The proposal was cleared at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
Railways had proposed to give 78 days wages as productivity-linked bonus, the same as the last three years, despite the financial crunch. This could mean that the employees will get Rs 8897 as bonus for this month.
The burden on railways is estimated to cost more than Rs 800 crores.
In 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 also,78-day wages were given as PLB to railway employees.