The Luck Of The Draw: 2.37 Crore Vying For 1.2 Lakh Railway Jobs In The World’s Largest Recruitment Drive 

This year’s Indian Railway recruitment process has about 1.2 lakh job positions on offer. This some might say is a huge number, but not when you factor in the number of people vying for those positions – 2.37 crore. A bit of calculations and we find that just about 0.5 per cent of the total candidates would go through.

Most of the applicants and the jobs belong to the Group D category which consists of job profiles like cabinman, keyman, fitter, leverman, gangman, pointsman, porter, helper, switchman, trackman and welder. The total applicants for this category are 1.9 crore and total jobs just 62,907.

The huge number of applicants can also be explained by the fact that the eligibility criteria is to be a 10th pass and people between the age of 18 and 31 can apply.

As a result of the humongous examination process, the exam slots started from 17 September and would go on till December. Held in three shifts everyday, the examination conducted online consists of sections covering Mathematics, General Intelligence, Science, Current Affairs and Reasoning.

In all, there are a total of 400 centres throughout the country, and Indian Railways has arranged 100 special trains for ferrying the applicants.

As the saying goes, “some things can make or break your life”, and Indian Railways’ recruitment examination is undoubtedly one such instance for the crores of aspirants.