In 1979, its 400-strong task force comprising 40 managers and 360 supervisors, technicians, etc toiled for over three years to give the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) a new lease of life, enabling the almost moribund 1,400km system to once again play a vital role in Nigeria's economy.

In the heady days of Opec, with prices sky-rocketing to over $42 a barrel, Nigeria was witnessing boom times. By the late 70s, European MNCs had moved in for the kill, flooding the market with consumer goods of all varieties, including shiploads of automobiles.

A major highway programme encouraged by the powerful automobile and road construction lobby very soon had the railways relegated to a secondary role in the nation's economy, while scores ofpoliticians owning a fleet of trucks did not help either in reviving it.

It was in this relatively hostile atmosphere that RITES was given the difficult job of turning around the NRC.

Of course, the vital push came from the World Bank, which though more than willing to lend to a country flush with oil, was keen to ensure that it did not go into the wrong pockets. Credit for the crucial decision perhaps goes to General Obasanjo who also gave the RITES its first major task of carrying the Peugot CKD containers, which were shipped on board Nigerian vessels to Lagos to be then carried by rail to Kaduna, saving on precious forex, hitherto spent in airlifting from France.

Almost half of about 2,000 RITES employees are specialists of high professional standing in the field of engineering, management and planning, who have proudly carried the Indian flag into 52 countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America. From an organisation created in 1974 basically for consultancy in railway matters, RITEShas now blossomed into a multi-disciplinary body with nearly 45 per cent of its specialists in subjects other than railways, namely highways and bridges, waterways, dopeways, sea ports, airports, IT, urban transport, geo technology and environment engineering.

In spite of its unique breadth of expertise, it has always enjoyed the advantage of drawing upon the Indian railways' vast resources at its various training institutions, giving it a distinct edge in the vital area of HRD over other international consultants. A well-equipped computer centre provides the necessary back-up facility for each area of activity, ensuring not only modern design and drafting capabilities but also fast response for maintaining the competitive edge.

When the economy was liberalised in the 1990s, RITES was permitted to undertake export of rolling stock and other railway equipment, an activity earlier reserved for the State Trading Corporation (STC) and handled rather indifferently by its subsidiary, the Project and EquipmentCorporation (PEC).

Building upon its reputation for after-sales service provided by the Indian Railways, RITES kicked off its export business in 1994 with an order for 4 N.G.locos to Nepal followed by an order for 12 coaches. Two WDM2 locoswere exported to Sri Lanka in 1996, followed by a repeat order for another six locos in 1997-98.

Bangladesh found the RITES offer for 10 locos highly competitive in an International bid. After sales service including training in operation and maintenance so vital for building up customer confidence has been now possible with RITES taking over the responsibility for handling the complete package. A seven-year maintenance contract for the locos exported to Bangladesh provides this vital back-up service and has been a major milestone achieved by RITES.

Involving primarily a carefully planned marketing effort, the exports have hiked up RITES' turnover from Rs 110 crore in 1996 to Rs 135 crore in 1997. While the first corporate plan period of 1983-84 to 1988-89registered a business growth of 12 per cent per annum, the second period of 1989-90 to 1993-94 was equally impressive with a 10 per cent growth.

The present one for 1994-99 spells out the organisational strategies to rationalise business portfolios to regroup around core business and to merge horizontally for flexibility and synergy to become more efficient, profitable and focused as a multi-disciplinary transport consultancy. A `Vision 2010' paper, under finalisation, has got the entire organisation brainstorming about long-term possibilities and chalk out a road map for future growth.

(The author is a former member (mechanical), Railway Board