New Delhi: The annual recruitment calendar released by the Railway Recruitment Board February 3 has multiple benefits for candidates who want to participate in the drive, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told PTI Monday.
The annual calendar has identified the months in which recruitment for different job categories will be conducted.
According to the calendar, the Railway Recruitment Board will issue a notification for recruitment of assistant loco pilots between January and March every year.
April, May and June have been earmarked for recruitment to technical posts. From July to September, aspirants who wish to join the railways as junior engineers, paramedics and non-technical posts will be considered.
Recruitment for Level 1 and ministerial and isolated categories have been slotted in for October to December.
“Employment notification will be issued four times a year for each category so that more and more candidates can get opportunities to participate. Earlier, when recruitment drives used to be held after a gap of three to four years, many candidates missed that opportunity due to the age bar,” Vaishnaw said.
“Now, when we have a calendar to hold recruitment every year, youngsters will have a huge advantage,” he added.
Railways officials said the calendar will have multiple benefits such as giving more opportunities if a candidate fails to qualify in the first attempt.
“Let’s say a candidate applies for the position of assistant loco pilot between January and March and gets disqualified, he or she can get another opportunity the next year. If the same candidate has the required educational qualification for the job of a technician, he or she can apply for it between April and June in the same year,” a senior railways official said.
“Those who become eligible will get equal opportunities as well as better career progression. Besides, the calendar will make the recruitment process, training and appointments faster than what it used to be earlier,” he added.
Several railways job aspirants have also welcomed the decision to publish the calendar and said annual recruitment opportunities will brighten their chances of success.
“Many aspirants are happy with the decision. Even if I fail to qualify in the first attempt, I will be better prepared the next time due to that experience. When the recruitment was happening once every four or five years, there was no opportunity to learn from mistakes,” said Ajay Kumar, who is preparing for the assistant loco pilot’s exam.
“Now, I think, each candidate will get at least three to four attempts, brightening the scope for selection,” he added.
Schedule for Railway Recruitment Board notifications and exams
| S. No. | Period | Categories |
| 1 | January-March | ALP |
| 2 | April-June | Technicians |
| 3 | July-September | Non-Technical Popular Categories – Graduate (Level 4, 5 & 6) |
| Non-Technical Popular Categories – Under Graduate (Level 2 & 3) | ||
| Junior Engineers | ||
| Paramedical Categories | ||
| 4 | October-December | Level 1 |
| Ministerial & Isolated Categories |
PNN & Agencies
