Parliament Question: SC/ST Representation in Railway Vacancies

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1779 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025 SC/ST REPRESENTATION IN RAILWAY VACANCIES †1779. ADV PRIYA SAROJ: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the current representation of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories in Group ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ categories in all zones of Indian Railways; (b) the details of the status of current pending vacancies (including backlog) for SC and ST in all categories (Group ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’) of Indian Railways; (c) whether any special recruitment drive has been launched by Indian Railways during the last five years to fill the vacancies of SC/ST categories; (d) if so, the details thereof; (e) the details of the representation of SC and ST employees in senior management positions (such as General Manager, Divisional Railway Manager and equivalent posts) in Railway Board and various Railway zones; and (f) the details of the number of railway stations included under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme which are located in SC and ST dominated areas? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (f): The extant provision of providing 15% and 7.5% reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) respectively inrecruitment are followed in the Railways. The percentage representations of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes employees in all categories (i.e. Group ‘A’ ‘B and ‘C’ including Level-1), in Indian Railways, as on 01.01.2025 is as under: Category Provision In place SC 15% 16.84% ST 7.5% 8.02% The total candidates empanelled/recruited in Indian Railways during the last five years and SC and ST candidates amongst them are as under: Total empanelled/recruited SC ST 2,92,811 44,241 22,806 (15.11%) (7.79%) Occurrence and filling up of vacancies including those of SCs/STs are continuous processes on Indian Railways considering its size, spatial distribution and criticality of operation. Adequate and suitable manpower is provided to cater to the regular operations, changes in technology, mechanizations and innovative practices. The vacancies are filled up primarily by placement of indents by Railways with Recruitment agencies as per operational and technological requirements. Presently, recruitment of 1.08 lakh vacancies (SC-16,008, ST-8,705) has been undertaken on Indian Railway in Group ‘C’ (including Level-1). Every effort is made to fill up the reserved vacancies by the candidates belonging to the earmarked category along with the other candidates. Shortfall/Backlog of vacancies of SCs, STs & OBCs remained unfilled, if any, are taken care of and carried forward for filling up through subsequent recruitment cycle. The recruitment process in Railways is being conducted regularly through Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Railway Recruitment boards (RRBs) etc. Since recruitment in Railways is undertaken on regular basis and expeditiously, launching of special recruitment drive is not required. Reservation is applicable upto lowest rung of Group ‘A’ only. The promotions/postings of the officers at senior level are done as per theextant rules, procedures and guidelines irrespective of the category of officer. The Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of 105 stations have been completed. The works at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and works in progress. Spatial distribution of stations identified for development/upgradation under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme across the states is reasonably uniform and this scheme covers all the States and Union Territories having rail connectivity. Development/Redevelopment/Upgradation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. The priority for development/upgradation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. *****