Around five lakh women candidates are in the competition for the job of drivers, welders, machinists, and fitters in the Indian Railways. According to the senior railway ministry officials, these job applications indicate that more women are now showing interest in the areas which until now were strictly dominated by men.
Transgender Persons Are Also In Competition
Apart from women, 98 transgender persons are also seeking technician and loco pilot jobs. The recruitment for all these posts is currently in the final stage. As compared to 4.75 lakh women, 42.82 lakh men have applied to fill up the vacancies for the 27,795 posts of assistant loco pilots (ALP) and 36,576 jobs for technicians.
Surprisingly, the highest number of female applicants are from Bihar (72,817) who have specifically applied for the posts of technician and train driver. They are followed by 67,831 women from Uttar Pradesh, 47,358 women from Andhra Pradesh, 43,833 women from Maharashtra, 39,139 women from Tamil Nadu, 32,595 women from Madhya Pradesh, 22,799 women from Kerala, 21, 625 women from West Bengal, and 21,340 women from Rajasthan.
Other states from where women have applied for jobs in Indian Railways include Punjab (1,965), Haryana (14,416), Odisha (13,944), Telangana (19,117), and Jharkhand (17,513). 2,393 women from the capital city of India has shown interest towards becoming trained technicians and drivers whereas 1 woman from Lakshadweep, 4 women from Mizoram, 24 women from Meghalaya, 22 from Manipur and 11 women from Nagaland have applied for the posts in the Indian Railways.
SC Ordered Indian Railways To Recruit Transgenders
After judgment was passed by the Supreme Court, Indian Railways was left with no option but to open its doors for transgender persons so that they can compete for all the jobs in the railways. According to a senior railway ministry official, they conducted the initial examination online and now the Railways will soon declare the results and call the successful candidates for completing the final procedure.
The candidates are required to have passed Matriculation/SSLC with a Diploma of Engineering/ ITI and must also fulfill the prescribed medical standards for becoming eligible for the post. Traditionally, the job of a trained driver has always been considered very difficult as they have to work at odd hours. However, in the last few years, the Indian Railways has given a good thought towards improving the working conditions for the loco pilots.
According to officials, more improvements are needed to ensure better amenities for train drivers as the safety of passengers is in their hands.
