On December 2, the Ministry of Railways announced that starting in 2023, the Union Public Service Commission will administer a specially created test for the recruitment of the Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) (UPSC). This will be a significant change from the existing recruitment process, which lacks a specific IRMS assessment.
The new IRMS test will be two-tiered, similar to the Civil Services Exam (CSE), with a preliminary screening exam and a primary written examination and interview. It will be used to hire officers for the Indian Railways’ Group A services.
According to a press release from Indian Railways, candidates must take the Civil Services (Prelim) test in order to be initially screened. The IRMS (Main) test, which consists of four exams with traditional essay-style questions, will come after this.
The IRMS exam will have a direct impact on how applicants prepare for railway recruiting and what types of applicants can join the railway services, albeit it remains to be seen how the quality of recruits changes.
The PIB news release states that the qualifying requirements for IRMS candidates will differ from those for CSE candidates. The minimum educational requirements include a degree in engineering, commerce, or chartered accountancy. As a result, there won’t be any officers in the IRMS with training in the social sciences or the natural sciences.
Second, under the previous system, entrance exams were used to choose candidates for a variety of services, including the Railway Services. In order to fill its own cadre, the IRMS would compete with all other civil or engineering services, taking candidates’ ranks and preferences into consideration. This will modify. Only those individuals who are interested in working for the railway services may apply under the new procedure, which includes a specific IRMS exam.
Third, both technical and administrative recruits will have to take the Civil Services (Prelim) exam. The preparation of applicants with engineering backgrounds would change as a result. The new system will require them to sit for the Civil Services (Prelim) exam, which requires a broader knowledge and understanding of General Studies, whereas the Engineering Services previously had a specific preliminary examination that only required a basic grasp of General Studies to pass.
As a result, while the new system will demand more technical expertise from the administrative cadre, the opposite will also be true — those with technical backgrounds will be expected to have more general knowledge. The recruitment process used by the Indian Forest Service and the IRMS are similar.
