THE NAVIGATOR

Pradeep Gaur, CMD of RVNL, believes that every adversity brings opportunity. He has steered the railway PSU into more sectors and geographies as it charts out a new course

- Surabhi

AS ONE OF the oldest-serving employees of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), Pradeep Gaur, its current Chairman and Managing Director, has seen the rail PSU come into its own.

RVNL was incorporated in 2003 with the twin objectives of implementing projects related to creating and augmenting the capacity of rail infrastructure on a fast-track basis and raising extra budgetary resources for SPV (special purpose vehicle) projects. It began operations in 2005, and Gaur, a 1987 batch IRSE (Indian Railway Service of Engineers) officer, joined RVNL soon after.

Over the past 19 years, he has seen the company grow and has also played a significant role in its transformation in recent times after he became its chief in 2018. He also oversaw the company's listing in 2019, when the government sold 12.12% stake.

"I'm one of the longest-serving people in this organisation. I joined it from Indian Railways on deputation in 2005 and was later absorbed [into it]. So, I have been here almost since its inception," Gaur tells BT. Based on this long association, he confidently states that RVNL has evolved into a very capable project executing organisation with very high technical capabilities. "It has developed a lot of resiliency and can spring back from any pushback," says Gaur.

But it hasn't been easy going. When Gaur took charge as CMD about five and a half years ago, RVNL faced a number of challenges. Project execution was slow, and a large number of projects were languishing. So, Gaur's first task was to bring these to order and get them commissioned.