IIT Kharagpur to develop tamper-proof signalling system for railways
The Hindu
Acting on a request made by the Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, researchers in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering stream are working on a robust system that would facilitate a mechanism to ensure safety, communication and control of train operations.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, is developing a tamper-proof signalling system based on blockchain technology for the Indian Railways. Embedded with enhanced safety measures, the new system would complement the existing Data Logger which is considered the Black Box of rolling stock.
Acting on a request made by the Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, researchers in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering stream are working on a robust system that would facilitate a mechanism to ensure safety, communication and control of train operations.
According to Professor Aurobinda Routray of IIT Kharagpur, blockchain is a system of recording information which cannot be tampered, hacked or manipulated. The technology was being widely used in cryptocurrency and banking transactions.
“After Mr. Vaishnaw sought a proposal on a fool-proof signalling system based on blockchain, I am writing the programme along with some colleagues in IIT Bhubaneshwar. Blockchain is being deployed in many developing countries and I think the technology can immensely benefit the Indian Railways as safety of train operations,” he said.
Prof. Routray said the focus was to make the live movement of trains available for Station Masters, Section Controllers, Signal Engineers and others with all logs. On how different the initiative would be from the existing Data Logger, he said that the new system would provide enhanced data integrity, transparency and security. It would enable secure data sharing among stakeholders, automate processes with smart contracts and create tamper-evident audit trails.
The system would complement the Data Logger which was limited by its centralised storage facility, lack of tamper-evident data, and limited access control. The new blockchain system would address these limitations by storing data in a distributed ledger, using cryptography to ensure data integrity, and making data accessible to all stakeholders. This would make the new system more secure, transparent, and efficient than the current system.
In addition, Prof. Routray said, the blockchain system would provide several benefits, such as increased accountability, safety and efficiency. Overall, the new blockchain system would be a significant improvement over the current system. “All events occurring in the train and control room would be recorded securely and no one can tamper with it or bypass it.”
Makineni Jishnu Sai from Guntur secured the first position in the engineering stream while Yellu Srishant Reddy from Nizampet in Telangana bagged the first place in the Agriculture and Pharmacy (Bi.P.C. stream) in the Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test (EAPCET)-2024.
As Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is all set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time, at Kesarapalle IT Park located near Vijayawada on June 12 (Wednesday), arrangements are underway for a live telecast of the ceremony at eleven places across the Nellore district.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer has invited the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to form the government in the State. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Kesarapalle near here on June 12 (Wednesday). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of national leaders will take part in the event
Ambassador of Finland to India Kimmo Lähdevirta on Tuesday said Finnish companies “face issues” in Tamil Nadu due to regulations that prevent their participation in tendering processes. Interacting with senior journalists of The Hindu at its head office in Chennai, he said certain regulations imposed by the State government were limiting.