Indian Railways stops creation of new posts

KOLKATA: Indian Railway Board has sent letters asking general managers and division railway managers of all the zones to freeze the creation of new posts.

“A detailed letter has been sent by the Railway Board to general managers and division railway managers of all the zones. The letter urges them to review orders, contracts, requirements of manpower as well as bring down fuel and energy consumptions to curtail expenditure,” said an official. According to sources, the Indian Railway Board has asked all the zones to surrender 50 per cent of existing vacancies. It is also trying to bring down the number of employees from 13 lakh to 10 lakh. “It is the decision of Indian Railway Board. We exactly don’t know for which post there will be no recruitment now onwards. The Indian Railway Board will announce soon,” said an official of Eastern Railway.

While Indian Railway will freeze new posts creation except in the ‘safety category’, it will not affect the ongoing recruitment for filling vacant posts of technical and non-technical posts announced in 2018.

The process of recruiting 64,317 assistant loco pilots and technicians had already been completed. The Indian Railway had started dispatching appointment letters. However, recruitment exams for 35,208 non-technical posts will be conducted after normalisation of the situation following the Covid-19 crisis.

It will not affect the ongoing recruitment for filling vacant posts of technical and non-technical posts announced in 2018