operation of trains. All these issues put severe strain on railways purchasing system. Over the years, Indian Railways' purchases have gone manifold both in terms of value and number of items. The technical, industrial, and commercial scenario of the country has also changed significantly. There are now more standards, specifications, and accrediting bodies, and more central, state and local laws. Purchasing in today's world is done in a complex environment. The members of the IRSS on the Indian Railways are the procurement and logistics specialists responsible for procurement of various goods and services to the tune of Rs. 25000 Crores annually, and disposal of scrap to the tune of Rs. 3000 Crores per annum in the form of auction and sale of electric and diesel locomotives, old coaches and wagons, and old bridge structures along with the rails released from the gauge conversion activities. (These figures are from the latest IR-Yearbook) They also manage huge warehouses attached with the major coaching and wagon workshops as well as the electric and diesel locomotive sheds. They are the logistics managers for transportation of material through the roadways. Organization The department is organized in three tiers. The top tier is at the Railway Board level, the second tier at the Zonal Railway level and the third tier at the divisional or the district level. At the apex level, this department is headed by Member Materials Management who represents the department at the Railway Board level and is ex officio Secretary to the Government of India. Member Materials Management is in turn assisted by Additional Member (Railway Stores), Principal Executive Directors, Executive Directors and Directors. At the zonal levels, the principal head of the department is the Principal Chief Materials Manager(PCMM). The PCMM is assisted by Chief Materials Managers(CMMs). These CMMs in turn have various Dy. Chief Materials Managers, and in turn, they are assisted by the Senior Materials Managers and the Assistant Materials Managers. The Stores department manages about 200 warehouses that feed into the repair workshops and maintenance sheds. The Warehouses called depots headed by a Depot Officer. Depots attached to workshops are headed by Dy. CMMs, and electric and diesel locomotive sheds headed by SMMs. These depots directly reports to PCMM. Divisional setup is headed by Sr. DMMs who report to Divisional Railway Managers. Sr. DMMs are responsible for material management at divisional level by catering needs to others branches of