked by a formal programme in which CMD Air India and Former CRB, Ashwini
Lohani was bestowed upon with the ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’, which is a
recognition given to one former trainee of the Academy for all round excellence
in public service. Director IIM-Ahmedabad, Errol-d’ Souza was the Chief Guest
on the occasion.

Before the presentation of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Director General/ N.A.I.R. presented the Annual Report of the Academy where he spoke in detail about the achievements of the academy. He informed all present that, the Academy had been once again awarded the prestigious ‘ Golden Peacock Nation Training Award’ in 2019. The Academy was also conferred upon with the IGBC Green Certification of ‘Certified’ level under ‘IGBC Green Campus’ rating system.

Speaking on
the occassion, the distinguished alumnus awardee, CMD Air India, Ashwini Lohani
thanked the Academy for conferring upon him the prestigious award. He also
expressed his deep happiness at being given a copy of the photograph of his
foundation batch, when he was a 21 year old probationer in the (then) Railway
Staff College.

He said that
he was “Humbled and Emotionally Touched” by the gesture and was taken
back 44 years when he had joined I.R. and was a Probationer in the very same
campus. Sharing his life-learnings, he exhorted the audience, especially the
trainee officers to continuously tell themselves that they belong to a truly
great organization. He said that the greatest resource of an
organization-especially of the Indian Railways-is its manpower. He said that
that the  first three strategies for
effective management have to be-H.R, H.R & H.R. He went on to say that
“impeccable personal integrity” was an absolute essential for
becoming an outstanding officer and a great leader.” We are all servants
of the Indian People and let us always remember that” he added.

After the
address of Lohani, Medals and Awards were given away to 60 officers of
different levels of seniority for their outstanding achievements in various
fields and activities during training at NAIR. The Director General’s medals
for Group-A, Foundation Courses( 2018 & 2019) went to Akshay Gangarwal and
Rajeev Chaudhari, Respectively. The Director General’s medals for Group- A,
Medical Foundation (2018 & 2019) went to Dr Shivangi Shukla and Dr Asha
Kalwar respectively.

For the
first time, Awards were also given away for ‘Best Rural Attachment’ training
and Presentations. Other categories in which the awards were given were, ‘Best
MDP Project’, ‘ Best Hindi Project’, Best IRAS Probationer award, Ratanlal
Memorial Trophy, Lakshmi Sarath Memorial Trophy, Maheshwar Dayal Cup, Best
Probationer in sports, and Best Kept Office.

After the
award ceremony, Chief Guest ,Director IIM- Ahmedabad, addressed the gathering.
He praised the training being imparted at NAIR and said that IIMA and NAIR have
a mutually enriching engagement in the field of training of Officers at all
levels. Underscoring the importance of 
training in development of Human Resource, he said that it  is 
effective, timely and well directed training that transforms ordinary
individuals into officers of Highest Caliber.

His address
was greeted by enthusiastic applause by the audience. Vote of thanks was given
by Deputy Director General of NAIR, Shri.V.K.Saxena. The formal programme
concluded with the National Anthem. After the formal programme, a Cultural
Programme was presented in the Sardar Patel Sabhagar, by the Probationary
Officers currently undergoing their Group-A Foundation Programme in NAIR.