In alignment with the Central Government’s objective of recruiting young individuals across various Central Government departments, the Indian Railways’ Railway Recruitment Board has given employment opportunities to 1.5 lakh youths in the country in the past year, as per a press release by the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway on Thursday.
5 lakh recruitments since 2014
These recruitments encompassed various positions that had remained vacant across the railway zones in the country. Sabyasachi De, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NF Railway, stated, “From 2014 until the present, a remarkable 5 lakh recruitments have been executed within the Indian Railways.”
He further elaborated, “These recruitments encompassed diverse roles, such as assistant loco pilots, station masters, train managers, junior engineers, technicians, commercial clerks, track maintainers, pointsmen, and assistants across different departments, including mechanical, electrical, civil, signals, and telecommunications, among others.”
“The recruitment process was conducted online through computer-based tests, witnessing a record number of 2.37 crore candidates participating (1.26 crore for non-technical roles and 1.11 crore for RRC Group-D) in all railway examinations held between December 2020 and July 2021,” he added.
Additionally, he highlighted that, on average, the construction of a 1-kilometer railway track generates approximately 33,000 man-days of employment annually. “This results in the creation of 90.41 man-days per day per kilometer. In the past year, 5,600 kilometers of railway tracks were laid across the Indian Railways, leading to a total of more than 5 lakh man-days generated per day,” emphasized the CPRO of NF Railway.
He went on to state, “In addition to this, Indian Railways is actively engaged in extensive infrastructure projects, such as Overhead Electrification (OHE), signaling, Public Sector Units (PSUs), station redevelopment initiatives, and more, contributing to the generation of approximately 35 lakh jobs in associated feeder economic sectors over the past year.”
Sabyasachi De also highlighted that “a capital allocation of Rs 2.6 lakh crore has been designated for the Indian Railways’ infrastructure development in the financial year 2023-24. The expenditure up to September 2023 stands at Rs 1,50,444 crore (58% of Budget Grant) in comparison to Rs 1,02,881 crore (43% of Budget Grant up to September 2022), marking a 46% increase over the previous year. This has been instrumental in fostering employment opportunities within the Indian Railways.”