Indian Railways’ role as a job creator is underplayed

Jul 11, 2024 09:07 PM IST

The sheer scale of its operations is staggering. It transports over 23 million passengers daily — close to the entire population of Australia. Managing this mammoth feat are more than 1.2 million dedicated employees, working across 17 zones and around 68 divisions, across the length and breadth of our nation. From loco pilots and engineers to paramedics and the railway protection force, IR is among India’s largest employers, offering meaningful, highly sought-after careers to the nation’s diverse workforce. IR spends huge sums of money in salaries and other benefits for its large workforce. This outgo increases by a substantial factor after each successive pay commission.

The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented transformation of IR. Record levels of electrification, introduction of modern trains, expansion of rail lines, enhanced safety measures, adoption of new technologies and automation to re-imagine train journeys have redefined rail travel. Remarkably, even amid the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many private enterprises resorted to layoffs and pay cuts, IR continued to offer full employee salaries, benefits and perks, ranging from subsidised housing, free medical assistance, travel and leisure, bonuses and much more. The compassionate appointment of wards of railway servants who meet with untimely death or incapacitation or go missing further highlights its sensitivity and compassion towards employees’ families and its overall employee-centric ethos.

At the heart of the success of IR lies its most valuable asset — its human resources. With a workforce spanning hundreds of diverse technical and non-technical roles, the Railways relies on the expertise, dedication, and synergy of its employees to keep the wheels of the nation moving. Recruiting the right talent to power this behemoth is no mean feat. Twenty-one Railway Recruitment Boards, spread across India, conduct some of the world’s largest competitive exams, with consistent efforts on making railway recruitments more and more inclusive by reaching out to far flung areas of the country and conducting exams in 15 Indian languages. Even during the pandemic, IR has been providing commendable, consistent levels of employment. A recent recruitment drive attracted over 2.37 crore candidates vying for 1.39 lakh positions. Conducting these exams in hundreds of cities (726 examination centres in 211 cities in a recent test), in multiple languages, while upholding the highest standards of transparency, is a logistical triumph. The overarching theme of the Railways’ rapid transformation is duly reflected in its remarkable adoption of technology in large-scale public sector recruitments also. The switch to computer-based tests has minimised the scope for fraud and hastened the recruitment process.

The Indian Railway has been increasing vacancies and opportunities to recruit more staff as its network continues to expand. Over the last decade (2014-15 to 2023-24), IR has employed over 5.02 lakh candidates in various Group C posts, significantly outpacing the number of 4.11 lakh candidates recruited in the preceding ten years. IR has empanelled 34,370 assistant loco pilots (ALPs) between 2019-2024. In the current recruitment drive of ALPs, the vacancies have significantly increased from 5,696 to 18,799, vide the notification released on 18 June 2024.

As IR continues its transformative journey, modernising infrastructure and expanding reach, they are expected to generate even more employment opportunities. It is learnt that over 15,000 additional posts have been generated to ensure inclusive and assured employment. Employment notification for filling up 19,500 vacancies has already been issued so far. More vacancies are expected to be notified during the year. The welcome measure of creating an annual recruitment calendar for various critical roles will further impart greater predictability and regularity to the employment process.

Unparalleled statistics of recent recruitments and consistent improvement measures underline IR’s status as India’s vital job creator. By continually refining its recruitment strategies and leveraging technology, the organisation is not only meeting its human resource needs but also setting benchmarks for large-scale talent acquisition in the country. IR’s regular induction and harnessing of the power of its human capital may script new chapters of inclusive growth and shared prosperity for the nation.

Amitabha Khare is an officer with the Indian Railways. The views expressed are personal