Railways gives 9,000 jobs in Quarter 1, plans 50,000 for FY 2025-26

In a significant recruitment push, the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) have issued over 9,000 appointments in the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26, and are on track to offer more than 50,000 jobs by the end of the current fiscal. This comes after the RRBs conducted Computer Based Tests (CBTs) for over 1.86 crore candidates since November 2024, a massive logistical exercise covering 55,197 vacancies across seven different notifications. The recruitment drive is part of a broader annual calendar that has already announced 1,08,324 vacancies since 2024.

To enhance the fairness and transparency of the exams, the RRBs have introduced several new measures. For the first time in such large-scale examinations, E-KYC based Aadhaar authentication has been implemented to verify candidate identity, achieving a success rate of over 95%. Furthermore, jammers are now being deployed at all RRB exam centers to eliminate any scope for cheating through electronic devices. The RRBs have also taken a candidate-centric approach by allotting exam centers closer to candidates' homes, with special preference given to female and specially-abled candidates to ease their travel burden.

The momentum is not expected to slow down. The Ministry of Railways has indicated that another 50,000-plus appointments will be on offer in the next financial year, 2026-27, demonstrating a long-term commitment to employment generation. The recruitment drive is complemented by technological advancements aimed at improving overall railway operations. In a related move, the West Central Railway has introduced the use of the mAadhaar mobile application for passenger identity verification to curb unauthorized travel and misuse of fake Aadhaar cards or tickets.