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The Print
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Railway services merger caused ‘acute shortage' of specialised officers, affected ops & safety—Centre
In its reply to the Central Administrative Tribunal, a copy of which ThePrint has accessed, the government has now admitted that the 2020 reform caused much confusion over how to recruit officers to the new, united service. Only four years later, the Centre made a U-turn on the reform, and last year, de-linked the Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) into civil and engineering services and divided them further into sub-cadres. In March this year, 40 service officers in the railways challenged the 2024 decision before the Central Administrative Tribunal. New Delhi: The Modi government's ambitious 2020 reform, merging the eight railway services into one united Indian Railways Management Service, caused an 'acute shortage of specialised manpower' in the railways, 'negatively impacting train operations and safety', the Centre has officially admitted for the first time. In 2022, the government decided to recruit IRMS officers through the Civil Service Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). However, it soon became clear that the 'mandate of the Union Cabinet was not being fulfilled' through the process, the government has said in its reply. Both in 2022 and 2023, the number of candidates with specialised engineering skills required in the railways was 125 per year. However, only 46 and 45 skilled officers were recruited in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to the government reply. 'This gap in the required specialised manpower was negatively impacting train operations and safety,' the government has now said. It admitted that it soon realised that the 'recruitment of IRMS cadre only through UPSC (CSE) would not serve the purpose for specialised technical needs for railways as an organisation, which was the basic premise mentioned in the Union Cabinet decision, dt. 24.12.2019'. 'No reversal of reform' The government, however, has not reversed the 2019 Cabinet decision, it has claimed. According to its reply, the government took a policy decision to address the issue of a shortage of technical service officers by recruiting technical and non-technical service officers separately through UPSC to the unified new service as created by the Union Cabinet, i.e., the IRMS. The move, the government reply said, would offer equal opportunities to officers in both categories in their career progression. Since 2025, the government has been recruiting officers separately through engineering and non-engineering exams. The exam for the latter is the Civil Service Exam, taken for recruitment for other civil services, such as IAS and IPS. The engineering and non-engineering services have been further divided into subcadres of traffic, accounts, personnel, civil, electrical, mechanical, signal, telecommunications and stores. Railway service officers opposed to the government's U-turn have maintained that the sub-cadres render the 2019 Cabinet decision meaningless, effectively splitting up the railways again into eight different services. However, in its response, the government has said that the division into sub-cadres 'will enable the officers to acquire specialisation in a particular functional area of the railways'. The specialisation will further be honed during their service in the sub-cadre, giving them 'an all-round perspective'. The same does not in any way affect the career progression of officers, as contended by the complainants, the government has said. 'The only purpose behind this is to enable the officers to acquire specialisation in a particular functional area of the railways, as they remain an inherent member of the unified, new service, i.e., IRMS, governed by a single Recruitment Rules.' Further, the officers recruited from 2025 onwards will 'exercise such option[s] for specialisation at the time of their recruitment itself', the government has said. The government has further noted that having sub-cadres within the same service does not amount to the fragmentation of the service, as some officers have alleged. The government has so far not allotted any one of the three sub-cadres of civil services—traffic, accounts, and personnel—to the probationers recruited through the 2022 and 2023 exams. However, since the probationers will continue to serve in the IRMS only, that will not impact their career prospects, the government has further stated. Based on its claim that it had not infringed on any statutory or legal rights of the applicants, the government said, 'The applicants have no cause of action to maintain the application under reply.' Confusion persists There is still no clarity among officers about the fate of their service. According to sources in the railways, an officer of the Indian Railways Traffic Service is tipped to become Railway Board Member (Finance)—a break from the tradition of having only officers of the Indian Railways Accounts Service hold the finance-related position. Similarly, a few months ago, an engineering service officer was appointed Railway Board Member (Operations and Business Development)—a position hitherto always held by an Indian Railways Traffic Service officer. 'If they have created sub-cadres again, why are they appointing officers from outside their respective domains at the highest levels?' asked an officer. 'You now have a situation where, for example, at the lower levels, you have officers who have served in the accounts sub-cadre throughout their careers, but the member heading that sub-cadre will not be from accounts,' the officer said. 'There is utter confusion at the level of policy-making in the railways.' (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Facing a shortage, Modi govt tweaks empanelment criteria to attract more IAS officers to Centre
NDTV
16-05-2025
- General
- NDTV
UPSC Releases 2026 Exam Calendar: Check Full schedule And List Of Exams
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released its examination calendar for 2026, outlining key dates for various competitive exams. The Civil Services Examination (CSE) Preliminary is scheduled for May 24, 2026, followed by the Mains examination on August 21, 2026. The National Defence Academy (NDA) and Combined Defence Services (CDS) exams are slated for April 12, 2026, with the second iteration of these exams occurring on September 13, 2026. The UPSC Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) exam is scheduled for July 19, 2026. The application deadline for the UPSC Preliminary Examination is February 3, 2026. The UPSC noted that the scheduled dates are subject to change based on circumstances. Below is the complete schedule, including exam dates, notification release dates, and registration deadlines. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts a range of prestigious exams annually, including the Civil Service Exam, Engineering Service Exam, Indian Forest Service Exam, National Defence Academy (NDA) Exam, Combined Defence Service (CDS) Exam, Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) Exam, Combined Medical Service (CMS) Exam, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Exam, Combined Geo-Scientist Exam, and Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Exam, offering opportunities for candidates to pursue esteemed careers in various government sectors. The UPSC reserves the right to alter exam dates, notification releases, and durations if circumstances warrant. Typically, the Commission adheres to its calendar, and other exam conducting bodies schedule their exams accordingly.
The Hindu
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling kicks off in Bengaluru, gets massive response
The 23rd edition of The Hindu Education Plus-Career Counselling-2025 commenced on Saturday at NMKRV College, Mangala Mantapa auditorium, Bengaluru, and received a massive response from students and parents. Around 40 higher education institutions, including private medical and engineering colleges, banks, and around 1,200 students and parents participated in the event. It facilitated the students and parents to collect information about the colleges, various courses, fee structure, infrastructure, placement, and so on. Aspirants gathered details about Civil Service Exam (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), CET-2025, COMED-K, medical, engineering, and other professional courses from experts through various sessions. Karnataka has pride of place In his inaugural address, Ramalinga Reddy, Minister for Transport and Muzrai, said, 'Karnataka is famous for higher education and has the highest number of top engineering and medical colleges. Therefore, it is a favourite destination for students from outside the State and abroad too.' He advised the younger generation to study professional courses. 'The State has a population of about 7 crore, of which only 1% can be given government jobs. The private sector has provided the rest with a large number of jobs. Thousands of multi-national companies are operating in the State, and Bengaluru is the capital of startups,' he said, also urging students tobecome employers by pursuing entrepreneurship. Mr. Reddy recalled his schooldays and said that coming from a rural area, it was difficult for him to get education. 'We had one teacher to teach classes 1 to 5. I studied in Kannada medium until class 10, and switching to English medium in PUC level was difficult. But now the education sector has made huge improvements, and quality education is being provided with good facilities in government and private schools and colleges,' he said. Topper recalls experience Dr. Ranga Manju, All India Rank (AIR) 24 and Karnataka State topper in the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 shared his experience and explained the speciality of the number 24 in his life, 'I started to prepare for CSE at the age of 24 and I got the AIR 24 in CSE. My library seat number in the private coaching centre was also 24.' 'I came from the medical field. My father passed away while he was an IPS officer. Seeing him in service was my biggest inspiration. It was in third year MBBS that I decided to take CSE exam,' he said. 'We are entering a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we see things. It makes me nervous and even a little suspicious how it changes the way we look at social issues and even the government. As long as society exists, governance must exist. Those who govern, permanent executives like civil servants, will always remain,' he added. He lauded 'The Hindu's contribution in helping him crack the CSE, adding that he regularly followed The Hindu newspaper and its editorials. 'I suggest that CSE aspirants not go for brand-new materials. There is an entire market running on the fear of missing out. You will be flooded with content every single day. So, revise the same source again and again. Have a small group for study discussion and find a good library,' he said. Being service-minded Speaking about medical courses, K.S. Ravindranath, director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, said that the medical profession will demand more service-minded, community-oriented people with a human touch and ethical values. 'If you take up a career in medicine, it is a noble profession, and there is a lot of respect in society. There are around 760 medical colleges in India, and around 1.18 lakhs seats are available. In Karnataka, there are around 70 medical colleges, including 24 government colleges with around 12,000 seats. NEET qualification is mandatory to get into any college, whether it is government, private, or overseas. If you get a good ranking in NEET and get a government quota seat, the fee will be less and reduce the financial burden to the parents,' he said. Advice on engineering Speaking about engineering courses, K.N. Subramanya, principal of RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, said, 'Whenever you choose engineering colleges, don't stick to the main branches. Instead, you make cluster branches. If you take an electronic cluster, you have electrical engineering, electrical and telecommunication, electronic and instrumentation, and medical electronics. In the mechanical cluster, industry engineering, automobile, aerospace engineering, and mechatronics are there. In the computer science cluster – AI, DATA Science, robotics, bio-tech, and chemical engineering are other clusters. From this year onwards, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has ordered that every cluster should go through AI. Apart from this, irrespective of branches, students can learn AI and other courses as a minors degree courses online.' Pramod Hegde, Chartered Accountant (CA) and chairman of the Southern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, explained the demand for CAs globally. He also explained the curriculum and the scope of the CA profession. A.S. Ravi, former PRO of Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), explained the CET-2025 counselling process. Ameen E-Mudassar, career counsellor and CEO of CIGMA, talked about general education and said, 'Students must learn multiple skills, upgrade themselves, and try to acquire online knowledge. Don't choose your career influenced by others.' Many students raised questions and cleared their doubts about the selection of professional courses seats, counselling process and other things. Platinum sponsors: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Presidency; Reva University. Gold sponsors: R.V. University, Bengaluru, Chanakya University, Bengaluru, East Point Group of Institutions; Cambridge Group of Institutions; Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences. Silver sponsors: GSSS School of Architecture for Women, Mysuru; JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysuru; JSS Science & Technology University, Mysuru; Karnataka State Open University, Mysuru; Malnad College of Engineering, Hassan; Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, Mysuru; Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru; Soundarya Group of Institutions, Bengaluru; Adichunchanagiri University; The Christ (Deemed to be University); CMR University; Indian Institute of Fashion Technology; Karnataka Milk Federation; MSIL. Associate sponsors: Khaja Bandanawaz University, Kalaburagi; SDM Educational Society (R), Ujire; The Institute of Cost Accountants of India; Karnataka Bank; Shaheen Group of Institutions, Bidar; Bapuji Educational Association (Regd), Davangere; Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society, Kalaburagi; VTU; Navkis Engineering College. Regional sponsor: MVJ College of Engineering, Bengaluru. Snack partner: Naturo. (With inputs from Vyas Ponnuri and Mathew William)
