New Railway Management Service (IRMS) Examination

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IRMS Exam:

This will be a major departure from the current system of recruitment, which does not have a unique examination for IRMS.
Like the Civil Services Exam (CSE), the new IRMS exam will be two-tiered —
- a preliminary screening examination and
- a main written examination and interview.
It will be used to recruit officers to Group A services of the Indian Railways.
Group A IRMS officers can serve in any of the 10 different organised railway services, divided into three separate cadres: technical services, administrative and accounts services, and medical services.
Candidates need to appear for the Civil Services (Prelim) exam.
This will be followed by a specific IRMS (Main) examination which will consist of four papers of conventional essay-type questions.
Exam Pattern:
- Part 1 (Qualifying papers) will comprise two separate essay-type papers for 300 marks each.
  - One will be a test on any Indian language included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (at present, 22 languages).
  - The other will be an English language test.
- Part 2 (Papers to be counted for merit) will comprise two optional papers for 250 marks each.
  - The candidate is supposed to choose any one optional subject.
  - The list of subjects available are:
    - Civil Engineering
    - Mechanical Engineering
    - Electrical Engineering
    - Commerce and Accountancy
  - Part 3 will be a personality test.
    - This will be for 100 marks.
Eligibility:
- The minimum educational qualifications include a degree in engineering, commerce, or chartered accountancy.
- This means that the IRMS will no longer have officers with a background in social sciences or the pure sciences.

Q1) Who is Known as the Father of Indian Railways?

Lord Dalhousie is known as the Father of Indian Railways. He dedicated the country’s first passenger train on 16 April 1853 which ran between Bombay’s Bori Bunder station and Thane. The train, which travelled 34 kilometres (21 mi), carried 400 people.

Source: Indian Express