GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4557
TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025
RAILWAY RECRUITMENT EXAMINATIONS IN KANNADA LANGUAGE
4557. DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the steps taken/progress made on allowing
candidates to write Railway recruitment examinations in Kannada;
(b) the details of the specific...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4557 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 RAILWAY RECRUITMENT EXAMINATIONS IN KANNADA LANGUAGE
4557. DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the steps taken/progress made on allowing candidates to write Railway recruitment examinations in Kannada;
(b) the details of the specific actions taken by the Government to implement Kannada as a medium of examination in upcoming Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams;
(c) whether notifications, application forms and exam syllabi have been made available in Kannada to support candidates from Karnataka and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the details of the timeline for fully institutionalising Kannada and other regional languages as official options in Railway recruitment examinations to promote linguistic inclusivity? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (d): The Computer Based Tests (CBTs) for direct recruitment examinations by Railway Recruitment Boards are conducted in 15 languages including Kannada. ..Contd./2-Railways, being a Central Government organization conduct recruitment on all India basis. This is in line with Constitutional provision of right to equality in matters of public employment. Every candidate irrespective of gender, language, place of birth, region etc.
fulfilling eligibility criteria is free to apply. All those who apply in response to Centralised Employment Notifications (CENs), including local candidates are considered for recruitment on the Railways, on equal footing. No preference is given to candidates belonging to any State or Region nor is the recruitment restricted to any State or Region.
In order to facilitate candidates in direct recruitment examinations, Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) conduct Computer Based Tests
(CBTs) in English, Hindi and 13 regional Indian languages viz., Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Accordingly, candidates must choose their medium of examination from any one amongst those listed in the ONLINE application form. CBT questions are displayed in the language opted and in English.
Centralized Employment Notice is issued/published in the Employment News/Rozgar Samachar and also on official websites of 21 Railway Recruitment Boards. Participating RRBs issue indicative notice in at least two local newspapers including regional languages covering the entire jurisdiction of RRB.
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