On October 6, 2025, Railway Protection Force (RPF) under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and Indian Railway Institute of Disaster Management (IRIDM) under the MoR, signed a tri-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi (Delhi) to strengthen railway disaster response.
- The move aims to set up an institutional framework for integrated relief operations particularly for railway accident and disaster scenarios, emphasizing saving lives during the “Golden Hour”.
Exam Hints:
- What? Tri-Party MoU signed
- Entities: RPF, NDRF, & IRIDM
- Where? New Delhi (Delhi)
- Purpose: To strengthen railway disaster response.
- Contract Entities: Airtel Business & IRSOC
- Purpose: To protect the IT infrastructure of IR
Key Details of MoU:
Signatories: The MoU was signed by B.V. Rao, Inspector General (IG) of RPF; Narendra Singh Bundela, IG of NDRF; and Srinivas, Director of IRIDM; in the presence of R. Rajagopal, Member (Traction & Rolling Stock) (MTRS), Railway Board; Aruna Nayar, Director General (DG) (Human Resources, HR); Piyush Anand, DG, NDRF; Sonali Mishra, DG, RPF, and others.
Focus: The MoU emphasizes rapid response during the critical “golden hour”, the first critical minutes or hours following a disaster. Drills, protocols, and planning will prioritize timely action to save lives in the early phase of emergencies.
Role of Entities: As part of the MoU, RPF will develop specialized response capabilities tailored to railway environments, including operations inside coaches, confined spaces, and cut-out zones.
- IRIDM will lead the development of common Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering aspects such as access sequencing, stabilization, cutting, patient packaging, and handover.
- The agreement envisions joint drills, common checklists, and unified radio communication protocols to ensure interoperability among agencies.
Training Modules: A structured three-stage training program, encompassing Foundational training (Module A) at the Jagjivan Ram RPF Academy (JRRPFA) in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh, UP), Sensitization training (Module B) at NDRF battalions, and Advanced, simulation-based training (Module C) at IRIDM has been planned.
Institutional Roles: Under the MoU, JRRPFA will function as the nodal training hub, NDRF will host field-level sensitization modules, and IRIDM will design, document, and updated advanced curricula.
Implementation: It will be carried out across all Zonal Railways, with periodic reviews and updates to ensure sustained effectiveness.
Airtel Business Secured Multi-Year Contract from IRSOC:
In October 2025, Airtel Business, a Business-to-Business (B2B) arm of Bharti Airtel Limited, secured a multi-year contract from Indian Railways Security Operations Centre (IRSOC), an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based cybersecurity initiative by Indian Railways (IR).
Focus: The move focuses on protecting the critical Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, including systems for ticketing, train tracking, freight operations, signaling, and digital payments, from cyber threats.
Role of Airtel Business: As part of the contract, it will design, build, implement, and operate a greenfield, multi-layered cybersecurity protection ecosystem for the IR.
Coverage: The cybersecurity operations will extend across 26 railway locations or zones, covering approximately 1,60,000 employees.
About Railway Protection Force (RPF):
The RPF was formally established in 1957, through the enactment of the Railway Protection Force(RPF) Act, 1957 by the Parliament of India.
Director General (DG) – Sonali Mishra
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
