Rail Board invites applications for more than 13,000 vacancies

There is no clarity on whether 10% quota for general category poor candidates will be implemented this time or not.

After setting in motion the process to recruit over 1 lakh candidates last year, the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has once again advertised over 13,000 vacancies for junior engineer and other posts.

The RRB has invited applications for graduates, Class XII and Class X passouts for hiring for the posts of junior engineers and apprentices in various zones of Indian Railways.

The 13,487 posts, advertised by the RRB, include that of junior engineer, depot material superintendent and chemical and metallurgical assistant.

The last date of application for this two-stage recruitment is 31 January.

The notified vacancies are spread over different railway zones and candidates from all over the country can apply against these pan-india vacancies.

There is no clarity whether 10% reservation for general category poor candidates will be implemented for this recruitment.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal could not be contacted for his comment.

However, a senior railway official said that since the vacancies were advertised just before the new quota policy was approved by Parliament, it may not apply here. “It can be implemented only if the earlier advertisement is amended,” he said.

This is to be noted that the railways had conducted the recruitment process for 1.2 lakh posts of Group C and D, which will conclude this year.

This includes recruitment for over 9,000 personnel for Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) and over 10,000 jobs in L1 and L2 categories.

This is tipped to be the world’s biggest recruitment drive.

The second state computer-based test for the Group C posts is scheduled to be held on 20, 22 and 23 January.

The results of Group D examinations would be declared in February. The RRB had received more than 2.37 lakh applications for these posts.

Engaging about 13 lakh people, Indian Railways is the world’s eighth largest employer. It transports about 2.2 crore passengers every day.

The second state computer-based test for the Group C posts is scheduled to be held on 20, 22 and 23 January. The results of Group D examinations would be declared in February. The RRB had received more than 2.37 lakh applications for these posts.