RBE No. 157/1988: Selection – Maintenance of Selection Calendar

No.E(NG)I-87/PM1-14 (AIRF), dated 22.07.1988

Sub: Maintenance of Calendar for selection in various grades.

In terms of the Railway Board’s letter No.E(NG)I-87-PM1-4, dated 18.08.1987 (RBE No. 213/1987), Railways are required to draw up a calendar for conducting selection in various grades to help them plan various activities in this regard and to ensure compliance with Board’s orders to the effect that selection should be held at regular intervals.

In a PNM meeting held between the Board and AIRF, the Federation urged that steps should be taken to avoid irregularities in selections. Pursuant to deliberation in the PNM meeting, the need to adhere to existing instructions governing selections was stressed in Board’s letter of even number dated 19.02.1988.

The subject figured again in the PNM meeting held on 09/10.03.1988 wherein it was a stressed by AIRF that selections continue to be delayed on Railways for one reason for the other, and that a calendar of selection with target dates for completion of various stages should be drawn up and implemented.

In this context, Board desire that the calendar of selection should cover the various steps in a selection procedure with an indication of the date(s) by which the various steps are to be finalized so that an effective watch could be kept over the progress in the implementation of the time schedule.

This calendar should be notified in advance preferably around July of the preceding year. The calendar may contain the following items:-

(i) Category and grade;
(ii) Date of issuing the notification;
(iii) Date of calling for service records;
(iv) Date(s) of folding written examination(s) (where written examination is part of selection);
(v) Date(s) of holding interview(s);
(vi) Date of submission of panel for competent authority’s approval;
(vii) Date of notification of panel.

It is hoped that with the preparation of a calendar as suggested above. It will be possible to effectively monitor the selection in all cadres and grades and this will pave the way to obviate complaints of not holding selections in time.

At the same time, a close watch should be kept on the utilization of the panel so that when due to normal wastage the panel is expected to be exhausted within 4 to 6 months, the process for the next selection to start counting the vacancies from the date of panel is expected to be exhausted.

Board would also like Railway Administration to consider adopting the following guidelines as a means of ensuring that finalization of selection to not get delayed.
When the concerned officer take more than two months for finalizing the evaluation of written examination paper, the same should be brought to the personal notice of the DRM/ PHOD.

When the delay exceeds three months, it should be brought to the notice of GM and such cases discussed selectively in Principal Officers’ Meeting also to find out the reasons for such delays with a view to eliminate them.

Further the delay in holding supplementary selections should be eliminated as they should normally be notified and held within about four weeks from the date of main selection. It may be even worthwhile to consider announcing the date for supplementary examination (with a gap of 3 or 4 weeks), while notifying the date for main selection.

Download Railway Board Circular RBE No. 157/1988