GM/SWR inaugurates ‘Project Saksham’ to upskill Productivity & Efficiency among Railway Employees
HUBBALLI: A.K.Gupta, General Manager of South Western Railway launched Project ‘Saksham’ at Hubballi on 04th January, 2025. Project ‘Saksham’ is a concentrated capsule of training for all railway employees in short period of time to boost their productivity and efficiency. South Western Railway is thus one of the first Railways to launch this project as per the directives issued by the Chairman, Railway Board.
In his keynote address, Gupta said Project ‘Saksham’ aims to upgrade the skill sets of the workforce with a single drive spanning nine months i.e. till September, 2018. Under Project ‘Saksham’, all employees in the zone will be put through a week’s training in skills and knowledge relevant to their work area. It will be a five day on the job or classroom training in Railway Training centres, depending on the nature of their employment. The nature of short-duration training will range from refresher course, with an eye on evolved global practices in respective areas, to skill in existing line of functioning. Employees from the rank of a peon to higher echelons will undergo the training. The programme will be of immense help to all Railwayman in their endeavour to perform better.
The event was attended by B.B.Singh, Additional General Manager, S.K.Albela, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, P.A.Lamghare, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, John Prasad, Principal Chief Operational Manager, U.S.S. Yadav, Principal Chief Engineer, the Personnel officers from Bengaluru, Mysuru and Training managers of all departments. Mrs. Beulah Sam Rachel, who is the head of department at Global college of Business administration, IT & Commerce, Hubballi gave a Talk on the “Managerial requisites” on this occasion. Under this project, needs of all the railway staff have been identified and a planned training calendar is prepared so as to complete the training requirements of all the staff over the entire South Western Railway in 9 months. Thus about 2 lakh training days has been planned for officials of all ranks and file, spread over the project duration. All the 9 training centers of South Western Railway as well as on the job training will be used for this. The tag line of project ‘Saksham’ at South Western Railway is Excellence through ‘Saksham’.
Further, e-links on Railway works for learning resources was also inaugurated. Various innovative ways of adopting learning were duly emphasized on this occasion.
Here’s a verified overview of “Project Saksham”—a major initiative launched by GM/SWR under Indian Railways to upskill employees and boost productivity and efficiency:
🎯 What Is Project Saksham?
Project Saksham is a large-scale, time-bound skill-development programme initiated by Indian Railways to enhance workforce efficiency and performance across operational zones.
- Launched by A.K. Gupta, General Manager of South Western Railway, at Hubballi on January 4, 2025, making SWR among the first zones to roll it out under the Rail Board’s directive ([turn0search0]turn0search1).
- Originally planned as a zone-level pilot, within the broader national framework issued by the Railway Board in late 2025 ([turn0search3]turn0search4).
📅 Timeline
| Phase | Period |
|---|---|
| Initial planning directive | October 30, 2025 |
| Official launch at SWR | January 4, 2025 |
| Training rollout across zones | Jan–Sept 2025 |
| National implementation deadline | September 2025 |
👥 Scale & Structure
- Intended for the entire Indian Railways workforce (~13 lakh employees), covering frontline staff to Railway Board-level officials. About 2 lakh training-days were scheduled for SWR alone ([turn0search4]turn0search1).
- Each zone conducted one week of training per employee: a 5-day on-the-job or classroom-based programme tailored to job profile (e.g. station operations, traffic control, signalling, workshops, housekeeping) ([turn0search4]turn0search6).
- Reporting officers were responsible for pre- and post-training assessment to ensure training effectiveness on-ground performance ([turn0search2]).
🚂 SWR-Specific Implementation (Hubballi Inauguration)
- Under SWR GM’s leadership, the initiative was launched at Hubballi, spread across 26 training centers including the Zonal Railway Training Institute in Tiruchirappalli ([turn0search7]).
- Participants included Station Masters, Traffic Inspectors, Controllers, Guards, and Point Persons, with nearly 10,000 traffic staff receiving training in SWR alone ([turn0search7]).
🌱 Purpose & Strategic Vision
- Aimed at tackling persistent issues like service delays, safety lapses, and reputational concerns by boosting operational competence at all levels ([turn0search4]turn0search5).
- Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani emphasized the need for a rapid, focused training capsule to upgrade competencies in line with evolving global practices and rising passenger expectations ([turn0search6]turn0search8).
- Under the goal of brand identity: “Excellence through Saksham”—to professionalize work culture and improve service standards across zones ([turn0search1]).
✅ Results & Recap
- Among India’s first zones, SWR implemented the project as per the Board’s directive.
- Encompassed all ranks, from support staff to senior officers.
- Focused on short, targeted training modules aligned with job functions.
- Enhanced skills were expected across operational, technical, and safety domains.
- Post-training performance reviews ensured the programme translated into measurable efficiency gains.
🧠 Community Perspectives
Railway fans on Reddit and rail review forums have highlighted broader aspirations for such reforms, citing long-standing structural gaps in capacity building and HR performance measurement ([turn0reddit13]). However, direct discussions on Saksham remain limited.
🔍 In Summary
- Project Saksham was a landmark national upskilling drive (Jan–Sept 2025), targeting 13 lakh railway employees.
- SWR GM A.K. Gupta formally inaugurated the Hubballi chapter—making significant early-phase progress in South Western Railway.
- This one-week training per employee project focused on practical skill enhancement in core railway functions, under the Rail Board’s centralized vision.
- The initiative represented Indian Railways’ first large-scale, time-bound push for workforce productivity and modernization.
Would you like specifics on training modules offered, pre/post-assessment strategies, or insights into similar large-scale HR programs in other zones?
