Women leading Urban Rail and Transport Industry in India

Mrs. Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, ARAI

opted for a research position in instrumentation at ARAI in 1983. She never really had to break any societal condition –working in a traditional male bastion like the automotive sector –because ARAI was seen more ‘as a research or a homologation house’ instead of as a ‘hardcore automotive company’.

Mrs. Rashmi Urdhwareshe is well known automotive research veteran who believes that when a professional –gender no bar but applicable especially to women –starts living the bigger picture and not subscribe to the ‘immediate circle of influence’ that the existence of glass ceiling in maledominated industries like automotive does not matter.

Image Credit: ARAI

Born in Nagpur to professor parents, Mrs. Urdhwareshe grew up to be an NCC cadet, a State-level Bridge Champion, and an avid sports enthusiast at school and a trained Sitarist. A perfect match, Mrs. Urdhwareshe later found her life partner to be an engineering professional and an accomplished Accordion player!

As a post-graduate in Electronics Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, Mrs. Urdhwareshe But sacrifices and challenges did exist, both at home and at work. As a young married woman with an infant son in 1986, she had to decide on whether to leave her 14-month-old baby at home and go on a UNDP fellowship to Germany to train in instrumentation development or give up the latter, “Though leaving my baby home for six months was tough, my spouse’s and family’s support helped me go through it. And it was a game-changer for me. I learnt a systematic approach to R&D of projects, application of electronics in automotives, besides managing and leading a team at a renowned vehicle manufacturer’s R&D center.” She thinks compatibility with the spouse is always critical.

Mrs. Urdhwareshe’s career grew along with the growth of ARAI. “I developed electronic controls of hydraulic testing machines which were used extensively to set up of fatigue test laboratory at ARAI. I also contributed towards emission measurements under which the first-ever

emission laboratory was formed in India, which later on has led to various emission regulations in the country.”

Calling it as the “most challenging yet pleasurable time building an organization”, Mrs. Urdhwareshe had the opportunity to team up with a senior lady colleague to create a new Automotive Electronics department at ARAI in the ensuing years.

Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari, IAS & Managing Director, Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC)

Mrs. Urdhwareshe is a soft yet strict leader and believes in being fair but firm. She is a risk taker and is tough to be convinced, which was put to test in the early 1990s. “We were designing a circuit which was going on the laser range finders for military applications. Though close to the target specifications, we still needed improvements and were racing against time. My team felt that we should supply it as it is and we can improve in the next iteration. But I didn’t want our Army using it and missing a target. So I took the risk of even losing the project, but asked for more time. We assured them that the design will be improved.”

Later, when it resulted in repeat orders from the same client, her team admitted that it is professionalism that matters, ultimately.

She says: “People need direction not commands –be it from a lady or a male boss. And the world sees you the way you see yourself.”

People need direction not commands –be it from a lady or a male boss. And the world sees you the way you see yourself.

Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari is a 2003 batch IAS Officer who is currently posted as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/ Noida Authority since June 2019 and Managing Director (MD)/NMRC since September 2019. This young and dynamic officer has brought about a remarkable change in the functioning of the bureaucracy wherever she has been posted. Known for her principles and professional approach towards her work, Mrs. Maheshwari has stood out as a shining example of how a little sincere effort can bring about a sea of change in any system and improve the lives ofthe common people.

Mrs. Maheshwari is an IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and joined the civil services in 2003 after completing a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Punjab Engineering College. Her first major posting was in 2011, when she was posted as the Managing Director of Kanpur Electric Supply Company Limited (KESCO). The debt-ridden utility had run up losses of nearly 30 per cent, brought about by distribution losses, thefts, and tampering of meters. Under the able leadership of Mrs. Maheshwari, KESCO witnessed a major turnaround in fortunes.

After her posting in Kanpur, she excelled and left a mark at all her subsequent postings as District Magistrate of Amroha, Ghazipur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur and Ghaziabad, before her current posting as CEO / Noida Authoritry and MD / NMRC.

After taking up her responsibility in Noida, Mrs. Maheshwari has transformed this city into a more cleaner, greener and vibrant city. Her efforts have borne fruit when recently the Noida Authority was given the Smart City: Empowering India Award by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The Noida authority received awards in two categories; the first in the Best Climate Smart City category for converting 74, 000 street lights in Noida to LED lights and the other in the category of Best Greenfield Smart City for clearing the dumpsite at Sector 54 and converting a wasteland to wetland through bioremediation technology.

Besides this, Mrs. Maheshwari has also ensured that the aesthetic appeal ofthe city is enhanced by getting the pillars of flyovers and metro painted in beautiful paintings that depict our culture and at the same time look beautiful and appealing to the visitors ofNoida.

terms of functioning of the bureaucracy as well as implementation ofinnovative ideas to improve the environment of the city and make it more cleaner, greener and beautiful. She is definitely an embodiment of today’s empowered woman who is determined to bring about a change in the minsdset of a patriarchal setup with her work ethics and professionalism. Public Private Partnership Vertical where she spearheaded the India Infrastructure initiative for three years. Dr. Sethi has acquired a Masters degree in Major Project Management from Said Business School, University of Oxford and a Ph.D in Infrastructure Financing. Currently she is serving as Additional Metropolitan Commissioner (AMC) –Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), where she is spearheading the ambitious Mumbai Metro Projects of 14 lines (~337 kms), Multimodal Integration Projects for Last mile connectivity and Integrated ticketing system to make a world class metro for Mumbai. Additionally she is looking after infrastructure project of roads, bridges, flyover etc. along with Transport Planning, Urban Planning and Dr. Sonia Sethi, IAS & Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)

Dr. Sonia Sethi belongs to the 1994 Batch of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS). She has many firsts to her credit. Allocated to Maharashtra Cadre, she is the 1st Lady officer to hold prestigious portfolios like Joint MD –CIDCO, Joint MD & MD - MSRDC & Transport Commissioner of Maharashtra. The final Commissioning of the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea link was done when she was MD MSRDC, where she also effectively structured projects like extensions of the sea-link, water transport, expressways, flyovers and intracity road networks.

She enjoys the distinction of being selected on merit by IDFC to lead their other developmental works for an area covering 6500 Sq.Kms with 9 Municipal Councils, 9 Municipal Corporations, 48 Census towns & 1427 Villages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Dr. Anita Sengupta, Aerospace Engineer

Dr. Anita Sengupta is an aerospace engineer, rocket scientist, pilot, and veteran of the space program. Her initial interest in engineering came from her Bengali father who was a mechanical engineer, a graduate of IIT Bombay.

After graduating with a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering fron Boston University she went to went for Boeing on the development of the Delta IV launch vehicle propulsion system. Concurrently she earned her masters degree and pilots license. After this she joined NASA and served as a senior engineer for over a decade where her engineering projects included her PhD research on developing the ion propulsion system for the Dawn Mission (currently in the main asteroid belt), the supersonic parachute that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars, and the Cold Atom Laboratory an atomic physics facility now on board the International Space Station.

After leaving NASA she led the development of the hyperloop as senior vice president of engineering systems at Virgin Hyperloop, a technology that can enable ground based travel in excess of airline speed.

Her current venture is Co-Founder at Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX), an electrified autonomous VTOL urban aerial mobility technology company. As an engineering savvy executive and pilot, she is now leading the mobility solutions for smart cities by eliminating congestion and reducing the carbon footprint of air travel.

Dr. Sengupta is also a Research Associate Professor of Astronautics and Space Technology at the University of Southern California. In her spare time she is an avid instrument rated pilot, motorcyclist, scuba diver, snowboarder, and Sci-Fi fan.

Aludecor FireWall A2 MCPs are All Set

to Furnish Indian

Railways Coaches Aludecor secures the status of being the "Leading vendor for the supply of MCP for interior furnishing of the Indian Railways Coaches"

Aludecor- India's most admired ACP brand has envisioned to lend its hand to building a modern India with worldclass Infrastructure that beckons allencompassing growth across all the other industries. At Aludecor we are proud to have collaborated with the Government of India to play an integral part in cladding an array of Airports, Railway Stations, Institutions and Government Administrative Buildings that crowns our status as a "Make In India" brand.

Aludecor has been presented with the opportunity by Indian Railways and the Integral Coach Factory to supply FireWall A2 Metal Composite Panels in order to lend a hand in producing state of the art Coaches for the Indian Railways. Our revolutionary Fire Retardant FireWall A2 Metal Composite Panels (MCPs) are being used extensively to furnish the interiors of the Coaches for the Indian Railways. The collaboration uncovers the many possibilities of MCP applications while simultaneously prioritizing Fire Safety to be the top priority when it comes to Passenger welfare. We present to you here, the benefits ofAludecor Firewall A2 MCPs that promise to revolutionize Fire Safety aspects of the Interior Furnishing and Cladding Industry. So far, the Indian Railways Coaches that were manufactured and designed by ICF were using LP sheets and DGFRP or Decorative Glass Fabric Reinforced Plastic Composite Panels for interior furnishing of the Railway Coaches. By changing the material to Aludecor's Fire Retardant FireWall A2 Metal Composite Panels, the Indian Railways has crowned us with the status of being the "leading vendor for the supply ofMCP for interior furnishing of the Indian Railways Coaches". The Indian Railways Coaches will have an array of added advantages by using Aludecor's FireWall A2 Metal Composite Panels, which are listed below.

DGFRP and LP Sheets - Low Fire Resistant Properties amongst Other Disadvantages

DGFRP and LP sheets are the most commonly used FRP Composites that contain an amalgamation of a thermosetting polymer matrix like vinyl ester, polyester or phenolic resin or epoxy and glass fibre. The glass fibres are reinforced in the matrix that serves as a binder material for the DGFRP and LP sheets while transmitting the applied load to the glass fibres. DGFRP presents many uncertainties about its long term property and durability, which, limits its chances of being widely used in the Civil Infrastructure Industry. Besides, DGFRP has very low ductility owing to the linear stress-strain relationship that results in sudden brittle failure. Moreover, a lack of proper validated data regarding the FireResistance properties ofDGFRP makes it difficult to be used as an interior furnishing material for Railway Coaches.

DGFRP stands to be non-eligible in having proper fire resistance for structural members of any furnished surface. When set on fire, DGFRP starts to show degradation of its mechanical properties, thus subjecting structural elements to fire damage. In case of a fire incident, the matrix of the DGFRP showcases low melting temperature owing to its high concentration of combustible materials such as Nitrogen, Carbon and Hydrogen. Besides, the polymers produce a lot of dense smoke that has proven to be toxic to human being due to the vast amount of Carbon Monoxide that is present in it.

based flame retardants can be added to the matrix of DGFRP during the manufacturing process only to be found that they have negative effects on the mechanical properties ofDGFRP.

The raw materials used for manufacturing DGFRP carries a lot of potential skin irritants that require no-touch operations. High risks of CNS and Respiratory Systems damage are also plentiful with DGFRP.

Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCP

Enter Aludecor Fire Retardant FireWall A2 MCPs. It shows excellent fire retardant properties that place it to be the number one choice for innovative use cases and applications. Having received the FPC (Factory Production Control) certificate from Exova Warringtonfire (UK), Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs stand to be the best A2 grade interior furnishing material. It contains 90% inorganic mineral content in its core that also makes it boast fireproof properties similar to metals.

An excellent choice to clad high-rises beyond 15 meters, industrial and public buildings, airports, hospitals, hotels, tunnels, and underground stations, Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs release a negligible amount of heat and doesn't FEATURED SOLUTION PROVIDER 

contribute to flame spread at all. No toxic gases or smoke and flaming droplets are produced during any fire incident. FireWall A2 MCPs also ensure negligible damage to property, hassle-free evacuation, and zero chance ofcasualty.

The core of Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs contains 90% halogen-free, inorganic material that produces water vapour when it heats up. It does not produce toxic gases like halogenated materials. Magnesium hydroxide (MDH) is the non-halogenated material that is mixed with PE to form the core of Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs.

At Aludecor we manufacture the FireWall A2 MCPs indigenously at our two production units that are spread over 25,000 Square Meters in Haridwar. Aludecor FireWall A2 has Factory Production Control certification from Exova Warringtonfire of the UK (ewcl5) for reaction to fire classifications of EN 13501-1 Class A2, s1, d0.

Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs also come with a very high OI or Oxygen Index. The Oxygen Index is a measure of the percentage of Oxygen that has to be present to support combustion of the plastic materials. The required Oxygen Index as set by the ICF and the Indian Railways for the purpose of interior furnishings of Railway Coaches is 32% while Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs boast a minimum Oxygen Index of 70%. The higher the OI value, the higher the nonflammability.

At Aludecor, we only use AL-5005 Marine Grade Alloy to manufacture our FireWall A2 MCPs. This gives FireWall A2 MCPs certain advantages such as high moistureresistant and corrosion-resistant properties over composite materials like LP sheets and DGFRP. Besides, FireWall A2 MCPs are extremely light in weight, thus posing an advantage to clad the highest of surfaces. The super flexible panels can also furnish any surface as it bends brilliantly! The zero undulation aspect ofFireWall A2 MCPs assures smooth surfaces.

Last but not least, Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs are environment-friendly owing to the Aluminium coils that can be easily peeled off from the composite panels. The scrapped coils are usually always sent back to the Aluminium Coil manufacturer who re-utilizes the material to produce new Aluminium Coils. The inorganic mineral core of the FireWall A2 MCPs can be recycled too. The scrapped fire-retardant core is sent to our in-house shredder, which turns it into pellets. Furthermore, these pellets are used as raw materials to produce new MCP core.

Attributes Firewall A2 MCPs DGFRP Comparative Analysis of Aludecor FireWall A2 MCPs VS DGFRP

Harmful Byproduct Release (When Set Aflame) Turn into innocuous dust particles. 1.CO –Carbon Mono Oxide.-Highly Toxic Gas 2.CO2- Carbon Di Oxide. - Hazardous Gas 3.Methane - Hazardous. 4.Ethylene –Harmful for breathing.

Recyclability 1. Scrapped Aluminium coils are usually always sent back to the Aluminium Coil manufacturer who re-utilizes the material to produce new Aluminium Coils. 2. The inorganic mineral core of the FireWall A2 MCPs can be recycled too. The scrapped fireretardant core is sent to our in-house shredder, which turns it into pellets. Furthermore, these pellets are used as raw materials to produce new MCP core. Oxygen Index (OI) The required Oxygen Index as set by the ICF and the Indian Railways for the purpose of interior furnishings is 32% while Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs boast a minimum Oxygen Index of 70%. The higher the OI value, the higher the nonflammability. 1. Thermoset composites therefore commonly end up in landfills, and since the components are not biodegradable, the economic costs of such disposal can be very high. 2. The glass fibres obtained as a solid residue in pyrolysis suffer the degradation of their physical properties, limiting their reuse.

The Oxygen Index of DGFRP is lower than 32%.

Fire Safety Certification Having received the FPC (Factory Production Control) certificate from Exova Warringtonfire (UK), Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs stand to be the best A2 grade interior furnishing material. It contains 90% inorganic mineral content in its core that also makes it boast fireproof properties similar to metals. No such Fire Safety Certification can be found.

Presence of Flaming Droplets No flaming droplets are produced during any fire incident. FireWall A2 MCPs also ensure negligible damage to property, hassle-free evacuation, and zero chance of casualty. In case of a fire incident, the matrix of the DGFRP showcases low melting temperature owing to its high concentration of combustible materials such as Nitrogen, Carbon and Hydrogen. Presence of flaming droplets make it dangerous for passengers. Smoke Production (When Set Aflame) Produces no smoke or toxic gases. The polymers produce a lot of dense smoke that has proven to be toxic to human being due to the vast amount of Carbon Monoxide that is present in it.

Usage Fire Retardant Additive

Usage of Environmentfriendly, Nontoxic Raw Materials The core of Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs contains 90% halogen-free, inorganic material that produces water vapour when it heats up. Magnesium hydroxide (MDH) is the non-halogenated material that is mixed with PE to form the core of Aludecor's FireWall A2 MCPs. Resin additives can be added to DGFRP matrices. Phosphorus flame retardants or Hydrate based flame retardants can be added to the matrix of DGFRP during the manufacturing process only to be found that they have negative effects on the mechanical properties of DGFRP.

Aludecor uses only the Coil Coating method to beautify the FireWall A2 MCPs. Coil Coating is the most environment-friendly method for coating applications on composite panels which doesn't allow the product to contain any VOC. Also, Aludecor uses Lead-Free Paints only. We strongly support the usage of Leadfree paints to coat FireWall A2 MCP sheets. This protects end-users from the harmful effects of carcinogenic Lead paint-related risks such as increased chances of nervous system damage and renal failure. Furthermore, the raw materials used for manufacturing Firewall A2 MCPs are not harmful to the human biological system. The raw materials used for manufacturing DGFRP carries a lot of potential skin irritants that require no-touch operations. High risks of CNS and Respiratory Systems damage are also plentiful with DGFRP.

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