RITES – Fifty years and gunning

Granted Navratna status in 2023, shortly before the PSU turned 50, Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), the multidisciplinary engineering and consultancy organization providing a range of services from concept to commissioning, is raring to go. With experience spanning over 55 countries in Africa, Middle East, Asia and Latin America and having a large pool of customers comprising government bodies, public sector companies, big corporations and private enterprises, Chairman & Managing Director Rahul Mithal’s aspiration of ‘One order per calendar day and one export order per quarter’ is already seeing fruition.

RITES is not just a Railway Corporation; We have 13 verticals. As Project Management Consultants, we are fully accountable for the project end-to-end, including hiring and managing vendors. There is no dearth of quality people wanting to join RITES. With continued development in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, RITES is good to grow for another 50 years.

– Rahul Mithal

 

It took time to get there, of course. The 1970s saw the company managing and operating the railway system in Nigeria, conducting managerial-cum-staffing study for Ghana Railways and opening regional offices in erstwhile Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. It also entered into a consultancy agreement for techno-economic study for Syrian Railways. Specialised railway services continued through the early 80s, providing technical personnel and services for Zambian Railways and carrying out master plan studies, coach inspections, repair and maintenance for India, Romania, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Entry into Highways

It was in the late 80s that RITES diversified into highway and inland water transport and created a Geo Technical division. From then on till now, the company has played a key role in multiple prestigious projects including the master plan study for MRTS for Delhi; Feasibility Study for the first 6-lane expressway (Mumbai-Pune); Detailed Design Consultancy for Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel; Consultancy for Delhi Metro Phase-1 and project management services for the Metro Express Project in Mauritius, along with other major railway projects. The company continues to evolve as a Programme Management Consultant.

The company now operates in multiple sectors, with continued presence in projects planned for the railways, such as dedicated freight, high-speed & semi-high speed passenger corridors, capacity augmentation, electrification, long bridges and tunnels and energy and sustainability solutions. Studies and implementation of technological upgradation of rolling stock, its design and development including modification/upgrade, for domestic as well as for export markets remains a key service globally.

 

Highway Consultancy Services

These include early planning stages of a project, design development and through final implementation, building a road network involving greenfield and brownfield projects of expressways, highways, long bridges/viaducts and tunnels, ROBs, RUBs, flyovers, grade separator and skywalks. PMC for MRTS and all aspects of urban rail and road-based transit systems, airports, heliports, terminals, cargo terminals, hangars, workshops and maintenance facilities, pavements and control tower are other sectors.

Structural engineering consulting services for transportation projects include road, rail and road-cum-rail bridges, river crossings, cable-stayed, suspension and extra-dosed bridges, approach structures such as rail/road viaducts, and tunnels.

Promoting development of ropeways as an alternative mobility solution in difficult terrains to improve first as well as last-mile connectivity, besides improving tourism, the company’s consultancy services are offered covering all aspects of passenger and material ropeways, Funicular railway systems, and other industrial units.

RITES has an in-house team of expert engineers specializing in civil, mechanical, metallurgy, chemical, electrical, signal and telecom, and specialists in transport and economics, quality assurance, environment engineering, information technology, finance and general management.

“We have 2,800 employees, a mix of 1900 regular and 900 project-based and have inducted 300 people in FY25. We plan to recruit 100 to 200 more in the next two months. Our workforce is a mix of youth and experience with 50% below the age of 40”, said Mithal.

Bidding for multiple projects simultaneously requires the company to support a bench strength of employees, a risk that has paid off handsomely with the number of projects won.

Among the important Projects of RITES in the Maharashtra Region, the more popular one is sure to be the restoration of ‘Van Rani’, the little toy train at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), which is gearing up for a grand comeback by May this year. The revamped service will feature a Vistadome coach, promising passengers a scenic ride with panoramic views. Mithal shared that the groundwork is already in full swing. The ‘Van Rani’ was off the tracks since May 2021, when Cyclone Tauktae damaged its 2.8-km route within SGNP’s 5.5 sqkm recreation zone.

International Market

 The ratio of domestic to international projects with RITES is currently 80:20. “International projects have better margins and bottom line”, said Mithal. While competition is intense in global markets, more clients consider RITES a viable alternative, dependable and reliable, offering cutting-edge services.

“Customer retention is high as we are not a fly-by-night-operator. RITES has an experience of five decades in the international market. We have operated in at least 55 countries in the last 5 decades and there is a huge potential we see in international project consultancy and export of rolling stock, the two main elements of our international business. And that is primarily because of our huge experience, our credibility and economic viability vis-à-vis our other consultant competitors. So that is what we are trying to tap on.

“We realise that there is potential in this, the international consultancy is a good margin business. That is why about two years back we started a strategic initiative called RITES Videsh where we are specifically targeting all international opportunities. We have a RITES Videsh cell. We have people targeting different geographies continent-wise, constantly exploring the opportunities there and we have strategically started bidding for large number of global tenders across sectors, in Project consultancy and export of rolling stock.

“This tender we have for Guyana highway which we got some 2-3 months back was again through competitive bidding. It is a huge order of 80 odd crores for consultancy so we are constantly looking at these opportunities. International bidding is in the DNA of RITES and we are geared up for that and we will continue leveraging this strength to get more and more international orders.”

The company reported revenue of Rs.592 cr, PBT of Rs.123 cr and PAT of Rs.95 cr for the third quarter of FY25.