Railway Minister Lalu Prasad may not perhaps be able to grapple with a desktop, but this is not going to deter him from rubbing shoulders with the computer-savvy, crème-de-la-crème of the Indian industry in his efforts to position the transport behemoth as an IT-driven enterprise friendly to passengers and freight operators.
And if Monday’s meeting between Mr Prasad, the payjama-kurta clad CEO of Indian Railways, and the pin-striped, dapper IT honchos goes well at a National Association for Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) function here, it may well herald a long-lasting bonding between them and the Railways being in the midst of a Rs 4,000-crore IT contract to integrate its freight, financial and employee management.

Once operationalised, it will become the largest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) contract ever implemented in the country. The system will manage the database of about 30 lakh railway employees including 14 lakh pensioners.

Largest contract
As of now, the Company Affairs Ministry’s MCA 21 has been the largest government contract that involved an expenditure of Rs 345 crore.

Leading IT companies like Wipro, IBM, TCS, Infosys and Oracle have shown their keenness to hop on to the Railways’ bandwagon, firm in their belief that it will make profitable business deals for them.

“The project involves making an integrated portal-based system for tracking freight management, warehouse planning, financial management and billing. The solution will also include a Human Resource Management System (HRMS),’’ a top ministry official said.

Mr Prasad has been invited to the NASSCOM function for presenting IT user awards to companies across nine verticals that have understood the value that technology brings to their customers and ultimately, the person on the street.

The minister is also to receive a special award on behalf of the  Indian Railways for its pioneering use of technology that has touched millions of lives and promises to make travelling by train a pleasurable experience.