The Gazette of India, published on 9 October, conveyed the President’s approval of the amendments to the Indian Railway Management Service (Group ‘A’) Rules, 2022. The amendment for direct recruitment to IRMS is to lay down that this be done through both the UPSC’s Civil Services Examination and Engineering Services Examination instead of only the former.
IRMS probationary officers at the Indian Railways Institute of Transportation Management (IRITM) Lucknow, heaved a sigh of relief at the amendment along with many stakeholders in Rail Bhavan and the field units. The restoration of sourcing the officers for technical wings of Railways from the Engineering Services Examination (ESE) and for the non-technical wings through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) may be termed ‘revenir a son point de depart (return to the starting point)’.
The 2022 decision to conduct IRMS recruitment through CSE alone was always fraught with complications and uncertainties for aspirants. Probationary officers of 2022, 2023, and 2024 batches who opted for IRMS and are presently under training remain apprehensive about their service allocations. During these three years, the IRMS was supposed to feed the officers to all Railway services, technical and non-technical.
Induction to both streams could however be only possible through significant changes in the CSE pattern itself. The 2022 rule evidently resulted in practically no recruitment to technical/engineering services of Railways and non-allocation of cadres/streams to those recruited through CSE. The rule has now been amended and the age-old system of recruitment of Railway officers from both ESE and CSE has been reinstated.
Chronology of IRMS recruitment
Before analysing how such a situation developed, understanding the chronology of events is essential. Since 2014, the government had embarked upon major reforms across ministries. Indian Railways (IR), too, underwent three major reforms from 2015 to 2018: mobilising extra-budgetary resources for project financing, merging the Railway budget with the general Budget, and some structural and organisational changes.
The first two of these reforms were in place by 2017. For suggesting organisational reforms, the Bibek Debroy Committee had submitted its report by March 2015.
The report suggested a certain reorganisation of the Railway Board on functional lines and recommended that recruitment of officers be continued through CSE and ESE, both of which were conducted by the UPSC. It was also recommended that a new service, namely the Indian Railway General Management Service (IRGMS) be created and officers from both streams be selected for the same albeit after the middle management level. It was also suggested that officers should be rotated within their groups to acquire wider experience and expertise.
Successive Railway conclaves convened by the ministry in 2017 and 2019 had deliberated on structural reforms and reorganisation of services to break the “silo” culture. The unification of services and organisational restructuring of the Railway Board had also been discussed.
On 24 December 2019, the Union cabinet approved the unification of Group ‘A’ services of Railways into a central service called IRMS and the reorganisation of the Railway Board on functional lines. Railway Board Order number 64 of 2020 specified the board’s revised composition. A subsequent Gazette notification from February 2022 laid down the principal rules for IRMS, including the provision that recruitment to IRMS (eight Group ‘A’ services) would be carried out through CSE by UPSC.
This became a crucial stage in Railway reforms. There was not much clarity about the allocation of the stream of services and training of the officers recruited through CSE. It is gathered that about 112 officers from the 2022 batch are currently undergoing training at IRITM and another group of 84 IRMS officers of the 2023 CSE batch have also joined training.
All these probationary officers were selected through CSE. It is not yet clear whether all of them would be allocated non-technical services—such as the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), and the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)—or would some of them also be inducted in engineering wings, per the original mandate. Probationary officers also made representations seeking consideration of the Railway Board in this regard.
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All’s well that…
With this context, the decision to revert to the old system of recruitment —a decision that’s late by three years—should be seen as course correction by the Railway Board. It now appears that those already recruited through CSE will all be allocated civil or non-technical services in Railways. Apparently, a huge backlog of vacancies would have accumulated for technical/engineering services, since no recruitment through ESE took place during the last three years.
To salvage this situation, the Railway Board sent a proposal to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to permit the sourcing of officers from ESE and CSE both as was done before the creation of IRMS. The proposal was approved through a DoPT letter dated 5 October. A few hours later, the Railway Board requested the Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (nodal ministry for ESE indents) to include 225 vacancies for IRMS (technical) recruitment through ESE-2025 being conducted by the UPSC. A Gazette notification was issued on 9 October, detailing these amendments to the rules.
It is also worth noting that cabinet approval in 2019 had been given for the creation of IRMS, making it amply clear that the creation of a new service shall be done in consultation with DoPT and UPSC. It is, however, unclear as to how officers recruited through CSE could have been inducted into the Railways’ technical/engineering wings.
In the last three years, the induction to IRMS through CSE alone not only created career uncertainty for the selected CSE applicants but also led to crucial technical/engineering positions remaining vacant.
Various committees in the past had recommended restructuring and unification of services, albeit with caveats. The Bibek Debroy model for IRGMS was by and large adopted as IRMS. However, its recommendation to retain both CSE and ESE was not accepted. Its suggestion that officers in technical and non-technical groupings should remain in their specialised fields for the initial 10 to 15 years and thereafter be selected for IRGMS to fill General Administration posts, is still doable. This report perhaps needs to be revisited by the Railway Board.
DoPT’s approval of the Railway Board’s proposal to conduct IRMS recruitment through ESE and CSE also comes with directions that it shall not, in any way, be in contravention to the cabinet decision of 24 December 2019 and that any changes in the recruitment rules shall be made in consultation with DoPT and UPSC. With this, IR has yet another opportunity to streamline the ‘recruitment to retirement’ career ladder for officers who have the onerous task of managing one of the largest railway systems in the world.
The Railway Board’s course correction by way of reverting to the earlier CSE and ESE finally confirms the French saying, ‘Tout est bien qui finit bien (All’s well that ends well).’
Mohammad Jamshed is a former Member (Traffic) Railway Board and former member of the Central Administrative Tribunal. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
The introduction of the Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) is a monumental reform poised to shape the future of Indian Railways by promoting better services and fostering the development of world-class infrastructure. Aimed at curbing departmentalism, IRMS was designed to create a leaner, more efficient, and effective system by unifying various non-technical and technical cadres—such as IRTS, IRPS, IRAS, IRSE, IRSEE, IRSSE, and IRSS—into a super-managerial pool. This approach intends to cultivate versatile officers capable of handling diverse challenges. However, the decision to recruit technical cadres through civil services has faced significant backlash from both serving and retired officers, leading to a temporary pause in the intake process.
A railway officer’s role demands leadership qualities, dynamic decision-making, diverse knowledge, understanding the problem, ability to solve problems, the ability to handle pressure, and strong managerial skills. Given the inherent dynamism and immense responsibility of railway jobs, domain-specific knowledge is crucial for formulating informed policies and effectively guiding the workforce. While it is true that many civil servants are engineers and could manage these roles with proper training, the importance of technical expertise in handling the intricacies of railway operations cannot be overstated.
The increasing trend of outsourcing work has added layers of complexity, particularly in technical arbitrations, raising concerns about how non-technical officers would navigate these challenges. Officers play an essential role in planning, executing, and monitoring railway projects and maintaining key assets such as tracks, bridges, and signaling systems. Their expertise is crucial for the smooth functioning of the railways.
For direct recruits, JS (Junior scale) and SS (Senior Scale) postings provide vital hands-on field training for handling administrative roles. Given that Railways operates as a 24/7 service, it is crucial that officers possess the right skill sets and are prepared to be available around the clock.
There is also a growing demand for recruiting station masters from technical backgrounds, considering the duties they handle. With technological advancements, the system is becoming more complex, making the station master’s role increasingly critical. As the first responder in case of any untoward incident, the station master’s responsibilities are significant.
Indian Railways is already fragmented into smaller units with numerous departments. However, the “Rationalization of government bodies,” as proposed by Sanjeev Sanyal, has not yet been implemented.
Indian railway doesn’t care for capacity building of their staff, it’s spending has increased many fold in the last few years , yet no mechanism to execute such large scale infrastructure projects, just throwing money and asking their employees to show the results, pathetic situation for employees especially in the construction, maintenance and operation segments. India being a developing nation, can’t afford this laxity in executing infrastructure projects.
To address these issues, the railway administration must focus on understanding all job roles at the grassroots level and ensuring that the right individuals with the necessary skill set are recruited. The outdated clerk and peon system should be phased out, and the practice of recruiting junior typists and stenographers from the open market must be reevaluated.
Reforms should be comprehensive, affecting every level of the organization, not just the apex officer level. Indian Railways still operates with a colonial-era administrative style, which is increasingly misaligned with the needs of a modern, digitalized 21st century. Despite having a large pool of Group A officers, no breakthrough achievements have been realized in the railways.
A prudent approach would be to allow officers, starting from level-14, to choose between general service roles or to continue within their specialized technical domain as suggested by Bibek Debroy Committee. This flexibility would help retain technical expertise while providing opportunities for broader managerial roles, ultimately ensuring that Indian Railways remains both efficient and effective.
Why so hurry in including the vacancies in ESE-2025, without formulating its modalities. DOPT has given in- principle approval clearly stating that “The proposed scheme of recruitment shall not in any way, be in contravention to the decisions of the cabinet dated. 24.12.2019. Railway board Ltr.No. 2024/E(GR)I/37/1 Dt. 05.10.2024 is a clear violation of DOPT guidelines. Even after five years, the same system seems to be returning without much change. No cabinet discussion, no briefing on IRMS Modus operandi.
Five point reform template for Indian Railways.
1. Private entry, to offer competition and better services. Streamline all the departments which are doing similar nature of work into one unit, for better utilization of manpower and resources. Indian Railways is already fragmented into bits and pieces with numerous departments. Make railways right-sized.
2. Accounting reforms, to ensure costs and profitability numbers are transparent. Railways may not be profit oriented, but it should be self sustainable to meet its infrastructural and operational cost.
3. An independent regulator. Prune down tall hierarchy. Make it more horizontal than vertical.
4. Devolution of decision making away from a centralized structure in Rail Bhawan.
5. HR reform, which means not only the structure of railway Board, but unification of services prospectively. Reforms should be comprehensive, affecting every level of the organization, not just the apex officer level.
I am optimistic that the IRMS will address all these issues, curbing departmentalism, dismantling the British colonial legacy of centralized control, eliminating elitism and the system of creating demigods within Indian Railways. Do not make IRMS an old wine in a new bottle kind of service, just by changing the nomenclature from officer to Manager, which doesn’t do much good for Railways as a whole.
However, the 50% norm of engaging promotee officers in every administrative grade is often breached, highlighting the need for stricter adherence to recruitment and promotion policies.
Railway administration/Management reminds me of Ant and Lion management story. A short story on Indian Railway work culture:
Every day, a small ant (Artisans) arrived at work early and starting work immediately, she produced a lot and she was happy. The boss (Top management), a lion (Railway Board), was surprised to see that the ant was working without supervision. He thought if the ant can produce so much without supervision, wouldn’t she produce more if she had a supervisor!. So the lion recruited a cockroach (Middle management -SAG/Selection grade officers) who had extensive experience as a supervisor and who was famous for writing excellent reports. The cockroach’s first decision was to set up a clocking in attendance system. He also needed a secretary to help him write and type his reports. He recruited a spider (Ministerial staff) who managed the archives and monitored all phone calls. The lion was delighted with the cockroach’s report and asked him to produce graphs to describe production rates and analyze trends so that he could use them for presentations at board meetings. So the cockroach had to buy a new computer and a laser printer and recruit a fly to manage the IT department. The ant, who had been once so productive and relaxed, hated this new plethora of paperwork and meetings which used up most of her time. The lion came to the conclusion that it was high time to nominate a person in charge of the department where the ant worked. The position was given to the cicada (Front line Managers: JAG/Senior scale/Senior scale officers) whose first decision was to buy a carpet and an ergonomic chair for his office. The new person in charge, the cicada, also needed a computer and a personal assistant, whom he had brought from his previous department to help him prepare a work and budget control strategic optimization plan. The department where the ant works is now a sad place, where nobody laughs anymore and everybody has become upset. It was at that time the cicada convinced the boss, the lion, to start a climatic study of the office environment. Having reviewed the charges of running the ant’s department, the lion found out that the production was much less than before so he recruited the owl (HR- Personal development), a prestigious and renowned consultant to carry out an audit and suggest solutions. The owl spent 3 months in the department and came out with an enormous report, in several volumes, that concluded that “The department is overstaffed.” Guess who the lion fired first? The ant of course “Because she showed lack of motivation and had a negative attitude. ‘A bad system will beat a good person every time.’-W. Edwards Deming. This Ant and Lion management story is perfectly apt for the work culture in Indian Railways.
For more insights into the work culture in Indian Railways, please refer to the document attached via the link below.
https://www.scribd.com/document/648826718/British-Officers-in-Indian-Railways. store this for me..
Recruitment to the officer cadre of the Indian Railways should only be through the Engineering Services Exam (ESE) of the UPSC.
One can easily teach the art and science of management to an engineer. In fact, an overwhelming majority of students selected at IIMs and other top management institutes are engineers.
However, one cannot teach engineering to a non-technical person who would have qualified through the CSE.
The Indian Railways is a highly technical organisation and requires solid technological background and understanding which only an engineer would have. An Arts/Commerce student will never be able to master the complex electro-mechanical machinery operated by the Railways.
The govt’s decision to recruit solely through the CSE was a blunder. Instead, the recruitment should be through ESE.