The Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS): Unifies 8 Existing Services

The Union Government announced the amalgamation of 8 existing services of the Ministry of Railways under the banner of the Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) in a gazette notification.

The update by IRMS

Recently, the Central Government issued a gazette notification announcing the unification of 8 existing services of IRMS into one IRMS - Indian Railways Management Service, which has made the news.

With nearly 72% of its engineers in Group 'A' services, Indian Railways is one of India's biggest organizations and this was a major shift for aspirants as well as for coming generations. We have covered everything you might need to know when it first became public which services are being merged, including the recruitment process, examination details, and more.

Earlier, In December 2019

According to the Press Information Bureau, Government of India Ministry of Railways, it was stated - “Unification of eight existing services of Indian Railways for Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) will be done at all levels i.e. from Junior Scale to HAG+. However, modalities for unification and assignment of inter seniority will be decided by Alternative Mechanism. For this, the Ministry of Railways and DOPT will work together to work out the necessary formula before it is taken up by Alternative Mechanism. It will ensure that no one will be at a disadvantage.”

This notification of the Indian Railway Management Service was announced by the Cabinet in a decision on 24th December 2019, two years after the service was formed.

Under this IRMS, eight existing services will be consolidated under the Ministry of Railways to end departmentalism in railways, leaving only two departments - Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Medical Service Department (MSD) apart.

The Reason to Merge

It has been believed that the major objective of restructuring is to end departmentalism, speed up decision-making, and ensure coherence.

Events that have taken place so far

• On 24th December 2019, the Cabinet announced the merging of 8 departments.
  
• Representatives of various services met the Minister of Railways, the chairman, the members, and the DGs of the Railway Board on 5th August 2020.
  
• It has been suggested that since 60% of the shortlisted CSE candidates have an engineering background, recruiting for the IRMS would not be a problem.
  
• A letter signed by 5 General Secretaries of the Indian Association of Railway Engineers was sent to the Minister of Railways and the Board of Railways stating that IRMS recruitment should be done through ESE on 12 August 2020.
  
• On 17th August 2020, UPSC notified the date of ESE 2021 (Prelims) examination will be on 18th July 2021 and Mains Examination on 10th October 2021.

Which services are being merged under IRMS?

• Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE)
• Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers
• Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE)
• Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS)
• Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE)
• Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
• Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
• Indian Railway Accounts Services (IRAS)
  

The shift in Recruitment Process and Exam

There’s no official statement yet but candidates should expect Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, and Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers to be hired under IRMS.

It has been announced that the recruitment process for IRMS - Indian Railways Management Service will be conducted through UPSC's ESE (Engineering Services Exam) or IES (Indian Engineering Services) exams.

This is broken down into three stages:

1. Prelims Exam: Multiple-choice based screening test - only qualified candidates can take the mains exam.
2. Mains Exam: Descriptive Exam in Offline Mode.
3. Personal Interview: The interview will be a personality test held by a panel of experts.
   

Look out for more

We will keep updating you guys with the latest information and notifications, you can check out all the updates.
As they say, change is the only constant. So, don’t get overwhelmed with the changing pattern but embrace it with confidence and solid preparation. All the best.

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