The Indian Railways has announced an extensive recruitment drive to fill 18,799 assistant loco pilot designations by screening 22.5 lakh applicants at 346 centers across the nation. The recruitment examination commenced last Monday and is scheduled to end on Friday. The screening test has been conducted in 15 shifts and 18 languages.
‘’As far now, 13.5 lakh candidates have already taken up the examination, and the remaining nine lakh are expected to appear for it in the last two days,’’ a senior official from the Railway board told PTI. The recruitment is managed by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) which is responsible for hiring for various posts in Indian Railways.
For smooth execution of the examination, the Railway Board has set up a centralized control center in Rail Bhawan, New Delhi, equipped with CCTV cameras. The examinations across all test centres will be monitored on a real real-time basis from here. ‘’Many officers are continuously guarding the examinations for maintaining transparency and order,’’ the official mentioned.
RRB Recruitment calendar
The RRB has released an annual recruitment calendar in February to ensure that the examinations take place as per schedule. Earlier the recruitment drive used to be less predictable but now because of the adoption of the structured approach, the schedule has been streamlined.
The recruitment notifications are released four times a year by the RRB so that it will give more opportunities to candidates to participate and will also reduce the age-bar limit. The hiring calendar is also divided group-wise. From January to March, vacancies for assistant loco pilots will be released, April to June is fixed for technical designations, and July to September has been allotted for hiring junior engineers and paramedics, and the last cycle from October to December will focus on recruiting Level 1 posts and ministerial positions.
Benefits of RBB calendar
The modifications in the RRB calendar will give more chances for the candidate to clear the examination. For instance, if a candidate fails to qualify for the post of assistant loco pilot in the first quarter, then he will be able to apply for technical roles in the second quarter. The only condition will be they are eligible for the respective designation. The Indian Railways intention is to streamline the process so that aspiring candidates will be able to avail the opportunities.
(With inputs from PTI)