NEWS – The Union government has reinstated the recruitment of railway officers through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and Engineering Services Examination (ESE) conducted by the UPSC. This decision reverses the 2019 policy, which exclusively recruited officers for the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) through the CSE.

HIGHLIGHTS

Background

• The restoration of the recruitment policy follows a four-year period of confusion regarding railway officer appointments and difficulties in sourcing suitable manpower for technical roles.
• The decision comes shortly after Satish Kumar assumed the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board.

Key Changes

• Removal of Recruitment Cap: The cap on the intake of officers through the IRMS, previously limited to 150 per year, has been lifted.
• Recruitment Under IRMS: Recruitment for various railway departments will be conducted under the IRMS banner through both CSE and ESE.
• Training Issues: Two batches of railway officers recruited through the CSE have been trained but have yet to receive field postings.

Challenges Faced

• The discontinuation of ESE recruitment led to difficulties in filling technical categories (Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, etc.), resulting in an increase in vacancies filled by promotee or subordinate rank officers.

Historical Context

• On December 24, 2019, the government approved the organizational restructuring of Indian Railways by unifying eight Group-A services into a central service called the IRMS.
• Various committees have recommended this unification for reforming the Railways, including:
  • Prakash Tandon Committee (1994)
  • Rakesh Mohan Committee (2001)
  • Sam Pitroda Committee (2012)
  • Bibek Debroy Committee (2015)

Goals of the Unified Service

• The IRMS aims to allow the railways to recruit both engineers and non-engineers based on necessity, ensuring equal career progression opportunities.

Revised Recruitment Rules

• The Ministry of Telecommunications, as the nodal agency for the ESE, notified the ESE-2025 Rules on September 18, 2024.
• The last date for application submission is October 8, 2024.
• The Ministry has requested UPSC to include railway recruitment through ESE-2025 in the existing notification and consider extending the application deadline.