Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) is a Group ‘A’ Central Service under the Government of India. It was constituted in 1976 and the first direct recruitment for Indian Railway Personnel Service was held through the UPSC Civil Services Examination conducted in 1980. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Human Resources of the Indian Railways and the welfare of railway employees and their families. Let us know more about Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service.

Railways have a workforce of about 1.4 million employees. It is the only civil service of its kind in India. It creates a cadre of bureaucrats specialized in human resource management in the Government of India. To know more about having a career in  Indian Railway Personnel Service go through the article.

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Eligibility Requirement

Nationality

As per the eligibility criteria of UPSC, only Indian nationals are eligible to apply for the exam. The details nationality norms are mentioned below:

1. A candidate must be a citizen of India.
2. Refugees belonging to neighbouring countries who have a valid certificate of nationality and intend to stay in the country are also eligible to apply for the entrance exam.

Age Limit

Those who are willing to appear for UPSC IRPS exam must be between 21 to 32 years of age as on the decided date by the authorities. UPSC also gives age relaxations to candidates belonging to reserved category.

Educational Qualification

1. Candidates who have a graduation degree in any discipline can apply for the exam to have a career in Indian Railway Personnel Services
2. Also, those who have a professional and technical degree are also eligible to apply for the UPSC IRPS exam.

Number of Attempts

Category	Number of Attempts
General/UR	Six
OBC	Nine
SC and ST	Unlimited (Up to age limit)

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Selection Procedure

The stages that are involved in the selection procedure of the IRPS officer are as provided below: 

Stage 1: Preliminary exam
Stage 2: Mains exam
Stage 3: Interview

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Recruitment

There are two modes of recruitment to  Indian Railway Personnel Services:

1. Through UPSC Civil Services Examination
2. Through the promotion of Group ‘B’ Personnel Officers working on zonal Railways to IRPS.

Only 50% of the posts are meant for Direct Recruitment and 50% posts are filled through promotion from Group ‘B’ Cadre. 

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Training

All the directly recruited Indian Railway Personnel Service probationers are required to undergo a 93-week training programme (including Civil Services foundation course of 15 weeks) before induction into service on various railway zones and other offices. The training programme includes training at:

1. National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR)/Vadodara
2. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy for Administration (LBSNAA)/ Mussorie
3. National Academy for Direct Taxes (NADT)/ Nagpur

and other specialized training institutes like at reputed management institutes are HR & Personnel Management, as well as field training on zonal railways, divisions, construction organizations and manufacturing units of the Indian Railways.

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Functions of IRPS officers

Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) basically deals with Human Resources and Personnel Management discipline in the Central Government. It is under the administrative control of Member (Staff) at the Railway Board’s level.  The Personnel Department performs a significant role in all the activities of Indian Railways including – train operations, safety, productivity and earnings, as also the support activities for all departments of Indian Railway.

IRPS officers are posted to work on divisions, workshops, zonal headquarters, production units and the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board). The functions are broadly divided as:

Personnel Management

1. Manpower Planning
2. Promotions
3. Recruitment
4. Training
5. Seniority
6. Reservation
7. Transfer and Posting
8. Payments, Salary and Wages
9. Final Settlement 

Industrial Relations

1. Maintenance of cordial Industrial Relations
2. Workers’ participation in Management
3. All Welfare Activities
4. Grievance Redressal

Legal and Court matters

1. Legal & Court Cases Work
2. Implementation of Labour Laws
3. Hours of Employment Regulations (HOER) 

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Job Profiles

Like other organized Group ‘A’ services of Indian Railway IRPS officers can be posted in General Management Ex-Cadre posts as per seniority and merit. Some of the posts are – 

1. Deputy General Manager 
2. Additional Divisional Railway Manager 
3. Divisional Railway Manager 
4. General Manager 
5. Assistant Personnel Officer (APO)
6. Senior Personnel Officer (SPO)
7. Divisional Personnel Officer (DPO)
8. Chief Personnel Officer (CPO)

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Salary 

Scale	Grade Pay	Pay Scale
Assistant Personnel Officer	Rs.5400	Rs.15,600 to 39100
Workshop Personnel Officer/ Senior Personnel Officer	Rs.6600	Rs.15,600 to 39,100
Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Rs.8700	Rs.37,400 to 67,000
Chief Personnel Officer	Rs.10,000	Rs.37,400 to 67,000
Adviser		Rs. 67000 to 79000

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service – Career Growth 

After the training period of the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) cadre, officers will gain the opportunity to climb the ladder in the below-given professional growth trajectory.

Railway Division

1. Assistant Personnel Officer
2. Divisional Personnel Officer
3. Senior Division Personnel Officer

Zonal Division of Railway Departments

1. Assistant Personnel Officer
2. Senior Personnel Officer
3. Deputy Chief Personnel Officer

Zonal Headquarters – Headed by Chief Personnel Officer

Zonal Railway Unit – Headed by Principal HOD

Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service –  FAQs

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