Indian Railways is not only one of the world’s largest railway networks, it is also an environmentally conscious government organisation with a proactive vision to create a mass transport system with a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030. To support the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), UNEP, under its PAGE engagement, developed comprehensive training modules and organized a pilot capacity building training programme from 10th to 17th July on environmental sustainability for Indian Railways officials.
The online training covers a variety of topics related to green economy, including aspects of green transport, resource efficiency, waste management, green building, sustainable public procurement, circular economy and India’s NDC & SDG targets. Conducted by renowned circular economy expert Dr Prasad Modak, the week-long pilot training programme utilized the ‘flipped teaching’ method for maximum effectiveness. This method requires participants to learn relevant content via the online training modules prior to the course, enabling active participation in the interactive training sessions and ultimately resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the content. The programme will strengthen the capacities in Indian Railways in the area of environmental sustainability across the ranks of decision makers and implementers, whilst also supporting mainstreaming of environmental sustainability into NAIR training procedures by training the faculty.
Highlighting the importance of the programme, the inaugural session was attended by the Chairman of the Railway Board, the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training, the Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Assistant Secretary General & Executive Director of UNITAR, as well as the trainee officials and other senior officials of Indian Railways.