in 1930 that two officers, Mr C T Venugopal and Mr D P Mathur, were recruited "directly" for the first time. The onward march of the service had clearly begun. The closing years of the 1950s and the fore part of the 1960s remain perhaps the most memorable for the chronicler of IRAS in many ways. The cadre burgeoned by more than 50 in just three years. Massive investments in the second Five Year Plan provided a windfall for Indian Railways, with the inevitable challenge to finance management. Cadre management came to occupy the attention of the top brass. Modernisation of accounting work with mainframe computers also began in this period. The service continued to wade through these tumultuous waters through the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1990s, the position of Indian Railways Finances deteriorated as the organisation hitherto had been working more for fulfilment of social obligations of the Government of India like providing employment, affordable and subsidised transport to the common public etc. The Rakesh Mohan Committee report in 2001 on Indian Railways Finances observed thus ... The Indian Railways (IR) has been a vital component of the social, political and economic life of the country. IR's transportation network has played a key role in weaving India into a nation. This network has not only integrated markets but also people across the length and breadth of this huge country. IR's role in times of war and natural calamities has also been commendable: it has always risen to the occasion and transported men and materials in large numbers at short notice. It is because of these reasons that IR is one of the foremost institutions of the country today. At the same time, because of a series of developments in the 1990s, IR is today on the verge of a financial crisis. Urgent action is needed to revitalise it so that it can continue to serve the nation. ... These tendencies became accentuated in the 1990s and the economics of IR are now extremely vulnerable. For first time in 17 years last year IR was not able to pay a dividend to the government on its past investment. It is in financial crisis. Its ability to invest adequately in providing efficient and cost competitive services in the future is seriously in question. Thus IR is in a watershed period in its history today and therefore drastic action needs to