Indian Railways reserves 20% vacancy for apprentices in drive to promote fair opportunity

Indian Railways on Thursday announced in its recent notification that it has reserved 20 per cent of 1,03,769 vacancies for apprentices entering in level-1 Railway recruitment drive. According to the official release, over 2.40 crore candidates have applied for various positions in the recruitment drive. The decision to reserve seats for apprentices came after trained apprentices at Railway establishments demanded regular appointment. 

Indian Railways reserve 20 per cent vacancies for apprentices 

Indian Railways statement read, "As per Section 22 (i) of Act Apprentices Act, 1961 amended on 22nd Dec, 2014 provides that, 'Every employer shall formulate its own policy for recruiting any apprentice who has completed the period of apprenticeship training in his establishment."

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In response to apprentices' demand for direct railway recruitment, Indian Railway's official release said that giving permanent jobs to people without any open competition is against Constitutional provisions and GOI rules for regular recruitment. All the people who aim for a permanent job should apply for the Railway recruitment exam, it added. Speaking about its decision to reserve seats for apprentices, it said that the decision was taken to ensure that everyone gets a fair opportunity. It also informed that Indian Railways in 2018 had recruited 1288 apprentices in Level-1 position. 

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Indian Railways grants bonus to non-gazetted employees

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Indian Railways on October 22 announced that over 11.58 lakh non-gazetted employees have been granted bonus equivalent to 78 days' wages for FY 2019-20. The officers/public servants who fall under the category of Group C (or class III) and Group D (or class IV) are non-gazetted employees. This Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) to railway employees has been estimated to be of Rs 2081.68 crores, it added. The maximum amount payable to every eligible railway employee is Rs.17,951 for 78 days. The proposal of the Ministry of Railways for payment of PLB to non-gazetted employees was accepted by the Union Cabinet on October 21. 

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(With ANI inputs)