New Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw orders ministry officials to work in 2 shifts

New Railways Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, Ashwini Vaishnaw ordered officials and staffers in his office to work in two shifts.

The first shift will start at 7 am and end at 4 pm while the second shift will start at 3 pm and end at 12 am in midnight, an order by his office said.

"Minister of Railways has directed that all the offices and staff of the minister's office will work in two shifts i.e 7:00 hrs-16:00 hrs and 15:00 hrs -12:00 midnight with immediate effect," Narain said.

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According to DJ Narain, ADG PR, Ministry of Railways, the order has been issued only for MR cell (minister's office) and not private or Railway staff.

"It's for officers in MR cell only as is written in the note and it means--"Miles to go before we sleep..!" So much is to be done and every minute counts for the Railways on a mission mode. MR cell means minister's office, not private, Railway staff," he added.

After taking charge, the new Minister had said that the Railways is a major part of PM Modi's vision and he would work to make the vision a reality.

"His (PM Modi's) vision for railways is to transform the lives of the people, that everyone - common man, farmers, the poor - gets the benefit of the railway. I will work for that vision," said Vaishnaw.

A former IAS officer of the 1994-batch, Vaishnaw has handled important responsibilities for over 15 years and was particularly known for his contribution to the public-private partnership (PPP) framework in infrastructure, something that will help him in the rail sector.

He has also held leadership roles across major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens.

Vaishnaw has done his MBA from the Wharton School, Pennsylvania University, and M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

*With inputs from agencies