Lok Sabha Question No. 690 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-06
Subject: Recruitment in Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Faizal P.P. Mohammed, Sunil Kumar Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 690 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2023

## RECRUITMENT IN RAILWAYS

690.  SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.: SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government plans to upskill Government employees and make them aware of new technologies of Railways and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government plans to fill the 3.12 lakh vacant posts in the Indian Railways which is putting a stress on the system;
- (c) if so, the details of the recruitments done in Railways for various posts  during  the  last  two  years  and  the  current  year  State/UT-wise and the future initiatives envisaged in this direction; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to prevent repeated leaks of Railway Recruitment Board question papers?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  690  BY  SHRI  MOHAMMED  FAIZAL  P.P. AND SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.12.2023 REGARDING RECRUITMENT IN RAILWAYS

(a) : Over  the  years  major  technological  advancements  have  taken place on Indian Railways and the need for training is continuous and essential.  Maintenance and operation of sophisticated equipments on Indian Railways involves a fairly high level of knowledge and skills in order to ensure safe and reliable running of trains, since the knowledge  and  skills  required  in  the  Railways  are  not  specifically imparted by any college or vocational institution, it is imperative that the  Railways  organize  their  own  need-based  system  of  training  and develop their manpower. To make this possible, elaborate infrastructure has been developed by the Indian Railways.  Keeping in view the safety considerations and the diverse categories of manpower variety, training on the railways is given highest priority and the  need  for  continuous  training  to  up-grade  the  skill  and  technical knowhow of the workforce with introduction of new technologies from time to time.

The Indian Railways has a robust training ecosystem comprising more than 165 training institutes to train the railway employees in their core functional  areas  and  in  emerging  technological  and  management domains.  Up-skilling of railway employees is a continuous process and is strongly linked to the organizational objectives of Indian Railways.

Railway  staff  is  provided  Initial  Training  during  entry  to  service, Promotional Training during promotion to higher grade, Refresher and Specialised Training for updating in new norms, technology, equipment, ideas and principles.

Further,  Mission  Karmayogi  -  the  National  Program  for  Civil  Service Capacity Building (NPCSCB) initiative of Government of India has been rolled  out  across Indian Railways. This Mission  Karmayogi envisages imparting of role-based training interventions through online platform iGOT  in  the  area  of  National  Priorities,  Emerging  Technologies  and Citizen-centricity  to  create  citizen-centric,  future-ready  civil  servants with  the  right  attitudes,  skill  and  knowledge  aligned  to  the  vision  of New India.

(b) & (c) : Occurrence  and  filling  up  of  vacancies  is  a  continuous process on Indian Railways. Considering its size, spatial distribution, technological advancements and criticality of operation, the occurrence of vacancies keeps changing. The vacancies are filled up primarily  by  placement  of  indents  by  Railways  with  Recruitment agencies as per operational requirements. During the process, vacancies may arise and these are filled subsequently.

Recruitment  in  Indian  Railways  is  not  done  State/UT-wise,  but through transparent pan-India open competitive examinations conducted  by  Railway  Recruitment  Boards  and  Railway  Recruitment Cells.  The  examinations  are  open  to  all  the  eligible  citizens  of  the country. The details of recruitment done in Indian Railways in last two years and the current year is as under:

| Year                        |   Number of Vacancies filled/Candidates empanelled |
|-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 2021-2022                   |                                               4860 |
| 2022-2023                   |                                              83888 |
| 2023-2024 (upto 30.09.2023) |                                              53182 |

(d) :  There  have  been  no  incidents  of  leakage  of  question  papers  in Railway  Recruitment  Board  exams  in  the  last  9  years.  Railway Recruitment  Boards  follow  stringent  systems  to  ensure  a  fair  and secure selection process.

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