Message to all officers and staff of Accounts Department of Indian Railways from Smt. Sudha Chobe, on taking over as FC(Rlys)

 

 

Fellow Officers and Staff of Finance & Accounts Department,

 

 

My greetings to you all! Let me thank you for your good wishes and trust in me. Whatever I have felt after receiving your congratulations and good wishes finally ends in lasting feeling of trust that you have reposed in me. I am aware of the fine traditions of Railway Accounts Department and I pledge that your trust would be redeemed. To redeem the trust, not only would we need to search for an academic answer to the question of how to redeem the trust, but a concrete workable action plan. Let us search and concretize these plans quickly and correctly.

 

As I have been away from the main finance stream for some time, it may help me if I could take the stock of items and issues priority-wise with other relevant details. I would need to get myself updated about all long term and short term, immediate and important issues for which your assistance will be very valuable.

 

We are in process of implementing this year’s budget. While this is an on-going process, all the time specifics of monitoring special items shall be spelt out so that our monitoring process gets aligned with the objectives with which a particular item was introduced in the budget. Implementation of the announcements made by Hon’ble MR has to be ensured by target dates. The issues related to Parliament and various Committees/Sub-Committees of Parliament should also be our focus area.

 

Whatever plans we ultimately decide upon, these should lead to achievement of corporate goals and simultaneous enhancement of the image of Accounts Department. Image of the department should be a concern for each one of us. The most logical way to improve the image would be to make our working more prompt, efficient and effective. Each proposal/file should be dealt with on merits, but without delay. Housekeeping items should be current and efficient.

 

We have the advantage of receiving the guidance of proven and result-oriented political leadership. We have strategic and operational goals already identified on the official and planning level. We also have the advantage of your richly endowed attitude towards work, your vast pool of experience and talent, the energy and drive of younger colleagues coupled with maturity and wisdom of seniors, and the long history of not only hauling people and cargo but integrating and enriching the country.

 

Important approaches adopted by previous FCs like retreats, subject-specific seminars, improvement of Staff College in making courses more relevant should be re-examined and wherever necessary replicated. In this I visualize that the formal or informal role of IRAS Association and other associations of our department is very important.

 

As the head of the family, it is also my duty to take care of all of you. You can feel free to send to me any suggestions for improvements in the cadre and in the Department. These suggestions could be in respect of any issues: promotional prospects, training, career planning, professional advancement or any other issues. A separate item has been posted on the Message Board of IRAS Times on the subject; I would especially welcome a quick response on suggestions to improve promotional prospects.

 

IRAS Times is an effective medium for furthering some of the objectives of our Service. It is an ideal tool for communications amongst us and for disseminating your varied achievements. If some of the best practices mentioned on the website could be implemented on all the units, we could definitely improve our performance, and consequently, our image. I hope to talk to you (and also listen to you!) frequently through this website.

 

Meanwhile, my best wishes to all of you and your families on the occasion of the forthcoming anniversary of Indian Independence. May we all prove professionally worthy of the trust reposed in us!

 

 

 

Sudha Chobe