Boost to India’s Digital Infrastructure With MoU signed between GAIL and RailTel

GAIL and RailTel partner to power progress through integrated digital infrastructure.

On March 5, GAIL (India) signed an agreement with RailTel Corporation of India to explore opportunities for collaborating on digital infrastructure. By strategically partnering with each other, both public sector firms intend to work towards contributing to digital connectivity initiatives, improve resource utilization, and reinforce the country’s communication framework. SS Agrawal (Chief Officer, Operations and Maintenance) of GAIL and JS Marwah (Company Secretary & Group General Manager, Law) of RailTel were the representatives who signed the MoU. The MoU entered into effect in the presence of Rajeev Kumar Singhal (Director, Business Development) of GAIL and Sanjai Kumar (Chairman & Managing Director) of RailTel, alongwith other senior officials of both firms.

In essence, the partnership envisions utilizing the network capabilities and technological strengths of both companies that have accrued through years of experience. According to Deepak Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, GAIL, “This partnership is fully in sync with our vision to integrate energy and digital infrastructure, leveraging the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), all of which are pivotal to India’s development journey,”

GAIL, formerly known as Gas Authority of India, traces its foundation to August 1984 as a Public Sector undertaking (PSU) under the auspices of the Government of India. It was tasked with building, operating and performing maintenance of India’s first cross-state natural gas pipeline – The Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline – whose first phase was commissioned in 1987. It was recognized as a Maharatna along with 14 other PSUs in 2013. On the other hand, RailTel is the newer of the two firms. It was established in September 2000 to address the needs of modernizing train control operation of India’s all-important Railways. It was also tasked with creating a unified broadband, telecom and multimedia network at the national level. Recognizing its potential, RailTel was awarded the Navaratna status in 2024, becoming the 22^nd Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve this recognition.