📘 Q.12 IAS Prelims 2025 — Science & Technology (Indian Railways | Kavach | National Rail Plan)
🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk
📌 The Question:
Consider the following statements:
Statement I: Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) to create a future-ready railway system by 2028.
Statement II: ‘Kavach’ is an Automatic Train Protection system developed in collaboration with Germany.
Statement III: ‘Kavach’ system consists of RFID tags fitted on track in station section.
Which of the statements given above are not correct?
(a) I and II only
(b) II and III only
(c) I and III only
(d) I, II and III
✅ Answer:
(a) I and II only
🧑🏫 Authentic Classroom Explanation:
🔹 Statement I — ❌ Not correct
Indian Railways prepared the National Rail Plan (NRP) for India–2030, not 2028.
Its objective is to create a future-ready railway system by 2030, with a major focus on:
- Increasing rail freight modal share to 45%
- Capacity planning based on traffic demand projections
- Long-term infrastructure and logistics integration
Hence, Statement I is incorrect.
🔹 Statement II — ❌ Not correct
Kavach is indigenously developed by the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with Indian industry, not Germany.
It is a Safety Integrity Level-4 (SIL-4) certified Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.
Hence, Statement II is incorrect.
🔹 Statement III — ✅ Correct
The Kavach system does use RFID tags fitted along the track, including station and block sections.
These RFID tags help:
- Identify train location
- Prevent Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD)
- Enable automatic braking when necessary
Hence, Statement III is correct.
📌 Therefore, the statements not correct are I and II only.
🔍 Curiosity Raiser:
Why did Indian Railways choose indigenous Kavach over expensive imported ATP systems like ETCS?
Because scalability + affordability + Indian operating conditions matter more than foreign labels.
🧠 Enrichment Notes (Prelims Edge):
- Kavach key components:
- RFID tags on track
- On-board locomotive equipment
- Station Kavach units
- Optical fibre / radio communication
- Core function: Prevents collisions by automatic braking if driver fails to act
- NRP-2030 aligns with:
- PM Gati Shakti
- National Logistics Policy
- Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC)
🪔 IAS Monk Whisper:
“In public systems, safety is not imported — it is engineered at home.”
