Railways Merger Plan: Common Exam For New Railway Officers, Selection Panel For Top Positions

The merger of eight rail services into a single Indian Railways Management Service is going to be partial. This means that the merger of railway officers will also be partial in nature.

Reports are that there will be a common entrance exam for new railway officers.

Read on to find out all the details!

8 Rail Services To Be Merged; Railway Officers Will Not Be Merged

The Government’s decision to merge eight railway services into one single Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) has now been modified. The new decision is that the already existing officers will continue to work in their departments.

As per reports, each department will have its individual career progression and promotions depending upon their seniority. The newly hired officers will be recruited into a common IRMS.

A railway official has revealed, “The new officers would probably be sent for the same training, and they will not belong to any of these eight specialised services.”

Selection Panel To Pick Candidates For Top Posts

Also, there will be a selection panel which will pick the candidates for the top posts, such as general managers. The selection criteria will not be dependent on the service or the seniority of the candidate who has applied for the post.

Some of the highest administrative posts in the Railways will be demarcated as ex cadre posts as well.

The spokesperson of the railway ministry, D.J. Narain has said that the matter is under consideration. He said, “Many aspects of management are still being worked out and the best feasible decision in the interest of Indian Railways would be taken.”

In 2019, the Cabinet had decided that an IRMS will be set up so as to put an end to the “departmentalism” and the “culture of silos” in the Indian Railways. This decision was not received well by the civil services in the Indian Railways, especially the Traffic, Personnel and Accounts.

They stated that they gain entry into the Indian Railways by appearing for a tougher and more competitive civil service exam at a later age; therefore, it would not be fair to them to merge them with engineering services who don’t have to appear for a very tough exam for a position in the Railways.