Ministry now accepted on record that ‘departmentalism’ existed
Creation of IRMS at Apex Level in Railways and Selection Norms
Empanelment shall be done batch-wise from the eligible officers/candidates
There shall be no departmental quota and also no Open-Line vs. Non-Open Line distinction for GM posting
Panel will remain in force till all the empanelled officers are posted, and Panel for next batch will be prepared well in advance
The Railway Ministry now accepted on record that there was a ‘departmentalism’ which was earlier denied at each level every time!
Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) RESOLUTION (The Gazette of India, {EXTRAORDINARY [PART I—SEC.1]} Notification No. CG-DL-E- 27052022 –236064, No. 137, New Delhi, Friday, May, 27, 2022).
Creation of Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) at top level (ex-cadre Level-17 posts & ex-cadre Level-16 posts) in Railways and selection norms thereof-
No.2022/E(G)RR/23/3 – In pursuance of the Cabinet Decision of 24th December 2019 for comprehensive restructuring of Railways’ organization, Government has decided to merge the 7 ex-cadre posts at L-17 (apex) level and 29 ex-cadre posts at L-16 (HAG+) level in Railways to create Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) at the top.
In line with above decision, earlier notified Resolution of Government of India No. ERB- 1/2016/11/3, dated 16.08.2016 regarding norms for filling up the post of CRB and Members of Railway Board, Resolution No. ERB-I/2019/11/2, dated 11.11.2019 regarding norms for filling up the post of DG (Safety) and Resolution No. E(O)III- 2016/PL/01, dated 16.08.2016 regarding norms for filling up the posts of General Managers and equivalent under the Ministry of Railways are hereby repealed, and in supersession, new policy for filling up IRMS L-17 and L-16 posts of top management in Indian Railways has been approved and is appended below-
Policy for creation of IRMS at the top level (Level 17 &Level 16) in Railways and selection norms
thereof
1. Re-designation of 36 posts at Level-17 (L-17) and Level-16 (L-16) as IRMS posts
Recognising the need for removing ‘departmentalism’ amongst railway officers, the Union Cabinet approved comprehensive restructuring of railway organization on 24th December, 2019.
In pursuance of this decision, the 7 ex-cadre posts at L-17 (Apex) level and 29 ex-cadre posts at L-16 (HAG+) level are hereby re-designated as IRMS L-17 and IRMS L-16 posts as detailed below-
L-17 (Apex level: ex-cadre) posts to be re-designated as IRMS (L-17) posts:
L-16 (ex-cadre: HAG+) level posts to be redesignated as IRMS (L-16) posts:
2. Principle of batch-wise empanelment
a) Empanelment for these IRMS L-17 and IRMS L-16 posts shall be done batch-wise from the eligible candidates, selecting the best suitable officers through a comprehensive assessment by Ministry of Railways and approved by ACC.
b) Thereafter posting shall be done with approval of ACC based on vacancies and suitability of empanelled officers for the post.
c) There shall be no departmental quota. Also, there shall be no Open-Line versus Non-Open-Line distinction for posting as General Manager.
d) Panel will remain in force till all the empanelled officers are posted. Empanelled officers will be posted as and when vacancies arise.
e) Panel for next batch will be prepared well in advance so that the new panel can be considered for filling vacancies as soon as the existing panel is exhausted.
3. Empanelment process
3.1. Eligibility for empanelment
For being considered eligible for empanelment to IRMS L-17 and IRMS L-16 posts, the officer should belong to one of the eight Organized Group ‘A’ Services of Indian Railways (IRSE, IRSME, IRSEE, IRSSE, IRSS, IRTS, IRPS, IRAS) and should be working in Level-15 {Higher Administrative Grade (HAG)} or above on regular basis.
3.2. Eligible officers of the batches to be considered for empanelment to IRMS L-17 and IRMS L-16 will be asked to apply for empanelment. Application shall consist of the following:
(a) Top three positions that the officer would like to be selected for (officer will be considered for all positions)
(b) Description of top five contributions to the organization in lifetime (can give more also)
(c) Description of top five contributions that officer will make in the top three positions that the officer is aspiring for in a given time frame
3.3. A DPC comprising Secretary DOP&T, Chairman & CEO Railway Board, and one non-railway officer (like Secretary DPIIT, or Secretary MORTH, or CEO NITI Aayog, etc.) to be nominated by Minister of Railways will make an overall assessment of the officer based on four inputs: i) Expert Panel (EP) assessment of ACR/APARs; ii) EP Multi-Source Feedback; iii) EQ assessment; and iv) Application.
Internal Guidelines for the assessment process to aid the DPC in decision making for the empanelment are enclosed as Annexure-1.
Based on this overall assessment, the DPC will recommend the panels for IRMS L-17 and IRMS L-16 for approval of the ACC.
3.4. Periodicity of meeting of DPC and currency of panels
a) The DPC shall meet at a suitable time considering the availability of officers in the existing panel. It shall meet sufficiently in advance for considering empanelment of a batch so that all the necessary steps can be taken up well in advance before the existing panel is exhausted. The panel drawn up by the DPC and approved by ACC shall be valid till all empanelled officers are posted (in available and upcoming vacancies).
b) Once empanelled, officers will be appointed against vacancies based on suitability of the officer for the post.
3.5. The documents relating to the overall assessment shall be treated as strictly confidential to ensure the fairness and accuracy of the comprehensive assessment process.
3.6. Representation by officer
a) Any officer affected by the empanelment process may submit a representation to the Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, who shall send this representation to the Review Expert Panel.
b) Review Expert Panel will be constituted as per guidelines in Annexure-1 comprising experts different from the original Expert Panel will be constituted. The Review Expert Panel shall study the recommendations of the EP, conduct fresh assessment as per the Annexure -1, consider the representation of the officer, and then submit its reasoned recommendations to the Chairman & CEO Railway Board.
c) All cases recommended for reconsideration shall be reviewed by the DPC at the earliest and definitely within 3 months of submission of the reasoned recommendations by the Review Expert Panel.
d) An officer can submit a maximum of two representations for empanelment of IRMS L-16 and one representation for empanelment of IRMS L-17.
4. Appointment of empanelled officers to IRMS L-17 and L-16 posts
4.1. Appointment to be different from empanelment
a) Empanelment does not entitle appointment to a particular post.
b) Appointment will be the prerogative of the appropriate authority based on suitability of the empanelled officer for a particular post.
4.2. Appointment of CRB & CEO in IRMS L-17 apex grade
All officers working in IRMS L-17 and officers available in the panel for IRMS L-17 shall be eligible for appointment to the post of Chairman & CEO Railway Board. Based on experience profile, competence, general reputation, integrity as well as leadership qualities, comprehensive assessment and suitability for the post, one of the officers shall be recommended by the Ministry of Railways for appointment as CRB & CEO for approval of Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
4.3. Appointment of four Members of Railway Board and DG (Human Resource) & DG (Safety) in IRMS L-17 apex grade
All officers working in IRMS L-17 and officers available in the panel for IRMS L-17 shall be eligible for appointment to the posts of Member (Infrastructure), Member (Operations & Business Development), Member (Traction & Rolling Stock) & Member (Finance), DG (Human Resource) and DG (Safety). Suitable officers based on experience profile, competence, general reputation, integrity as well as leadership qualities, comprehensive assessment and suitability for the posts shall be recommended to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet for appointment to these posts.
4.4. Appointment of General Managers and equivalent in IRMS L-16
All officers empanelled for IRMS L-16 shall be eligible for appointment to the posts of General Managers and equivalent in IRMS L-16. Keeping in view the specific requirement(s) of the post and suitability of the empanelled officers for the post(s) to be filled up, empanelled officers based on comprehensive assessment will be recommended for appointment as General Manager and equivalent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The posts of General Managers and equivalent (IRMS L-16) are interchangeable and the Ministry of Railways may transfer these officers if it considers expedient to do so in the interest of effective functioning of the railways.
5. Relaxation:
Any of the above-mentioned provision of the Policy, if otherwise considered expedient in the public interest may be relaxed to the extent necessary, in consultation with the Department of Personnel & Training. Any such relaxation shall be specifically brought to the notice of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet while recommending appointments.
6. Interpretation:
All questions of doubt regarding the interpretation of the Policy shall be decided by the Ministry of Railways in consultation with the Department of Personnel & Training and with the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
ORDER
Ordered that a copy of the Resolution be circulated among the members of various Group ‘A’ Railway Services.
Ordered also that the Resolution be published in the Gazette of India for general information.
Annexure-1:
Internal guidelines for comprehensive assessment process for empanelment of officers into IRMS posts of Level-17 (Apex grade) and Level-16 (HAG+) in Railways
1. Batch wise empanelment
Panel will be created batch wise. There shall be no departmental quotas. Panel will not expire. Empanelled officers will be posted as and when vacancies arise. Panel for next batch will be prepared well in advance so that the new panel can be considered for filling vacancies as soon as the existing panel is exhausted.
2. Constitution of Experts Panel (EP)
a) A panel of experts (EP) would be created from amongst a set of retired officers. Panel selection would be done with utmost care.
b) Retired officers of following ranks would be considered for creating panel.
• Chairmen and Members of Railway Board
• Secretaries, Government of India
• General Managers (GM) of Railways
• Additional Members (AM) of Railways
• Principal Heads of Departments (PHODs) of Railways
c) The Experts Panel will assist on assessing the ACRs/APARs, getting multi-source feedback, and evaluating the applications.
3. Assessment of ACRs/APARs
a) ACRs/APARs of entire career will be considered for evaluation purpose.
b) EP shall evaluate the ACR/APAR on following grounds:
• Whether the gradings match the performance and achievements of the officer and in the light of the officer’s self-assessment and the remarks of the reporting, reviewing and accepting authority.
• Whether the assessment shows a consistent trend. Reasons for inconsistencies.
• Normalization for cases where a reporting, reviewing, or accepting authority is known to be liberal or conservative.
• Consistency between assessment by different officers in case an officer holds multiple charges.
• Assessment in case of gaps – whether such gaps have been created due to lack of self- assessment, or due to lack of review process, or due to lack of acceptance process.
• Normalization over different zonal railways or production units or other entities of railways wherever a particular administrative unit is known to be liberal or conservative.
• Consider representation of officers in case any representation is received.
4. Multi-Source Feedback
a) EP will interact telephonically with a range of connected stakeholders including juniors, peers, seniors, serving Members, serving GMs and external stake holders.
b) The range should be as diverse as possible.
c) MSF should be collected from a minimum of seven (7) persons.
d) EP will capture each stakeholder’s opinion of the officer in an MSF format having 7 simple questions (about decision making, taking ownership, being proactive, has track record of delivery, being team player and team leader, reputation of being honest, and suitability for senior level) to be scored on a scale of 1 to 5.
e) EP will ensure anonymity and confidentiality of stakeholders to elicit honest and accurate feedback.
5. Psychometric measurement of Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ)
a) Psychometric assessment of officers will be done using standard tools to understand the Emotional Intelligence Quotient.
b) EQ will give an additional tool assessing personality and role fitness.
c) EQ assesses personality on 5 scales:
• Self-perception: Honest awareness of one’s strength, weakness, development needs, goals in life, self-confidence, ambitions etc.
• Self-expression: Assertiveness, independence of thinking etc.
• Interpersonal: Empathy, social responsibility, ability to communicate with stakeholders etc.
• Decision making: Problem solving, reality testing and impulse control.
• Stress management: Flexibility, optimism and stress tolerance.
6. The documents relating to the overall assessment shall be confidential.
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