Indian Railway Recruitment 2022 Latest Update: Indian Railways has decided to make ‘Emotional Quotient (EQ)' Intelligence tests mandatory for recruitment of officers under the top 36 posts such as chairman, member, or general manager (GM). In a press interview, the Railway Official said that the "EQ (emotional quotient) test is made mandatory for selection to 36 top railway posts as part of our new empanelment process notified last month. It will be an online test for about 15-20 minutes. This tool will be used to assess personality and role fitness".
EQ Test mandatory for Higher Posts in Indian Railways
As informed by a senior Indian Railways official, “The online tests will be administered for the first time in the upcoming empanelment process to fill up one dozen vacant posts of GMs”.
He further added that the test scores will be used to determine whether the applicant is fit for operations or administrative jobs. For instance, the role of GM pertains to fieldwork whereas an equivalent post of director-general of the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) is an administrative or desk job.
The railway official said that "As the Railways values emotional intelligence of its officers, it is likely that such modules could be extended for selecting DRMs too in the near future."
Indian Railways EQ Test Guidelines
In May 2022, the Indian railways in a board resolution decided to merge seven secretary-level posts, including railway board chairman and members as well as 29 posts, mainly GMs, to create the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) at the top of the railway hierarchy. The resolution further said IRMS was created in pursuance of the cabinet decision taken back in December 2019.
The board resolution was published in the Gazette of India on May 27, 2022, and hence, it is in the public domain. The resolution's annexure also contained a guideline that mentioned that there would be a "psychometric assessment" to judge the emotional intelligence of applicants in addition to weighing in their appraisal reports as well as feedback from peers.
The guideline also noted that the EQ test would be conducted to assess the personality of an officer on five scales: self-perception (awareness of one's strength, weakness, ambitions, etc.), self-expression (assertiveness, independence of thinking, etc.), interpersonal skills, decision-making, and stress management.
As per the official data, Indian Railways employs over 1.2 million people. However, the EQ test has been made mandatory only for its 36 top managers so far.
Indian Railway Management Service: Some Factual Information
Unification of eight existing services of Indian Railways for Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) is being done at all levels, i.e., from Junior Scale to HAG+ (Higher Administrative Grade). However, modalities for unification and assignment of inter se seniority were to be decided by Alternative Mechanism. For this, the Ministry of Railways and DOPT worked together to work out the necessary formula before it is taken up by Alternative Mechanism ensuring that no one will be at a disadvantage.
Check IRMS Notification Details
27 posts of GMs have been upgraded to apex grade. It will be ensured that eligible officers of all the erstwhile services get the apex grade post of GM. In the cabinet note approved, it has been mentioned that officers of IRMS (constituted by 8 services) only will be eligible to become the Functional Members and Chairman/CEO of the Railway Board. The number of Independent members will be decided by the Government. They will be non- Executive Members and will attend the Board meetings. They will not be involved in the day-to-day functioning of Railways. Their experience in the market and field will help in the strategic planning of Indian Railways.
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