Indian Railways Eases Application for Mega-recruitment Plan

Ministry of Railways has announced one of the world's largest recruitment processes for 89,409 posts in Group C and Level I (Erstwhile Group D) and Level II Categories. Since this recruitment process is taking place after a gap of 4 years, many changes proposed in the intervening years had been included this time. However, some of these changes had restricted many candidates from applying this year without any adequate information in advance. Railways is also the lifeline of travel in India, and to provide the best service, its own staff should reflect the diversity and inclusiveness of the country.

Accordingly, Ministry of Railways has made changes with respect to certain criteria so that more aspiring candidates from all sections of society get opportunity to serve the nation by working for Indian Railways.

 

These changes include -

i.Age relaxation restored: Age restriction made many candidates who would normally have expected to be eligible to apply, ineligible. Therefore, age relaxation to various categories has been further extended by 2 years. Thus, revised age limit for applicants are as under:-

CEN 01/2018 - Asst. Loco Pilot (ALP) & Technician
(age in years)Community Notified RevisedUR 28 30OBC 31 33SC 33 35ST 33 35CEN 02/2018 - Level-1 (erstwhile Group D)
(Age in years)Community Notified RevisedUR 31 33OBC 34 36SC 36 38ST 36 38

Examination fees were levied to discourage non-serious candidates who applying and do not appear for the exam. This would save the Railways substantial amount of resources spent on setting up infrastructure to enable candidates to appear for exams. Examination fees for recruitment were fixed at Rs. 500/- for non-exempted candidates. It is now decided that Rs. 400/- will be refunded to those candidates who appear for the exam. To enable refund of this amount, candidates will be required to submit details of their bank accounts online. This facility will be executed shortly. Exempted categories like SC / ST / Divyang / Ex-servicemen / Women / Minorities / Economically Backward Classes will be charged Rs. 250/-. The whole of this amount will be refunded to those candidates from these categories who appear for the exam. These fees will ensure only serious candidates appear.

iii.Educational Qualifications: Minimum educational qualifications for all Level I posts were class 10th or ITI or equivalent till July, 2017. In July, 2017 for many of these Level I posts, criteria was changed to class 10th and ITI or equivalent. This was not known the people in advance and was unfair to candidates who had been preparing over the past years for this recruitment. Candidates would have got a chance to acquire the required certifications and qualifications had they been given adequate advance notice. Therefore, it has now been decided that for this exam, criteria will be class 10th or ITI or equivalent, again. This will enable more candidates to apply for the posts and ensure wider participation. In addition, Railways has planned further training programmes to ensure better skills for staff.

iv.Language: Question papers to candidates will be provided in 15 languages - Hindi, English, Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. This will ensure opportunities for candidates across India.

v.Signature: Candidates can now make signature in any language instead of only in Hindi or English. This will adequately reflect the diversity and plurality of India.

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