New Delhi: Manoj Pande (IRPS) has taken over as Member (Staff) of Railway Board on November 2. He was also appointed as ex-officio Secretary to the government on the same day. Prior to his new appointment as Member (Staff), he was serving as Director General (Personnel) on Railway Board.
Pande is an Indian Railways Personnel Service (IRPS) officer of 1981-batch (CS Exam). He holds a post-graduate degree in Economics from Delhi School of Economics and an MBA (HR) from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. He has completed LLB from Rani Durgavati University, Jabalpur (MP), and has a Diploma in Russian language from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He has a keen interest in Railway heritage and history and has written several articles on the subject. He was also the winner of a prize of Rs 50 lakh in Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2007.
Pande has had a very long association with the Railways. He started his carrier with Central Railways and served in various capacities in different zones such as- Western Railway, West Central Railway, South Central Railway and South Eastern Railway. He was the Principal Chief Personnel Officer for over 12 years in three different zonal railways – West Central Railway, South Central Railway and South Eastern Railway. He was Executive Director/Advisor (Training & MPP) on Railway Board prior to his promotion as Additional Member (Staff) in January 2017.
He also has the unique distinction of being the first Divisional Personnel Officer of a new Division (Bhopal) and the first Chief Personnel Officer of a new Railway (West Central Railway). In all these assignments, simplification of procedures was done besides staff welfare initiatives.