Ms. Parul Bansal, Assistant Professor along with three students (Shweta Saini, Roll No. 16733, Monica, Roll No. 16768 and Deepanshu Bansal, Roll No. 16766) from Electronics and Computer Engineering Department of Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon attended the “2nd R. K. Vir Memorial Lecture (Theme: Solar Energy: opportunities in Rail sector)” at Engineers Bhawan, New Delhi on 4th January 2015. The event was organized by Institution of Railway Electrical Engineers (IREE), The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Delhi Local Network and Institution of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The lecture was organized in the memory of Late Shri R. K. Vir, Ex-GM/CLW at Railway Board, New Delhi. Mr. Vir was a recipient of R10 Outstanding Volunteer Award and was the author of a book “STORY OF CLW”.

The chief guest for the event was Mr. Navin Tandon, Member – Electrical, Railway Board. The event commenced with a welcome address by Mr. Sunil Goyal, General Secretary, IREE. He addressed the gathering by talking about the concept of using solar energy and its need in the rail sector. He also discussed about the new policies to be employed in the field of solar energy in the next five years in brief. It was followed by a lecture delivered by Mr. V. K. Gupta, Chairman, IET – Delhi Local.

The keynote speaker Dr. A. K. Tripathi, Scientist, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India enlightened the participants about the purpose of setting up MNRE and its importance as a separate entity for renewable energy. He also discussed about the policies from the states and regulatory commission orders, purchasing mechanism to set up solar panels and solar energy system in the railway department.

Another speaker Prof. Bhim Singh, Chairman, IEEE – Delhi Chapter, gave a brief introduction about IEEE Delhi Chapter, its sections and societies and the activities carried out by it over the year. He motivated everyone to take IEEE membership to avail its benefits. He explained the importance of solar energy under the Power Electronics Society of IEEE and how the usage of solar energy facilitates in the reduction of diesel and other fossil fuels consumption.

The experts from industry, academia along with students from various colleges joined the lecture. The session ended with vote of thanks by Mr. V. K. Dutt, Former Additional Member, Railway Board and memento presentation to all the esteemed delegates. Akshay Urja Newsletter, MNRE edited and compiled by Dr. A. K. Tripathi was distributed to all the participants.

Overall, it has been a really worthwhile lecture, which proved very beneficial for all the participants.

Some glimpses from the event: